HOW BETTINA MADE CANDY "I RAN over this morning," said Alice to Bettina, "to get your candy recipes. That was such delicious Christmas candy that you gave Harry! Wasn't it a great deal of work to make so much at a time? Perhaps I can't manage it, but I'd like to make a box of it for Harry's brother; it will be his birthday in a few days." "It is very easy to make candy for Christmas boxes," said Bettina. "That is, it is no harder to make a large quantity than to fill one box. Bob helped me one evening, and we made four kinds at once. I had already stuffed some dates and made some candied orange peel, so you see when the candy was made, it was fun to fill the boxes with a variety of things. I always save boxes throughout the year for Christmas candy, and then I fill them all at once. Of course, until this year I didn't have Bob to help me; he enjoys it, you know, and two people can make it so much more quickly than one." "Next year," said Alice, "I think I shall make Christmas candy—a quantity of it, so that I can put a box of it in every family box that I send. Meanwhile, I'll practise and experiment, and perhaps I can improve on the good old recipes, or think of clever ways of arranging and wrapping. Now will you let me write down some of your best recipes? I'll try them for Harry's brother." The candies that Bettina made were: BETTINA'S RECIPES (All measurements are level) Chocolate Fudge (One pound) 2 C-sugar 1 C-sugar, "C" ¼ t-cream of tartar 1 T-butter 2 squares or two ounces of chocolate 1 C-milk 1 t-vanilla Mix the ingredients in order named, and cook until a soft ball is formed when a little of the candy is dropped in a glass of cold water. Remove from the fire and allow to cool. Do not stir while cooling. When cool, beat until creamy, add vanilla and pour into a well-buttered pan. Make white fudge and pour on top. When cool cut into squares. White Fudge (one pound) 3 C-sugar ½ C-milk 1/3 t-cream of tartar 1 T-butter 1 t-vanilla Mix and cook the same as chocolate fudge. Bettina's Peanut Fondant (One and one-half pound) 2 C-"C" sugar ½ C-milk ¼ t-cream of tartar 1 T-butter 2/3 C-roasted, shelled peanuts ¼ t-vanilla Cook the "C" sugar, milk, cream of tartar and butter until a soft ball is formed in cold water. Remove from the fire and allow it to cool. Beat until thick and creamy and add the nuts and vanilla. Shape into a loaf two inches thick and two inches wide. When cool and hard enough to cut, slice into one-fourth inch slices. Wrap in waxed paper and pack in boxes. |