My kitchen has turned into a mini chocolate factory. It's candy making time! For the past few days, I've been filling these boxes with all sorts of mouthwatering candies to give to my friends and family. Yes, it's been a little crazy in the kitchen and I'm sure my lack of sleep has contributed to my loopy mental state, but I think it's all worth the effort in the end. I just couldn't think of anything more special to give to my loved ones than these homemade candies.
If you're thinking of making homemade treats for the holidays, here are some that you might like to try. They range from elegant truffles to quick-and-easy treats and allergen-friendly candies. You can make them a few days in advance and store them in airtight containers in the fridge. If you're planning to ship them, I recommend overnight or 2-3 days shipping so they'll still be fresh when they arrive at their destination. And if you're wondering where I bought the boxes and satin ribbon, I got them from
Paper Mart . I've always ordered my boxes in bulk because I use them throughout the year but especially during the holidays.
Happy Holidays Everyone and Happy Candy Making! Champagne Truffles are an all-time favorite with my friends and family. Everyone loves them and I think they're the perfect chocolates to ring in the new year.
These
El Diablo Chocolate Truffles have ground cayenne pepper in the filling and generously sprinkled with more cayenne pepper outside. If you like fiery foods, these truffles will be perfect for you.
Cobblestone Fudge are my version of the chocolate cobblestones we made back in pastry school. They're traditionally topped with dried fruits and nuts. To save time, I usually mix in the fruits and nuts in to the fudge, let them set in a baking pan then cut them into squares or portion them out straight into the candy paper liners. For a nut-free alternative, I replace the pistachios and almonds with roasted sunflower seeds and roasted pumpkin seeds (also called "pepitas").
Although these
Egg-free Coconut Macaroons are technically a cookie, they're so sweet and chewy that they taste like a candy. If you want, you can even drizzle or dip them in melted chocolate. For a tropical and exotic flavor, you can try my
Jackfruit Coconut Macaroons. 
These
Sunbutter Cookie Candy were inspired by Paula Deen's recipe for Georgia Cookie Candy. I replaced the peanut butter with Sunbutter spread and added roasted sunflower seeds for extra crunch and texture. For an allergen-free chocolate, you can use Enjoy Life brand or Chocolate Dream if you're not allergic to soy.
You can turn these
Bird's Nest Cookies into festive holiday candies by leaving out the egg-shaped candies and topping them with colorful sprinkles, red and green candies or dried fruit.
I melted some allergen-free chocolate chips and Sunbutter spread then tossed in some Chex cereal and powdered sugar to make these
Sunbutter Muddy Buddies. You can tuck these inside a cellophane bag to give away as a gift or serve them at your holiday party.
Another fun melt-and-mix candy is
White Trash. There's lots of recipes out there and different ways to make them. I just melted a 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of shortening in the microwave then mixed in 1 cup Rice Chex, 1 cup pretzels and 1/2 cup dried cranberries.
Try the shortcut version of these
Salted Caramels. By replacing the light cream with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, it shortened the cooking time to 15-20 minutes!
Would you believe that the secret ingredient to these
Chocolate Orange Truffles is Tang? Yes, I used a powdered drink to flavor these truffles and they taste just like those chocolate oranges you have to
whack to open.
If the El Diablo is too much cayenne for your taste, try these
Mexican Hot Chocolate Truffles . They have just enough cayenne to perk up your taste buds and I also added some ground cinnamon and almond extract.
I made these
Red Wine Truffles with Dried Cherries in honor of my grandmother Dolores. She loves red wine and chocolate so I combined them into a truffle and topped them with chopped dried cherries.
I haven't posted the recipe for these
Black Coffee Truffles yet but if you follow the
El Diablo Truffle recipe, just replace the 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper with 4 tablespoons Kahlua coffee liqueur and then sprinkle with ground coffee instead of ground cayenne pepper.
I was scrambling for something to make for my kids' classmates last week and decided to make
Candy Cane Marshmallows. All you need to do is to melt a 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of shortening in the microwave. Then, completely cover the marshmallows in the melted chocolate before coating them with crushed candy canes (1 package).
You can also try these
S'mores Marshmallows. Simply follow the instructions above but replace the crushed candy canes with crushed graham crackers. If you want you can package these with the candy cane marshmallows for the kids :-)
Please note: I am not a paid endorser nor did I accept any freebies of the brands or products mentioned in this post. I just love them and wanted to share them with you :-)
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