Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Bonbons

Well, folks... I'm in trouble.

I've discovered a new hobby, and lately it's about all I want to do. Unfortunately it's expensive (well, not too expensive, but it does require money), time-consuming and fattening. What is it? It's creating these:


These are bonbons that I made a couple weeks ago. They are amazing. Inside is marshmallow fudge (that tastes like it has a hint of caramel). To borrow a quote from a friend, “It's like heaven inside my mouth.”

Of course they're also so full of calories that if I keep making and eating them I'll balloon up 50 pounds in no time. But maybe I'll make some at Christmas and give them all away.

So now that the great bonbon experiment was so successful, I want to try some other things too. In particular I want to see if I can make nougat, caramel and peppermint patties. I might be worried about finding people to give the finished products away to, but I know a whole bunch of teens who would be happy to take them.

Really, the biggest problem is that making candy and chocolates takes all day to accomplish. If I keep heading down that path I'll be in danger of never getting any writing done.

But hey, if the writing thing doesn't work out, at least I know I have a back-up plan now. Couldn't you see me as a chocolatier?

5 comments:

  1. Marshmallow fudge, are you KIDDING ME?

    Recipe, pleeeeeeeeease! Now! I care not for my waistline!

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  2. Mmm, how yum!! They're so pretty you could give them as gifts for X-mas. Just buy some tins or boxes for them, et voila! Your Christmas shopping is done! ;D

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  3. Amie:
    I got the recipe here: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Delicious-Cooking-Ron-Kalenuik/dp/0969668325

    Ingredients:
    2 cups/500 ml granulated sugar
    2 cups/500 ml cream
    8 oz/225 g semi-sweet chocolate (melted)
    1/4 cup/60 ml butter
    1 tsp/5 ml vanilla
    1 cup/250 ml marshmallows
    2 oz/60 g white chocolate

    Directions:
    Blend the sugar, cream, 5 oz (120 g) chocolate, butter and vanilla in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook to a soft ball stage (238 degrees F or 114 degrees C). Melt the marshmallows in a double boiler and blend into the fudge.

    Pour mixture onto a greased cookie sheet. As mixture cools, break walnut size pieces off and roll to form smooth balls. Place balls back on the cookie sheet and allow to cool. Dip into the remaining chocolate, drizzle with white chocolate.

    My own changes:
    For one thing I tripled the recipe since I had to make a lot of them. Also, I didn't really know what I was doing, so I'm pretty sure I cooked it past the soft ball stage. That's probably why it tasted a little like it had caramel in it. (I'll have to try again to see how it changes doing it the "right" way.) I found that the remaining chocolate for dipping wasn't nearly enough. I used both the leftover semi-sweet chocolate and a whole bunch of white chocolate and still only dipped about half of them.

    *

    Kendra:
    Yes, I think that will be my plan actually :) Maybe try a few different recipes and make "assortments" of candy to give away.

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  4. Oh, I'm glad you don't live too close to me. Otherwise I'd get some of these and have to eat them.

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