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Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

The History of Halloween Candy

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Everyone’s favorite holiday is coming up, and I bet you are up to your neck in preparations. Okay, maybe Halloween is not everyone’s favorite holiday, but it still gets a whole lot of attention, especially in the United States.

I am willing to bet that one of the main reasons for the popularity of Halloween is the loads of candy that one can bring home. Sure, there are the costumes. It is the one time in a year that people can let their hair down, and dress up as anyone – or anything – they want. But at the end of the day, I really think candy plays a huge role. And speaking of candy, we have found a nifty infographic about the history of Halloween candy, which you will love if you have a sweet tooth. If nothing else, you might get a good idea of what to stock up on for trick or treat night.

So here’s the infographic. Enjoy the eye candy!

The History of Halloween Candy

The History of Halloween Candy by Recipe Finder

 

Look Choop

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Look Choop is a delicious Thai dessert. This sweet candy is made of mung bean paste. The paste is colored and shaped to look like fruits, vegetables and other cute shapes. It is literally an eye candy because of its shiny glaze made of agar.

Make sure that you make them as miniature as you can because if they are too big, they do not hold their shape. Skewer the candy on a toothpick so that you can paint and dip them easily. It is a fun recipe that you can prepare with kids.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the miniature fruits:

200 grams yellow beans

150 grams sugar

1 teaspoon salt

100 ml coconut milk

Food coloring

 

For the glaze:

5 grams agar gelatin

150 ml water

50 grams sugar

 

Soak the beans in cold water for 2 hours up to overnight. Remove the skin. Boil it for 45 minutes or until the beans are soft. Drain. Mash the beans.

In a saucepan under low heat, combine the beans, sugar and coconut milk. Mix well. Cook until the mixture is dry. Stir occasionally.

Scoop 2-3 teaspoons of the mung bean paste and shape them into fruits or vegetables. Skewer the candies on a toothpick and place them upright on a foam base or Styrofoam.

In a pot over medium heat, prepare the glaze by combining the agar gelatine, water and sugar. Let it boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until it thickens.

You can now start painting the bean candies using food coloring. Once you are done and the paint is dry, dip them into the jelly 3 times. Repeat the process for all the candies. Place them back on the foam base and let them dry. You can retouch the shapes and colors as you wish.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  Thai Jasmine (Keep Smiling.g..g.g :-))

 

Quick Caramel Apples

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caramel-apples

I realize that caramel apples may not exactly be what comes to mind when you think of quick sweets to prepare, but trust me- this recipe is easy. And tooth-achingly delicious. And- because you use honey instead of sugar- quite possibly good for you. Let’s get started, shall we?

First, you need apples. I had small fuji apples on hand, but feel free to use any apples of your choice. Golden delicious, granny smith… indeed, if you like the combination of sweet and tart, try going with a good crispy green apple. Make sure your apples are cold. This recipe made me around six caramel apples- but I like to lay my caramel on thickly.

Then get your other ingredients in line: a cup of heavy cream, half a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a cup of honey. Oh, and some good sturdy popsicle sticks. That’s it. Didn’t I tell you this would be easy?

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat (I used the latter). Spear each apple through with a popsicle stick, and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the heavy cream and kosher salt just until tiny bubbles start forming. You’ll want to use medium-low heat for this. Do not bring this to a boil. Not yet, anyway. Stir in the honey gently- then bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you want it to reach 250F degrees, or until nice and thick but still quite liquid. Remove from the heat immediately.

Dip each apple in the caramel. Optionally, roll the apple in some chopped nuts after doing so. Place on your parchment-lined baking sheet, and let set. It doesn’t take very long to set. Mmmm.