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Candies and Candy Making: Caramels

Chocolate Caramels. - Boil in a double boiler 1 cupful of grated chocolate, 1 cupful of brown sugar, 1 cupful of molasses, cupful of sweet milk, until it hardens when dropped in cold water. Now stir in a piece of butter as large as an egg and 1 cupful of chopped nuts of any kind, or any desired mixture of nuts.

Pour into a buttered tin pan and cut into squares or mold when nearly cold.

Or boil 1 pound of sugar to the hard snap and stir in 4 ounces of grated chocolate dissolved in a tablespoonful of hot water. Boil until the sirup caramels.

Or boil over a hot fire, stirring constantly, 4 ounces of grated chocolate, 1½ pounds of dark-brown sugar, 6 ounces of butter, and teacupful of milk. Remove from the fire as soon as it becomes hard on being dropped in water, and if wanted hard, pour immediately into buttered dishes. Or stir for a few minutes to give a sugary consistency. Flavor after removal from the fire with lemon, orange, or vanilla either in the form of essences or grated lemon or orange peel.

Coffee Caramels. -Boil to the hard snap 1 pound of sugar, stir in black coffee made from 2 ounces of coffee with as little water as possible.

Strain through cheese cloth. Con- CANDIES AND CANDY MAKING tinue to boil until the sirup caramels.

Maple Caramels.-Boil together in a double boiler or buttered saucepan cupful of boiling water, 3 cupfuls of pure maple sirup, 2 cupfuls of coffee sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of glucose, until the sirup threads or hardens in cold water. Then stir in a cupful of pure cream, ½ cupful of butter, and boil until it caramels.

When it hardens on dropping in cold water pour out to cool.

Lemon Caramels. - Stir into the boiled sirup at the hard-snap stage the yellow rind of a lemon grated and mixed with a lump of sugar dissolved in lemon juice and water. Stir well until the mixture hardens in water, then pour out to cool.

Strawberry Caramels. - Boil to the hard-snap stage 2 cupfuls of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of glucose, cupful of boiling water, stirring constantly. Now stir in a cupful of cream and butter the size of an egg. Stir well until it hardens in water, pour out to cool, and while hot sprinkle thickly with grated cocoanut. When cold cut to any desired size. Use for this purpose preferably freshly grated cocoanut, but desiccated cocoanut may be used if necessary.

KISSES AND MARSHMALLOWS These are made of Confectioners' XXX or powdered sugar, stiffened with the white of egg or gum arabic and browned in a baking oven. Baking powder or cream of tartar is sometimes added to make them lighter. To make plain kisses, beat the whites of 4 eggs to a stiff broth and whip in pound of powdered sugar. The harder the mass is beaten the stiffer the candy will be. Lay on wet paper on a piece of hard wood and bake in a moderate oven.

Cocoanut Kisses. -Beat up together the whites of 3 eggs and whip in 2 cupfuls of powdered sugar, 2 cupfuls of freshly grated cocoanut, and 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

Brown slightly in a quick oven.

Chocolate Kisses. - Beat up 2 whites of eggs and whip in 2 ounces of grated chocolate, 1 pound of Confectioners' XXX sugar. Bake in a slow oven on wet or buttered paper spread on a piece of hard wood.

French Kisses. - Dissolve 3 cupfuls of granulated sugar in water, using no more water than is necessary, and add a pinch of cream of tartar.

Bring to a boil, stir in a freshly grated cocoanut of medium size and boil to the thread. Add a drop or two of blue color and work to a cream with a wooden spoon or paddle. Drop the kisses upon sheets of clean tin from a pan having a lip or spout, cutting them to the size of macaroons with a sharp knife or wire.

Nut Kisses. Beat up the white of 3 eggs and whip in 30 teaspoonfuls of pulverized sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of brandy, and 1½ cupfuls of finely chopped nuts. Flavor as desired.

Beat all together to a stiff mass and drop on wet or buttered paper the size of large macaroons. Brown in a moderate oven.

Wintergreen Kisses.-Beat up the whites of 3 eggs to a stiff froth and whip in gradually pound of Confectioners' XXX sugar, and flavor with essence of wintergreen to taste.

Beat the whole very light, drop on wet or buttered paper, and bake on a piece of hard wood in a moderate oven to a light-brown color.

Psyche's Kisses. -Boil the sugar to the crack, stir in 2 ounces of apple juice while boiling, remove from the fire and stir in gradually about its bulk of fruit juice, coffee, diluted chocolate, or any kind of liqueur or flavoring matter desired, and set aside to cool. When cool beat up with a wooden paddle, stirring the mass vigorously from the sides and bottom until it becomes soft and elastic. This will be hard work at first, but gradually becomes easier.

The longer it is worked the better the kisses will be. Let stand over night and warm with gentle heat 3 or 4 ounces at a time in a sugar boiler with a spout, such as is used for pastils. Stir carefully and avoid burning or overheating. When the mass will pour readily drop from the spout on wet or buttered paper in pieces the size of macaroons.

Marshmallows. - Cover an ounce of carefully picked gum arabic with 4 tablespoonfuls of water, and let stand for an hour. Heat the gum in a double boiler until it is dissolved. slightly and the nougat turned out as soon as it hardens.