Candied Pecans

Part of the Treat Box series, here is another element of what I sent some friends for Christmas.  They sent me to Martha rehab. Thanks guys!

Ahh candied pecans.  My favorite part of the treat boxes, I pulled you out of your frosty resting place to fill up more cellophane bags before shipping off to the far parts of the globe.  And also because I was running around like a mad woman to get to the post office before it closed, and you were already made.  Thanks pecans.

These pecans were born from Nic's desire for the guests of her wedding to have something to nibble on while she and Mr. J skipped down the aisle. Just like popcorn, only more sophisticated and lower volume chewing. In the long, long list of wedding planning these pecans were on quite low on the totem pole. So two days before said nuptials, my mom and Mr. J's mom whipped these out while I fought with my poor sewing skills over making boutineers.  Yes Nic had throughly lost her mind at this point, telling me that I needed to sew slower to create round curves in the leaves.  She was also AT WORK  mind you, a world away for the insane aslyum that became my house in the days before

But as MOH (maid of honor) and her sister dedicated to ensuring they have a perfect day, I did my best.  And went to a florist.  Like a sane person.  Then two days later, we all had the most perfect day welcoming the next step of two lives that are very important to me.  And I got a third ingredient in treat boxes.

Score.

Candied Pecans

1  egg white
4  cups  pecan halves (about 1 lb.)
1/3  cup  granulated sugar
1/3  cup  firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
1/4  teaspoon  cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk egg white until foamy; add sugar and spices, and whisk until evenly distributed.
3. Add pecans and stir gently until pecans are evenly coated. Spread pecans in a single layer in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined cookies sheet.
4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until pecans are toasted and dry, stirring once after 10 minutes. 


Store pecans in a zip-top plastic freezer bag at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 weeks/forever.

Marshmallows

Part of the Treat Box series, here is another element of what I sent some friends for Christmas.  They sent me to Martha rehab. Thanks guys!

Part two consisted of marshmallows.  Marshmallows belong in two places- hot chocolate and smores. Sweet potatoes, back away from my pillowy white treats, you belong with spices and garlic. Brownies? Nah. Rocky road ice cream? Well alright, you got me there.
When I first told people I was planning on making them, they had one of two reactions.
1.  You can do that? Really? Why would you want to?  That's lame.
2.  Wow that's so cool!
For you number 1ers, beat it. Because I can, and doing so has brought me to a Zen like level in my cooking.
Thanks mom for number 2!
Going back to all the haters and Zen, this project didn't really turn out the way I expected.  Though I did have a candy thermometer, which you definitely need, they just fell flat. They weren't as puffy and huge as all the other pictures promised and were not that tasty. They tasted more like frosting.  I think that is because I didn't have a clear measurement for vanilla extract, and I put it in with the gelatin and water. They also didn't triple in volume while beating the ever-loving shit out it it.


But don't let that stop you, with a few changes and perserverance you too can have fluffy, sugary white confections that have the best melting qualities I've ever seen.
Warning: huge mess in the forecast.  Powdered Sugar + Cornstarch=

Marshmallows

Makes a 13"x9" pan

I wrote in the changes I would have made, in the hopes it will work better for you.  I assume with a heavy duty stand mixer the beating will be easier.  Also incorporating the vanilla with the sugar will hopefully alleviate the weird clumpy gelatin problem I had.  Good luck and let me know how it goes!

4 gelatin envelopes

3⁄4 cup water

1 Tbs vanilla extract (I found this to be way overpowering, use less)

3 cups sugar

3⁄4 cup water

1 1⁄4 cups light corn syrup

1⁄2  tsp salt

Extra powered sugar and cornstarch, equal parts for dusting

You'll need a candy thermometer or instant read thermometer

1. Spray a 13"x 9" pan heavily with cooking spray, then throughly coat with powered sugar/cornstarch.

2. In a stand mixer bowl or bowl to use with a hand mixer, pour in the water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top to let it soften.

3. Add sugar, 3/4 cup of water, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan, stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.

4. Once boiling, stop stirring and let the temperature reach between 234 and 240 degrees (soft ball stage).

5. When at temperature, remove from heat and add vanilla.  Turn the mixer on low, and with it running slowly pour the sugar mixture down the sides of the bowl. When all is added, bring the mixer up to high speed.

6. Whip the mixture until it triples in volume, and is very fluffy and stiff.  Some recipes say between 8-10 minutes, it took me closer to 12-13 minutes.

7. Pour into prepared pan.  Don't touch it in the process with out everything being oiled down.  With an oiled spatula, smooth out the top.

8. Let sit for 10-12 hours at room temperature to set.

9. Sift some more powered sugar/cornstarch on top.  Turn out onto a cutting board, trim off any excess.

10. Use a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut into small squares and immediately roll the sides in more powered sugar/cornstarch.

Store in at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks or until stale.

Treat Boxes with Peppermint Bark

Following in the vein of not-good-with-gifts, and tacking on my unemployed status, Christmas presents will be mostly edibles. For my far flung friends, which range from Alaska to Austin to Germany, I made Christmas treat boxes. I wanted a balance of interesting things that would satisfy a range of tastes, and after extensive thought four things made the cut.

The first was peppermint bark.

A layer of dark chocolate, a layer of Callebaut white chocolate with peppermint extract and topped with crushed candy canes. Also known as awesome.

The next were a spice cookie with lots of ginger, cinnamon, a pinch of this and that, and black pepper. Since my pepper grinder is pretty terrible, there are large bits of pepper that sneak up and bite your tongue off. It makes for an exciting cookie adventure mixed with a bit of pain. Just like the holidays right?

Third was some candied pecans.  I didn't actually put that much work into these, but don't tell the recipients ok?  They were left over from Nic's wedding, hanging around in my freezer like the annoying friend who can't catch the hint.  Originally they were wedding favors placed at the ceremony for people to munch on while watching the nuptials. Instead of popcorn.  Those damn pecans were the burden my mother, Nic's mother-in-law and I undertook two days before in the frantic push to finish all the projects. We made a grand total of seven pounds, all coated in egg white and spices, oven toasted and laid to rest in cute kraft paper bags. Then I left them at home during another mad rush to get to the ceremony and had my neighbor drive them over.  At least they are now out of my life.

After snappy, chewy and crunchy the final installment was...melty? Marshmallows!  That's right, I made marshmallows. From scratch.  And you can too! Seriously, all you do is mix some water and gelatin, melt some sugar and other forms of sugar, whip until you think the hand mixer is going to throw up its beaters in defeat, and pour into a final resting place.  Coated with cornstarch that gives me textural issues, these melted into hot chocolate and resembled Fluff most remarkably.

Here are the treat recipes that went in the boxes, slowly doled out one by one.

Peppermint Bark

Candied Pecans

Marshmallows

Peppermint Bark

Makes almost a full sheet pan

1 lb. dark chocolate finely chopped- I used Ghiradelli 60% chips
1 lb. white chocolate finely chopped- truth, the good stuff is worth it. I got Callebaut
12 candy canes- the 99 cent box is perfect
3/4 to 1 tsp. peppermint extract- optional, and to taste

1.  Prepare the pan first.  Layer a half sheet pan or cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  For the fancy folk, a Silpat.
2.  Create a double boiler to melt respecting chocolates.  Place a saucepan with a few inches of water over medium heat, bring to a gentle simmer.  Place dark chocolate in a glass or aluminum bowl, and put over water.  It should not touch the water, or it will scorch the chocolate and you'll lose friends.
3.  Melt the dark chocolate completely, then pour into prepared pan. Smooth chocolate to an even layer that almost reaches the edges.  Place in the refridgerator to cool while preparing the rest.
4.  In a food processor (or bag with rolling pin) blitz the candy canes until mostly chopped.  Mine created a lot of dust, so I scooped out the bigger bits to press on top and mixed the dust with white chocolate.
5.  Melt white chocolate in double broiler, using same process as above.
6.  Once melted, mix in the candy cane dust and peppermint extract if using.
7.  Grab pan from fridge, smooth white chocolate over the top, trying not to swirl the two into mixing.
8.  Press the remaining candy cane bits into the top, and chill again.
9.  Once hardened, break up the bark into any size pieces you feel like. Distribute in pretty cellophane bags, or be a hoarder and keep for yourself.

Store in an airtight container for probably up to 3 weeks. This is a guess, as it lasted nowhere near as long.