An Advent Calendar - 3. Door#3 - The Candy Man Can

I think the three authors plotted to confuse us with food and cooking again!

Wouldn't it be funny if only one of them wrote all the stories?

Cole Now I want to make some candy, I am gonna make Knäck for Christmas

I vote Adi. And I think my calorie count just blew up. Thank you!

Waiting for toffee or fudge to be done is alays a guessing game... Even with a thermometer it's so difficult to know. We made fudge several years in a row and always forgot one ingredient (vinegar for some reason). It turned out OK anyway, but it made us laugh like crazy everytime.

Oh and knäck is sooo good!

I'm guessing Adi this time. So hard to tell, but it's fun to try.

This recalls two memories for me. My mother has baked innumerable batches of many varities of Christmas during my lifetime. The most fun was in the 70's when a teenaged me, my younger sister, the young children of mum's best friend and the twin neighbor kids gathered to decorate cutout sugar cookies. By the time we finished there was as mush colored sugar, sprinkles, nonpariels and other things scattered on the floor as made it onto cookies. Each footstep went "crunch". We had a ball.
The other is of making peanut brittle with my maternal grandparents and my mum. Grandma had made the candy for years beginning when mum and her siblings were kids. She spent days making it and sold it by the pound for extra income. Now I am the one that carries on the tradition. I make it to share with friends but mostly for family to stir memories of bygone years ...
To whoever wrote this ... perhaps Cole, since he so happily shares recipes to go with his stories ... it really matters not. I say thank you.

I love this chapter it brought back a lot of the fun things we did as kids with our grandma. She loved having all of her grandkids around during the holidays and making cookies. Thanks fir this memory .. my guess is Valkyrie

These pieces stir up memories : )

I'm not a great candy maker myself, but I do have one toffee-at-the-holidays reminiscence. Years ago, at the company where I worked, we had an associate in Denver who'd send a box of candy to the office every year. "Columbine Toffee" is pretty good stuff, and if you can find it, it's worth getting ahold of.

As for who amongst…you three…would be into candy-making…. I'm going to guess Adi, but I don't really know.

Thanks again, guys.

My dad got all nostalgic about the holidays he'd spent as a kid. One thing they always had at my grandparents' house on New Year's Eve, was cheese fondue. So, we're making cheese fondue on New Year's.

I think whoever wrote this recipe should bake some English Toffee for the reader who has made the correct guess and the recipient(s) of these lovely treats should share them with the rest of us !

On 12/04/2016 03:57 PM, Page Scrawler said:

My dad got all nostalgic about the holidays he'd spent as a kid. One thing they always had at my grandparents' house on New Year's Eve, was cheese fondue. So, we're making cheese fondue on New Year's.

Cole: It’s interesting how we all adopt and create new traditions. Cheese fondue sounds delicious for any special time. Thanks for the lovely review and memory.

On 12/04/2016 08:17 AM, AC Benus said:

These pieces stir up memories : )

 

I'm not a great candy maker myself, but I do have one toffee-at-the-holidays reminiscence. Years ago, at the company where I worked, we had an associate in Denver who'd send a box of candy to the office every year. "Columbine Toffee" is pretty good stuff, and if you can find it, it's worth getting ahold of.

 

As for who amongst…you three…would be into candy-making…. I'm going to guess Adi, but I don't really know.

 

Thanks again, guys.

Cole: I’ll have to check out Columbine Toffee, it sounds good. I wanted to make sure something chocolate and sweet ended up on the calendar. I recall finding bits of candy and so they need to be here. Thanks for the wonderful comments.

On 12/04/2016 06:13 AM, rickproehl said:

I love this chapter it brought back a lot of the fun things we did as kids with our grandma. She loved having all of her grandkids around during the holidays and making cookies. Thanks fir this memory .. my guess is Valkyrie

Cole: Fond memories of my grandmothers drove this vignette and recipe. We always had an enormous platter of cookies and candies, homemade with love. After all, that’s part of what makes the holiday so sweet, tastes from the past. Thanks for such a thoughtful review!

On 12/04/2016 05:53 AM, dughlas said:

This recalls two memories for me. My mother has baked innumerable batches of many varities of Christmas during my lifetime. The most fun was in the 70's when a teenaged me, my younger sister, the young children of mum's best friend and the twin neighbor kids gathered to decorate cutout sugar cookies. By the time we finished there was as mush colored sugar, sprinkles, nonpariels and other things scattered on the floor as made it onto cookies. Each footstep went "crunch". We had a ball.

The other is of making peanut brittle with my maternal grandparents and my mum. Grandma had made the candy for years beginning when mum and her siblings were kids. She spent days making it and sold it by the pound for extra income. Now I am the one that carries on the tradition. I make it to share with friends but mostly for family to stir memories of bygone years ...

To whoever wrote this ... perhaps Cole, since he so happily shares recipes to go with his stories ... it really matters not. I say thank you.

Cole: Perhaps the best thing this Advent calendar has done so far is bring up happy memories of past holidays. Your remembrance of crunchy decorations underfoot and making candy with your mum and grandmother are so touching. Thank you for sharing these with the rest of us. We’ve done our job well and lots more to come.

On 12/04/2016 04:05 AM, Reader1810 said:

If there's a recipe involved, it has to be Cole's story.

Decoratong parties sound like fun and I can see Cole doing this too. I think....

 

Cole: Decorating parties were fun. We’d have a little Christmas cheer as well. A glass of wine or beer makes decorating cookies even more creative, or should I say we thought so. Thanks for the review, but remember, Cole’s not the only one with recipes.

On 12/04/2016 03:09 AM, Puppilull said:

Waiting for toffee or fudge to be done is alays a guessing game... Even with a thermometer it's so difficult to know. We made fudge several years in a row and always forgot one ingredient (vinegar for some reason). It turned out OK anyway, but it made us laugh like crazy everytime.

 

Oh and knäck is sooo good!

 

I'm guessing Adi this time. So hard to tell, but it's fun to try.

Cole: My fudge recipe is very simple, chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk with a touch of vanilla. However, every year in addition to the toffee, I make caramel corn with cashews. It’s salty sweet, caramelly and delicious. Not to mention calorie free!!!! The last comment might be a lie. Thanks for the wonderful review!!!

On 12/04/2016 02:41 AM, Parker Owens said:

I vote Adi. And I think my calorie count just blew up. Thank you!

Cole: We decided all our recipes would be calories free so don’t worry. If you pretend there aren’t any calories, it doesn’t count, right? Thanks for the shout out!!! You’re sweet too!!

On 12/03/2016 07:02 PM, Slytherin said:

Cole Now I want to make some candy, I am gonna make Knäck for Christmas

Cole: You had me scrabbling to find out what Knack is. OMG, my paternal grandmother made this with molasses and cocoa powder and would roll the caramels in the almonds. She never had a name for it though. This is awesome!!! Thanks for the suggestion and I’ll have to make some too!! Thanks for the lovely review and idea!!!

On 12/03/2016 06:30 PM, droughtquake said:

I think the three authors plotted to confuse us with food and cooking again!

 

Wouldn't it be funny if only one of them wrote all the stories?

Cole: I swear the three of us each wrote eight pieces for the calendar. It’s not just one of us tricking you. I’m glad you’re enjoying our little treat and the surprises as well!!!

Never had English toffee, maybe it's high-time that I did.
Thanks for the memory and recipe!

I make pounds of my mums fudge every year ... it's a tradition. I've made peppermint patties and marzipan. Candied fruit. Oh yeah, and marshmallows. ..they are wonderful. I'm hoping my oldest nephew will want to learn so he can carry on in my place.

Thanks for sharing. ..

On 12/10/2016 08:55 PM, hohochan657 said:

I think whoever wrote this recipe should bake some English Toffee for the reader who has made the correct guess and the recipient(s) of these lovely treats should share them with the rest of us !

Cole: I would love to make some toffee and send it to the good guessers!!! This memory was special to me because I really felt I figure out something important. Thanks!

On 12/11/2016 01:59 PM, Drew Espinosa said:

Never had English toffee, maybe it's high-time that I did.

Thanks for the memory and recipe!

Cole: I would love to make some toffee and send it to the good guessers!!! This memory was special to me because I really felt I figure out something important. Thanks!

On 12/12/2016 03:05 PM, Mikiesboy said:

I make pounds of my mums fudge every year ... it's a tradition. I've made peppermint patties and marzipan. Candied fruit. Oh yeah, and marshmallows. ..they are wonderful. I'm hoping my oldest nephew will want to learn so he can carry on in my place.

 

Thanks for sharing. ..

Cole: I made homemade marshmallows once and they are so delicious. They have a different texture that’s more candy-like and more pleasing I think that ordinary ones from the store. You can flavor them in different ways as well. Thanks for reviewing and sharing your own candymaking history!!!