Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook Part 64

2 Tablespoons ( cup) white Karo syrup

cup b.u.t.ter, room temperature (1 stick,4 ounces, pound)

Before you start, get out a 3-quart saucepan (or a 4-quart saucepan) and your candy thermometer. Place the thermometer inside the saucepan with the sliding clamp on the outside. Slide the thermometer through the clamp until it's approximately inch from the bottom of the pan. (If the bulb touches the bottom of the pan, your reading will be wildly off.) On a cold burner, combine the b.u.t.termilk, sugar, baking soda, and white Karo syrup in the saucepan. Stir the mixture until it's smooth.

Turn the burner on MEDIUM HIGH heat. STIR the candy mixture CONSTANTLY until it boils. (This will take about 10 minutes, so pull up a stool and get comfortable while you stir.) Move the saucepan to a cold burner, but don't turn off the hot burner. You'll be getting right back to it.

Drop the b.u.t.ter into the candy mixture and stir it in. (This could sputter a bit, so be careful.) Slide the saucepan back on the hot burner and watch it cook. STIRRING IS NOT NECESSARY FROM THIS POINT ON. Just give it a little mix when you feel like it. Pull up your stool again and relax. Enjoy a cup of Swedish Plasma coffee (strong black coffee) and one of those yummy cookies you baked last night while you wait for the candy thermometer to come up to the 240 degree F. mark.

When your thermometer reaches 240 degrees F., give the pan a final stir, turn off the burner, and take your candy from the heat. Let it cool on a wire rack or a cold burner until it returns to almost room temperature. Then stir it with a wooden spoon until it looks creamy.

Lay out sheets of wax paper. Drop the Brown Sugar Drops by spoonfuls onto the paper. Don't worry if your "drops" aren't of uniform size. Once your guests taste them, they'll be hunting for the larger pieces.

Hannah's 2nd Note: If the time gets away from you and your candy hardens too much in the pan, you can stick it back on the burner over very LOW heat and stir it constantly until it's the proper creamy texture again.

Lisa's Note: This candy reminds me of the kind that's shaped like maple leaves. Dad used to bring it back from Vermont when he went back to visit Uncle Fritz. I loved that candy. Just for fun, I tried adding a teaspoon of maple extract right after I added the b.u.t.ter, and it was really good that way!

Yield: 3 dozen pieces of delicious candy.

CHOCOLATE PECAN ROLL.

Hannah's 1st Note: You don't need a candy thermometer to make this candy.

8-ounce package dried apricots 64 (or pineapple, or cherries,

or whatever)

1 and cups roughly chopped pecans (measure AFTER

chopping)

2 one-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate (I used

Baker's)

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated

milk)

2 and cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon b.u.t.ter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Hannah's 2nd Note: You don't absolutely positively have to use unsweetened chocolate squares. If you don't have them on hand, just use three cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of 2 and cups and it'll work out just fine.

Chop the dried fruit into pea-sized pieces. Then chop the pecans and measure out one and a half cups. (This is easy to do if you have a food processor, but a knife and chopping board will work also.) Chop the squares of unsweetened chocolate into chip-sized pieces. (They'll melt faster that way.) Empty the can of sweetened condensed milk into a 2-quart saucepan. Add the unsweetened chocolate pieces and the semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Stir the mixture over LOW heat until the chocolate has melted. Give a final stir and take the pan from the heat.

Mix in the b.u.t.ter, flavor extract, salt, and the dried fruit. (Don't add the nuts yet they're for later when you make the rolls.) Put the saucepan in the refrigerator and chill the candy for 30 to 40 minutes.

Take the pan out of the refrigerator and divide the candy in half. Place each half on a two-foot-long piece of wax paper.

Shape each half into a roll that's approximately a foot and a half long and about 1 and inches thick.

Roll the candy logs in the chopped nuts, coating them as evenly as you can. Press the nuts in slightly so they'll stick to the outside of the roll.

Roll the finished logs in clean wax paper, twist the ends closed, and place them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to harden.

Cut the candy rolls into half-inch slices with a sharp knife.

Yield: Makes about 48 slices of delicious candy.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES.

6 Tablespoons chilled b.u.t.ter ( stick, 3 ounces)

12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used

Ghirardelli)

cup firmly packed powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

6 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon rum, brandy, flavored brandy, or vanilla extract

Put an inch or so of water in the bottom half of a double boiler and heat it to a gentle boil. Cut the b.u.t.ter in chunks and place them in the top half of the double boiler. Add the chips and then the powdered sugar and set the top half over the bottom half. Put on the cover and let everything melt while you...

Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl with a whisk. Whisk until they're thoroughly combined, but stop before they get fluffy or lighter in color.

Stir the chocolate until it's completely melted. It will be thick, almost like fudge. Remove the top half of the double boiler and set it on a cold burner.

Stir several spoonfuls of beaten egg yolk into the chocolate mixture. When that's incorporated, stir in several more spoonfuls. Keep adding egg yolk in small amounts, stirring constantly, until all the egg yolks have been incorporated and the chocolate mixture is smooth and glossy.

Stir in the rum, brandy, or vanilla. Put the lid back on the top of the double boiler and refrigerate the chocolate mixture for 3 hours.

TO DECORATE TRUFFLES:.

finely chopped nuts

powdered (confectioner's) sugar

chocolate sprinkles

shaved chocolate

cocoa powder