Soft Liquorice Caramels v.2

Soft Liquorice Caramels

Thank you for stopping by my blog during the past years. It has been a fun but busy year, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. 
Christmas Night and Christmas Day came and went so fast this year. I love having my family and friends around me. My wish for next year, is to be more relaxed and  enjoy the evening more.

I wanted to make these soft caramels and got inspired by a recipe on a Danish blog called Valdemarsro.

Happy holydays from my family to yours.

Makes 15-20 pieces. 

Ingredients:

• 50 g light corn syrup, or glucose
• 100 g sugar
• 200 ml heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon sweet liquorice syrup
• 1 tablespoon raw liquorice 

Directions:

Prepare a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, and set aside.

Mix corn syrup, sugar and cream in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil, while stirring. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The caramel is done when the mixture pulls away from the saucepan, when stirring, and you can see a slight crystallization when you stir. Mix in the liquorice syrup. Pour the caramel into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the raw liquorice on top. Let the caramel set on the kitchen counter for a few hours, before cutting into cubes. Wrap each caramel in parchment paper or wax paper and keep the caramels in a cool place in an airtight container. 
Enjoy!

Peppermint Dots

Peppermint Dots

11th Day of Christmas.

Peppermint is one of the holiday favors. Last year I made peppermint marshmallows, and in 2013 I made Peppermint ice cream. Today I wanted to make these small peppermint dots. My dad made these for christmas, and I have only known them as a homemade candy. The dots are small in size, but Big in flavor.

Makes a lot.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white (35 g)
• 225 g confectionary sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract 
• 50-60 g good dark chocolate or chocolate pearls, I use Valrhona
• 1 tablespoon crushed candy cane

Directions:

Whisk egg whites with peppermint extract and sugar, until you have a thick dough. Put the dough in a pastry bag with a round tip. Pipe bite-size dots onto a jelly pan lined with sheets parchment paper. Decorate with chocolate pearls and/or crushed candy cane. 

Let the dot dry over night and keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Homemade Ragusa Bites

Homemade Ragusa Bites

7th Day of Christmas.

Ragusa is a hazelnut chocolate bar, with whole hazelnuts and dark chocolate on top. As a teenager this was one of my favorite chocolate bars, there is just something about chocolate and hazelnuts, that makes me happy.
This is my first attempt to make ragusa, and I had no idea, that leaving the chocolate bar in the refrigerator for a few days, would make it impossible to cut in nice and clean squares. Well, ragusa chunks are tasty too.

Makes a 8-9 inch bar.

Ingredients:

• 250 g blød Nougat, hazelnut milk chocolate
• 100 g roasted hazelnuts
• 75 g dark chocolate (I use Valrhona)

Directions:

Melt the hazelnut chocolate over a double boiler. Add the hazelnuts, and make sure they all are coated in chocolate. Pour the mixture into a parchment paper lined loaf pan. Let the chocolate set in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Temper the dark chocolate, and pour/brush it on top of the now set hazelnut chocolate. Let it sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, before cutting it into bites.
Enjoy!

Homemade Mozart balls - Mozartkugler

Homemade Mozart balls - Mozartkugler

5th Day of Christmas.

Mozart balls or Mozartkugler is a small, round confection made of marzipan, nougat and dark chocolate, named after the famous musician and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Normally the marzipan will be made of pistachios, but here I use regular almond marzipan, just adding chopped pistachios, for taste and crunch. 

These Mozart balls has been a family favorite for years.

Makes 15-18

Ingredients:

200 g marzipan

100 g soft hazelnut-chocolate (blød nougat)

20 g raw pistachios

150 g dark chocolate, I use Valrhona

Directions:

Chop up the pistachios very finely. Put in a bowl and set aside.

Dice up the hazelnut-chocolate into ⅓ inch (1 cm) cubes. Roll the cubes in the pistachios. Cover the cubes in marzipan. 

Temper the chocolate, and dip the balls in the chocolate. Place on a piece of parchment paper for the chocolate to set.

Store chocolates in an air tight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Meringue tops are called kys or kisses in Danish, and are small sweet tops, perfect with ice cream or at any party. 

These are dressed up for a party, with some rainbow disco dust.

Makes a lot.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 135 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• a drop food coloring
• sprinkle of rainbow disco dust 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300℉ (150℃). Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In the bowl for the stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually, a couple tablespoons at a time, while still beating the egg whites. The egg whites/meringue will become thick and glossy. Gently fold in cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and food coloring.

Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe tops onto the prepared baking sheets, You don't need to space them to far apart, they will stay pretty much the same size. Sprinkle the tops with rainbow disco dust.

Bake the meringues for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!