Some days I just need to work on a little collage and see where it takes me. Here then is a little piece inspired by the tasty, spicy, hot beverages of the season.
And speaking of tasty treats and flavors of the season, I have a recipe and tutorial to share with you, courtesy of my talented friend Lauren. Making these chocolates is one of Lauren's Christmas traditions. I have personally partaken of these delectable treats, and I can attest that she is doing a true public service by providing this tutorial to you. Woohoo Lauren!
Christmas Chocolates - makes approximately 110-120
from Lauren Darby
Ingredients:
Dough:
3.5 lbs of confectioners sugar
0.5 lb margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
Flavorings/Coloring:
Peppermint extract
Almond extract
Maple extract
1 small jar marachino cherries
1 small bag chopped walnuts
1 small bag slivered almonds
Food coloring: red, green
Roll of wax or parchment paper (wax = better)
Dipping:
1 box unsweetened chocolate
8 oz. milk chocolate
1/2 slab parafin wax
double boiler or saucepan
Pre-Notes:
This is usually a 3 night project. First night - mix, separate, & flavor the dough. Cool over night. Second night - roll dough into balls, place on wax paper. Cool again overnight. 3rd night - dip & decorate chocolates. Cool again before boxing. Store in fridge or cool room. The dough can be divided & flavored and in the fridge for a couple days, but once its rolled into balls, its best to dip the next day, or they will dry out.
First night (takes about 1 hour):
1. Sift all the confectioners sugar into a bowl, or attempt to divide evenly in half and use two bowls, if you don't have a large enough bowl (this can get confusing, trying to divide the other ingrediants in half and result in bad texture, so best to do all in one bowl). Sifting is essential for smooth texture.
2. Add margarine, using hands to begin mixing.
3. Add milk, slowly mixing with hands to avoid spilling confectioners sugar. Note: you will make a mess of the counter and your clothes, so plan accordingly.
4. Continue mixing with hands. It may seem like it will never mix together, but it will. The final dough product in this step should have a smooth, shiny surface that doesn't stick to your hands, but isn't crumbly. In the mixing image, the dough in the bigger balls is too dry - I added more milk later to smooth it out. The image with the dough divided and flavored has the correct texture appearance. If the dough is too sticky, gradually add more sugar until you get it right.
5. Divide the dough into however many flavors you want to make. I usually do 4 flavors:
Peppermint: Peppermint extract, 5 drops of red food coloring
Almond: Almond extract, chopped slivered almonds, 5 drops green food coloring
Cherry: 5-6 diced cherries, small amount of cherry juice (this dough will become the stickiest - you many need to add more sugar)
Maple Walnut: Maple extract, diced chopped walnuts
All of these flavorings are done to taste. Start slowly, but you'll probably use more than you expect. Experiment with other options: hazelnut vanilla is good too!
After dividing the dough up for flavoring, add flavors, nuts, colors and continue to mix with hands. Add more sugar if dough sticks to hands. After tasting and adjusting flavors as necessary, place each ball of dough in a covered container and chill overnight.
Second night (again, 1 hour, unless you have a rolling buddy):
1. Place wax paper on cookie sheets.
2. Take a small amount of dough from the larger ball. Roll into a ball, place on wax paper in rows. Try to make the balls about 1 inch in diameter - it results in more chocolates. However, its easy to slowly make larger and larger balls.
3. Place trays of balls back into fridge, gently cover with saran wrap.
Third night: Dipping and decorating1. Using either a double boiler or a pot on low heat, melt the chocolate and wax together, stiring continuously. It helps to put the wax on the bottom, as that takes the longest to melt.
2. Take one tray of chocolates out of the fridge at a time, and begin to dip! I find that using a toothpick works best. Stick the toothpick in the center of the dough ball, but not too far in, or you'll never get it off.
3. With one swift motion, completely submerge the dough in the chocolate.
4. Remove quickly and hold over pot to allow excess chocolate to drip off.
5. Transfer dipped candy back to wax paper. I find that putting the tray of dough balls on a table in the kitchen, and a fresh tray with wax paper on it near the stove to place the dipped candies works best. Sometimes a slight circular twirl of the toothpick causes the candy to fall off onto the wax paper, if you've stuck the toothpick in too far.
6. The hole left by the toothpick can be covered with a little chocolate on the end of a new toothpick, or by a slight drip from a spoon.
7. Place dipped chocolates back in fridge and allow to cool over night before dividing and boxing up.
Extra decorating tips:
This year, I found that sprinkling a bit of maple sugar on the top of a freshly dipped chocolate added a nice color and texture. The sprinkling must occur as soon as the candy falls off the toothpick, because the chocolate hardens quickly. I also experimented with placing crushed mints on the peppermint balls (as soon as they came off the toothpick) and some white chocolate on the almond balls (after the darker chocolate had hardened, but this was tricky, because the white chocolate started to burn in a saucepan and didn't drip nicely).
Another tip: Sometimes, especially with the cherry candies, the dough is soft and starts to fall off the toothpick either during the dunking stage or during the excess dripping stage. Beware!
