Trick... or treat? For the latest Chow Bella showdown, our writers whipped up a dessert reminiscent of, or incorporating, their favorite Halloween candy. Check back all week for recipes; on Friday our critic Laura Hahnefeld will pick her favorite.
First up: Amy Silverman's DIY Candy Corn
There are two kinds of people in the world:
The people who hate candy corn. And the people who can't live without it.
If you are fall into the latter -- and wait! perhaps even if you are in the former group -- this recipe is for you. It's relatively easy, it's preservative-free (can you imagine the shelf life of candy corn and what makes it that way?!) and it's delicious. It's also an excellent conversation piece at a party.
See also: - Make Your Own Candy Corn-Infused Vodka - Make Your Own Candy Conversation Hearts
The recipe comes from a guest post Cakespy did on Serious Eats a few years back. It's quickly become a classic in my house. Best part: no candy thermometer required.
Ingredients: 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup 1/3 cup salted butter 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1/3 cup powdered milk 1 teaspoon vanilla red and yellow food coloring
Instructions: Combine confectioners' sugar and powdered milk in a bowl; set aside.
Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup and butter over high heat. Bring to a hard boil, then immediately turn heat to low, stirring occasionally for five minutes.
Turn off heat and add vanilla.
Add dry mixture to pot of sugar/syrup/butter. Stir till completely combined. Let cool for 30-60 minutes (til it's cooled enough to knead with your hands; it should still be quite warm or it'll start to get too crumbly to work with).
Divide dough into three balls. Add yellow to one; orange to another; leave the third white.
At this point it will be a lot like Play-Doh. Take smallish balls of each color in equal size and roll into "snakes," lining them up and pushing them together so you're ready to slice them into candy corn (the order is white on top, then orange, then yellow). Cut at an angle, alternating so you have little triangles that incorporate all three colors. Some will have white at the tip; others will have yellow.
And -- ta da! You are done. bag and distribute the ones you haven't already gobbled.
