Sunday, November 06, 2011

Sweet Confections - Book Review and Giveaway!

Sweet Confections Cover

I was so excited to receive this candy cookbook, Sweet Confections, in the mail from Lark Crafts to review.  I have a big sweet tooth, but I have never really made candy before, so I was pretty sure I was going to love it.  I was super impressed with the beautiful photographs, excellent how-to section and wide range of recipes.

Candy Temp Chart

The beginning getting started section has clear instructions and lots of step by step photos on everything you need to know, from candy temperatures (above), how to cook sugar and how to carmelize sugar, how to temper chocolate, how to hand dip and hand roll chocolates, and also a helpful overview of ingredients and tools.

Orange Walnut Choc Nougat

Each of the recipes in the book has a big mouthwatering photo...

Choc Nougat 2

And then a full page of ingredients and instructions and often more photos.  Being able to see a photo of every single recipe is so great, and the extra photos showing a cut open view and the like are super useful too.

Candied Citrus Peel

There's also a section at the back with recipes for some of the ingredients that you could make yourself - like this candied citrus peel that is used in the recipe above.

Mixed Nut Choc Truffles

One of the things that I was most impressed by was the range of recipes included in the book - it really covers the gamut of candy-making, from fancy stuff like chocolate truffles...

Peanut Brittle

To peanut brittle, toffee, candied nuts and the like...

Jelly Candies

To chewy candies like these jellies...

Vanilla Marshmallows

And even marshmallows, yum!  I also loved the fact that it included both basic recipes (like many of the ones shown above) and more interesting, unique combinations - like vanilla cheesecake fudge, pear hazelnut truffles, and pecan pie truffles.  While I am totally new to making candy and found this book a great introduction, I am sure that even an experienced sweet-maker would find something delicious and new to try.

Vanilla Caramels-1

When I got the book, I couldn't wait to try my hand at making one of these yummy treats, and while I was tempted by many of the recipes I had no trouble deciding to go ahead with these vanilla caramels.  Soft caramels are one of my favorite candies and also were something that I had never thought to try to make before, so I was super excited to learn how!

Caramel ingredients

One thing about making your own candy is that you can no longer play dumb about how bad it is for you... with this set of ingredients, no wonder caramels are so yummy!

For the most part, the recipe was clear and easy to follow.  The instructions on how to caramelize sugar (in the starting up section) were super helpful and showed exactly what to do.  After you caramelize the sugar, you add the remaining ingredients (which have been warmed and mixed together), and it kind of bubbles all over the place as you cook it until it reaches the specified temperature.  I was a bit worried that I might be doing that part wrong, but in the end the caramels had great taste and texture, so it all worked out.

The only real pitfall that I had was that the recipe instructed you to pour the cooked caramel mixture into a pan lined with plastic wrap... and maybe I was supposed to let it cool for a minute first, or maybe I have cheap plastic wrap or something, but it started to melt when I poured the hot caramel in!  I freaked out a bit and pulled out the plastic wrap and threw it out (which sadly meant I lost some of the caramel with it).  Then when the caramel cooled I just scraped it out of the pan, which wasn't actually as hard as I had feared - and the caramels were totally delicious, so I was still very happy with the result.  I will definitely make this recipe again, but next time I will probably just use parchment to line the pan.

Vanilla Caramels

I wrapped up the finished caramels in waxed paper as suggested and they looked totally professional!  I brought them in to my office for halloween and everyone was very impressed.  I am planning to make the pumpkin caramel recipe in the book next, for thanksgiving.  Yum!

Not only did the generous folks at Lark send me a copy to review, they also sent me a second copy to giveaway to one of you!  To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below - I'd love to hear if you have ever tried making candy before and how it went.

Since I am paying for the shipping, the giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.  The winner will be picked by random number, and I'll keep the giveaway open through next Sunday, November 13 at 9 pm PST.  I will contact the winner by email so make sure you have an email address in your blogger profile, or leave on in your comment!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!


Disclosure: This book was provided to me as a free review copy by Lark Crafts, but all opinions expressed are my own.

32 comments:

  1. I made suckers a few times when I was a kid, but haven't made any type of candy since. I think about it and then I remember that I don't own a candy thermometer! Maybe I should ask for one for Christmas. :)

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  2. This looks like a great book to have. I am a wiz in the kitchen (Ha! Ha!) and have made lots of candy. I have made marshmallows, caramels, Reese's style peanut butter cups, chocolate covered cherries, and many more.

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  3. Thanks a lot -- after seeing all those yummy-looking pictures, I had to go break into my son's Halloween candy. ;>

    I've tried making maple candies because I can't buy them where I live. Mmm! I wasn't able to make them as good as real ones, but I didn't care! :D

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  4. Oh I love making candy! I feel like a scientist with all the temperature taking and exact measurements. I've only made toffee and peppermint bark at Christmas but it's pretty famous :) I'd love to expand and this book looks perfect. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  5. Visions of sugar plums are dancing through my head.

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  6. Thank you for the book review and the chance to win my own copy. Homemade candy is the BEST!

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  7. The closest I have gotten to making candy was candied almonds. I almost bought a candy making book over the weekend, but I hesitated...I'm such a wuss. :)

    Mry
    iammaryburke @ gmail.com

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  8. what a great book! I would love to try to caramels! Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  9. maybe you could give a recipe for yummy looking caramels?

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  10. Every year around this time, I think I am going to make candy or marshmallows for the holidays and then I do not. I have the candy thermometer, and some fear. I will have to try again this year.

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  11. I've tried making hard candy for the holidays... but somehow, it just never got hard.. haha it was my first time using a candy thermometer.. and it was definitely old and broken! oh well, lesson learned i'd love to try again though and these recipes look great!

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  12. the only candy ive made was fudge..this book looks awesome! raineoc@yahoo.com

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  13. I haven't tried making candy and I'm not good at homemade desserts. Maybe a good dessert cookbook would make all the difference (because my main dishes get rave reviews, so I CAN cook).

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  14. I don't think I've ever made candy, and I know I don't own a candy thermometer, which I think is a crucial thing when making candy. Your caramels look so great and yes, they do look professional!

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  15. I haven't made candy before, but I've always wanted to try!

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  16. I remember growing up we made salt water taffy with a baby sitter one summer.

    I'd be totally stoked to try the marshmellow recipe in this book! Been meaning to try to make them for a long time now.

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  17. I've never made candy {shocking, I know} winning this book would be a great excuse to start :) thanks for the giveaway!

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  18. Would love this book! Nothing better than homemade candy! Thanks for the chance.

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  19. I love making caramels, turtles, and truffles, but I would like to learn more techniques. I really want to learn how to make marshmallows and jellies! This book looks awesome and is definitely going on my wish list!

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  20. I think a candy cookbook is the only kind I don't have. Thanks for the review and giveaway!!

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  21. Lovely review. I have made candy before. Just takes patience and an accurate thermometer. Looks like a great book

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  22. It sounds like a great book. I tried to make gingerbread caramels but I must have cooked them too hot or too long and they turned into brittle instead. The first pages of the book look like exactly what I need!

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  23. Oooo... Look at all those treats!
    I've tried making caramels before, but they came out much chewier than I like - maybe this recipe would be better! Or maybe the tips on making would help me out.

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  24. Yum! I've made some truffles before but nothing that required a candy thermometer.

    sarasuzannesews[at]gmail[dot]com

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  25. Oh you made caramels! So cool. I have never delved into candy making before but I would love to try - with this book! Thank you for the opportunity to win this amazing book. :)

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  26. This book looks fantastic! Can't wait to find out who wins :)

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  27. This book looks fantastic! Can't wait to find out who wins :) (I posted as anonymous above oops)

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  28. I make chcoclaqte covered pretzels with various toppings every year and they turn out great but I need to expand my horizons!

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  29. I once got excited about a pb and chocolate fudge recipe, I think from a Hershey's cookbook. No one had ever told me that fudge (real fudge) is one of the trickier things to make. It turned out grainy--I don't think the thermometer was accurate--and I gave up on fudge. Perhaps it's time to try again.

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  30. They all look so yummy! We get together and make candy for Christmas each year. I'd love to try some new recipes!

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  31. The last time I tried a caramel recipe I ended up with a blob of burnt sugar. I could really use this book!

    jodie.marie
    at
    frontier.com

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  32. I was reallu going to avoid sweets this season after last year's weight gain, bit this book looks like fun!

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