Candies

Treacle Toffee
             Two Treacle Toffee Recipes - Astrid Bear
             Treacle Toffee - Adam Quinan
             Bonfire Toffee For Guy Fawkes Day (November 5)
             (For more on Treacle and Molasses, see Jams, Jellies, Butters, and Syrups.)
Candied Ginger - Jan Garvin
Candied Pecans - Rowen
Caramel(s)
             Marjorie's Caramels
             Susan Wenger's Caramel
Easy Fudge - Alice Gomez
Kettle Corn
Tablet
             Scots Tablet - Jean A.
             Two Recipes for Tablet - Susan Collicot
             Tablet - Plantinum Dee
Truffles
             Lois
             Lee Ann Roberts
             David Scheidt
             John Gosden

Treacle Toffee
Two Treacle Toffee Recipes - Astrid Bear
Doug wanted to know what black treacle is, and I'll no doubt be corrected by English lissuns when I say it's something like dark molasses. Anyway, I can't find a recipe titled treacle toffee, but "Festivals, etc." has this:

Honey Toffee
Boil 10 oz butter and 4 oz of pure honey (or I think you could substitute treacle/molasses) with 1/4 pint water. Boil to 114-118C (238-245F, or soft ball). Pour into a greased tin, then cut the toffee into small squares before it sets. Later, wrap individually in greaseproof or cellophane paper.

And The Narnia Cookbook has:
Toffee
1 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. dark corn syrup (here's where you'd substitute treacle)
8 T melted butter
1 c. evaporated milk
1 t. vanilla
Butter a 9" square pan. In a 5-6 qt. saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, butter, and milk. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, lowering heat if the mixture starts to boil. Cook until the temperature reaches 330F (hard crack is 310F, this seems very hot!). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour into the pan. Cool for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and wrap each piece in parchment paper.

Treacle Toffee - Adam Quinan
There is a treacle toffee recipe at Treacle Toffee Recipe. But make sure you use only the authentic Mined Treacle, not any sugar substitutes or I cannot answer for the success of the recipe. Surely you know the only true treacle is mined from shallow veins in the English countryside.

Treacle Toffee
Makes about 72 pieces
1 lb (450g) golden demerara sugar
5fl oz (150ml) water
30z (75g) butter
1/4 teasp. cream of tartar
4 0z (100g) black treacle
4oz (100g) golden syrup
Yes, black treacle is molasses.
Sugar cane "treacle" is a poor substitute that some benighted people use because of its cheapness. You get what you pay for.

Bonfire Toffee For Guy Fawkes Day (November 5)
Traditionally eaten on November 5th, (Bonfire Night), in the north of England.

Bonfire Toffee
1 lb sugar, preferably Demerara
1/3 pint water
1 1/4 ounces butter
2 level tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 Put all the ingredients into a strong saucepan and stir over a steady heat until the sugar has dissolved.
2 Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture reaches the 'hard crack' stage, 290 degrees F. To test for the hard crack stage drop about half a teaspoon of the mixture into a cup of cold water, if it is hard then it is done, if still soft and chewy cook for a little longer and test again.
3 Pour into oiled or buttered tin and either allow to set as a slab or mark in squared as toffee becomes partially set. Break when completely set.
Variations:
1. Use black treacle instead of golden syrup
2 Add peanuts or chopped mixed nuts.

Candied Ginger - Jan Garvin
'Tain't exactly Irish, but I made a fresh recipe of ginger scones this week. The difference between these and all that have gone before them is that I also made the candied ginger that went into them. It really did make them even better.
The ginger is extremely easy, although a bit time consuming. Acquire a half pound or so of fresh ginger, peel if skin is tough, and cut it into roughly 1/2" pieces. Cover it with water and simmer it until it is translucent. Add about a cup of sugar, and cook it down until nearly all the water has boiled off, I put it into a one quart saucepan on top of the stove and let it sit just below a simmer for several hours. By cooking it down that slowly, it required next to no attention until the last few minutes. Roll in granulated sugar, and let dry. That's it.
One reason this week's recipe was even better is that the left over sugar that didn't stick to the ginger itself went directly into the scones.

Candied Pecans - Rowen
1 lb. pecans
1 egg white, beaten with the water till frothy but not too stiff
1 tsp. cold water
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Add the pecans to the egg white, stir to coat, then add the sugar mixture and stir. Spread in a buttered jellyroll pan. Bake at 225 for 1 hr., stirring every 15 min.

Kettle Corn
1/2 cup popcorn
3 Tbsp white sugar
Oil for popping
Heat oil in medium saucepan until hot. Add pop corn and sprinkle all of the sugar over it. Cover and shake continuously until popped.

Caramel
Marjorie's Caramels
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups nuts, optional
Melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Add rest of ingredients, except nuts. Stir constantly and cook to 240 degrees. Remove from heat and add nuts. Pour out into a lightly greased pan. Let cool slightly, and cut into squares. Let cool completely before removing from pan.

Susan Wenger's Caramel
I bet you'll like this recipe for caramel.
Take a can of Bordens sweetened condensed milk. Take off the label - the one that says don't ever boil this can. Boil the can.
Boil the can for at least three hours, adding water to the pot as necessary to keep the can covered.
Let it cool, open the can, stick in your fingers (half of your fingers if you're like Nelson), and eat the stuff. Put it on ice cream, put it on cake, spread it on cookies. Put the rest in the refrigerator, and eat it cold the next day, or reheat as needed.
If you're ambitious, take teaspoonful-sized blobs out of the can and roll them in cocoa, or coconut, or ground nuts. Chill these on a flat plate or pan until they harden.
Do NOT try this with chocolate-flavored sweetened condensed milk - it looks like it should work, but it doesn't taste right.

Easy Fudge - Alice Gomez
1 can Borden's Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14-oz, I think - it comes in only one size
3 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (kind, amount, and size negotiable)
Heat Borden's Eagle Brand and chocolate chips in heavy pan until chips melt, stirring often. You could probably do this in a microwave, but I didn't.
When chips are melted, stir in vanilla and nuts.
Pour into a 9X9-inch or 8X8-inch pan and let cool in a cold garage or refrigerator. It's recommended that the pan be lined with wax paper or aluminum foil that has been buttered. I did the latter, then when it was time to cut the fudge, I took the whole thing out with the aluminum foil and it was very easy to cut.

Tablet
Scots Tablet - Jean A.
My Scottish father-in-law used to make tablet on occasion. It is a confection which comes out looking like a thin fudge, but which is much harder and is broken into pieces like American brittle. It is a creamy white in color and is mainly sugar, of course. I am unclear about what else goes into it, but being Scottish, I suspect that it contains butter, and probably vanilla for flavoring.

Two Recipes for Tablet - Susan Collicot
Here's a couple recipes I use in making tablet:
Tablet - this one from a friend
This can be flavoured, according to taste, with cinnamon, clove, ginger,
lemon, orange, peppermint, vanilla or nuts.
1/2 lb (1 cup) butter or margarine,
1 pint (2 cups) water
4 lbs extra fine sugar
1 lb. tin sweetened, condensed milk such as Nestle's
Put the butter and water into a deep pan and melt on a low heat.
When melted, add the sugar and bring to a boil, stirring slowly all the time.
When boiling, add the condensed milk and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking.
Take off the heat and add the flavouring of your choice, then beat very well for five minutes.
Pour into a greased pan and score into squares or oblongs about the size of dominos, or into little bars about 5 inches long and 1-1/2 inches wide.
Wrap each bar in waxed paper when cold.
Makes about 4 lbs.
Note: Once when I made this, I couldn't get it to harden, so in desperation I put it back in the pan and carefully boiled more of the liquid out of it, whereupon it set perfectly. I mention this, because I had first called a friend who writes cook books and who told me the runny tablet couldn't be saved, but I couldn't bear to waste the delicious ingredients. She's promised me a mention in her next candy book in the Hints and Tips section!

This one from the internet:
2lb bag (probably 1Kg now!) granulated sugar
Large can Nestles Condensed milk
Milk (see below)
1.5 oz butter
vanilla essence
Put all the ingredients (except essence) into a large heavy saucepan. To get the right qty of milk, refill the can which contained the condensed milk. Bring to boil, stirring with a wooden spoon, to ensure the sugar is dissolved before the mixture boils.
Now the tricky bit. Boil until ready. If you have a sugar thermometer (I do not) you are aiming I think for about 220 F. But you can use the cold water method. Drop a small amount of mixture into a cup of cold water and wait until it sets. It's advisable to remove the pan from the heat when testing so as not to overcook. When the mixture in the cup will form a soft ball when moulded with your fingers - and it keeps its shape - the tablet is ready. The amount of cooking is really a matter of personal taste. I like mine quite soft. If you like it harder , cook it a bit longer. As a guide, it will take 15 -20 mins after coming to boil. When it's ready, remove mixture from heat, and beat with a wooden spoon until you feel the mixture becoming gritty. At this point add the essence, and tip into a buttered tray. Cut into pieces before cold. If it does not set, or it's too soft, you can re-boil it.

Tablet - Plantinum Dee
2 lbs Sugar
2 tlbs Corn Syrup
small tin condensed milk (sweetened)
2 ozs margarine
3 ozs water
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Place all in pan. Melt slowly. Stir till boiling.
Boil about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and beat well and pour into greased tin.
Mark when cool; cut when cold. Wrap in waxed paper.

Truffles
Lois
Here's an easy recipe for 3-ingredient Truffles, though it's more labor intensive:
Melt and mix together(you know how)
10 oz chocolate chips (about 1 and 3/4 cups)
1 stick butter (1/4 pound)
Add in 1/3 cup heavy cream (whipping type cream)
Cool until it's of a consistency to work with and shape, may need a bit of fridge time, not too much.
Then, roll into balls of the size you want, using hands or teaspoons: marble-size or ovals, or walnut size, whatever.
Roll in cocoa. Serve.
I suppose you could add a bit of flavoring, but it's not necessary. You could also use mint-chocolate chips, Nestle used to make them.

Lee Ann Roberts
Which reminded me that I should post this recipe for you all. Which I should make some as well:
Chocolate Chile Truffles
1/3 c. heavy cream
1 T New Mexico chile powder (I use about 1 t., depending on how spicy the chile is)
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (chocolate chips work well)
Cayenne powder (optional)
About 1 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa
2 t. powdered sugar (optional - I find just cocoa powder a bit much, so I use this)
Combine cream and chile in a pan. Stir over low heat until chile is blended and cream is bubbly. Add chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and blends with cream. Taste; if it's not spicy enough, add cayenne to taste.
Pour into a small bowl, cover, and chill until firm enough to keep its shape (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).
Place cocoa powder in a bowl and add powdered sugar; stir to mix. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture and quickly press and roll them into rough 1-inch balls. Roll in cocoa powder to coat. Place truffles slightly apart on a plate, cover and chill until firm. Makes about 18.

David Scheidt
Heh. When I make truffles, I make large quantities -- 100 or so in a batch, many batches (I did about 1000 a couple weeks ago.) -- and get heartily sick of them. I form them by piping the ganache onto sheet pans, which saves much of the rolling them out, but rolling them in tempered chocolate (twice, ick) is a pain. I wear gloves, and don't even think about licking my fingers before pulling the gloves off and throwing them away.
Two thin hand coated layers of chocolate are remarkably thin, and being fully encased in chocolate, they enhance the life of the centers.
It's a matter of scale; it's a lot of work to get set up, but not a lot of extra work to make a bunch more. I normally work with 500 grams of chocolate, and about 250 g of cream, which makes about 75 truffles, and fills two half-sheets. It takes about 20 minutes work (though quite a bit of clock time) to get the ganache to the state where it's ready to pipe, about 10 minutes to fill the bags, pipe it out. Then it sits overnight. It takes about 30 or 40 minutes to properly temper the chocolate, about 25 to coat them all. Then they sit for a while -- long enough for the chocolate used for coating to harden, a couple hours, and get another coat. That takes about 35 minutes to melt and temper the chocolate, 25 minutes to coat them. If I've got two batches ready at once, the first ones coated are ready for their second coat by the time I finish the first coat on everything. Assuming I can keep the coating chocolate fluid enough to work with (which is tricky without thermostatically controlled machines -- a heat gun helps), I can two batches all at once, and in less time in the kitchen!

John Gosden
Just made a LARGE batch of these (though getting the consistency right for moulding into balls is not easy in these temperatures). I used chilli flakes, and that seemed to work out fine, and used bitter chocolate plus icing (powdered) sugar.
Now wait to see how long it takes my family to get through them before I am asked for a second batch!