PODCAST Episode 305: Family Cookbook – Keep it Sweet for COVID (with recipes)

Are your kids bored with homeschooling yet? How about some good, old-fashioned Home Ec! Were you required to take Home Economics in order to graduate? I may be dating myself, but I was. We had to learn how to cook, and one of the best lessons was making candy. My mom had it even better – she grew up in a household where making candy was a part of the family’s culinary tradition. Some of these recipes go back to my great-grandmother, at least one goes to my grandmother’s friend Mrs. Tully, and others are ones my grandmother used and then passed down to my mom. The best thing about those last ones are the crummy high-school typing on the cards – my mom was learning as she went! So give these recipes a try with your kids. Fill them full of sugar. Then, make them run on the treadmill so they don’t knock over all of your furniture. They’ll learn something, you’ll have a project to complete together, and homeschooling won’t be just books and exercises on the computer. Take care, pumpkins! Wash your hands!

Family candy projects:

Peanut Butter Fudge

2 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. water
1 t. vinegar
1 T. butter
Pinch of salt

Boil to 236 degrees, stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from fire and beat in 1 c. chunky peanut butter (natural, unsweetened!). Beat till starts to set. Press into pan.

Chocolate Fudge (makes 5 lbs)

4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 lb. butter or oleo margarine
1 c. sweetened condensed milk (Pet Milk)
1 t. vanilla
1 pint marshmallow cream
2 packages semisweet chocolate bits
2 c. nuts (more is better, but at least this much, chopped fairly fine)

Boil to a soft ball stage the sugar, butter, and milk. Remove from the stove, add 2 packages of chocolate bits, add vanilla and marshmallow cream, blend until the chocolate bits are well melted, add nuts and pour in a buttered pan. A 9″x13″ pan makes nice, thick pieces. Work fast after you start blending the bits, cream and nuts.

Mrs. Tully’s Cream Candy (makes 4 lbs)

3 c. white sugar
1 c. Karo syrup
1 1/4 c. cream
1 c. nuts

Cook to 234 degrees. Beat until stiff, then push down on plate.

After-Dinner Mints

Put 2 c. sugar, 2/3 c. boiling water, 1/4 t. cream of tartar, 1 t. vinegar in saucepan over heat, stir until sugar is dissolved, then boil without stirring to 265 degrees. Pour onto slightly greased platter and leave until cool enough to handle. Pull candy with fingers, adding a few drops of oil of peppermint. When too stiff to pull, stretch into a rope 1/2″ in diameter and cut with scissors in small pieces. Put at once into bowl of powdered sugar and leave until sugary.

Pecan Pralines

1 c. white sugar
2 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. white Karo syrup
1/8 t. salt
1 1/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1 c. pecans

Combine all but vanilla and pecans. Cook to soft ball, 236 degrees. Remove from fire and cool to lukewarm. Add pecans and vanilla, and beat with wooden spoon until it loses its gloss. Drop by tablespoon on waxed paper and spread to 4″ diameter. Wrap in cellophane or waxed paper.

Divinity

2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. water
2 egg whites
1 T. vanilla
1/2 c. nuts
pinch salt

Cook sugar, syrup and water to 265 degrees. Pour over egg whites. Add salt, vanilla, nuts and beat until creamy.

Sea Foam
2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. water
2 egg whites
1 T. vanilla
1/2 c. nuts
pinch salt

Cook sugar, syrup and water to 265 degrees. Pour over egg whites. Add salt, vanilla, nuts and beat until creamy.

For the adults:

Wedding Punch (serves 20 people)

1/2 pineapple
1 c. sugar syrup
1 c. lemon juice
2 c. pineapple juice
1 1/2 fifths of rum

Slice the 1/2 pineapple. Place in bowl with sugar syrup, lemon juice, pineapple juice and rum. Chill at least 2 hours. To serve, pour over ice and add 2 quarts sparkling water and 1 pt sliced strawberries.

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