There are two reasons why you’d love to make candy at home. One, if you are a lover of candy of course and two, because you’re someone who loves trying out new candy recipes to share with your family and friends.
Well, whichever one you may be or even if you are both of the above, this article is the perfect one for you because I’ve penned down 5 simple and easy candy recipes for you to try out.
Here are 5 candy recipes you can try at home:
1. Caramel Candy
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Recipe:
Into a saucepan on medium heat, add in the sugar and keep stirring on a low flame until the sugar melts. When the sugar melts and turns golden burn add in the cream. Then, add in the butter and vanilla extract, stir continuously. Mix until the mixture turns glossy. Turn off the heat and pour into a baking tray (or plate) lined with parchment paper and smoothen out. Let it cool completely and rest for at least 5 hours to set. Remove from the mold, cut it into squares and store in an airtight container.
2. Peanut Candy (Chikki)
Ingredients:
- ½ cup peanut halves (without skin)
- 75 grams jaggery powder
- ½ tbsp water
- ½ tsp ghee
Recipe:
Begin with dry roasting the peanuts for a few minutes on a pan, until golden brown. Let it be set aside to cool.
Into a saucepan, add in the jaggery powder and let it cook on low heat until fully melted. Add in the water and the ghee, give it a mix and stir for a few minutes before adding in the peanuts. Mix well until all the peanuts are fully coated and then turn off the heat.
Pour into a plate or a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Flatten into a half inch layer and smoothen out the sides (if you’ve used a plate). Cut it into cubes and then wait for it to cool completely before separating the cubes. Store in an airtight container.
3. Candied Nuts
Ingredients:
- 2 cups walnuts or pecans
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ honey
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
Recipe:
Then, into a bowl, mix together the walnuts, sugar, honey, melted butter and salt.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the coated walnuts in a single layer onto the lined baking sheet. (only in one layer) and bake for 15 mins or until golden brown. Give the nuts a mix in between (remove from the oven and tossing them around). If the walnuts are not crunchy enough after completely cool, place them in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Once done, remove from the oven and let the candied nuts cool completely before storing them in an airtight jar.
4. Banana Candy or Halwa
Ingredients:
- ½ kg bananas (overripe)
- 1/8 cup ghee or unsalted butter
- ¼ kg sugar, coconut sugar or palm sugar
- 1/8 cup water
Recipe:
Grind the bananas into a smooth puree and set it aside. Next, mix the sugar with the water and let it become a smooth liquid.
Then, into a saucepan, add in the ghee and the banana puree and cook on medium heat. Make sure to stir continuously. Cook until the mixture starts to bubble. Add in the sugar water mixture and stir well until properly combined. Keep mixing on low to medium heat until the mixture leaves the sides, it might take 15-20 mins.
Pour into a baking tray (or plate) lined with parchment paper and smoothen out into rectangles of 1 inch. Let it cool completely before you can separate the rectangles. Store in an airtight container.
5. Korean Candied Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
- 3 medium sized sweet potatoes
- ½ cup sugar
- cooking oil
- sesame seeds
Recipe:
Peel off the sweet potato skins and slice them into cubes. Set them aside. Then, into a saucepan, add in the oil and heat it over medium flame. Gently add in the sweet potato cubes and and fry for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the fried sweet potatoes and place them on a strainer.
Prepare sugar syrup – In a saucepan add 3 tbsp of oil and pour in the sugar. The sugar starts to melt and turn into a light syrup. Carefully lift the pan and slowly swirl the pan so that the syrup doesn’t burn.
when the sugar turns in to a golden caramel color, add in the fried sweet potato’s and pinch of salt. Toss them with a wooden spoon to evenly coat each piece of sweet potato. Remove from the heat and transfer the sweet potato to a large baking sheet lined with a parchment paper. Leave a gap between each piece so that they don’t stick together. Sprinkle them with sesame seeds and serve.