Sunday's Plate

Truffles, bonbons, yummy homemade candy is really quite easy as Miss Lisa found out this past week. We had a candy day, and she made candy for her boyfriend for the very first time, and she was delighted with the results. All the children got a taste of both this soft truffle and some hard candy we will talk about next week.

Candy is easy and quick if you have the right equipment. It takes a food processor or at least a stand or hand mixer.

Now let's get this lesson right so that we look like the penultimate candy makers!

The basic idea is to make a "fondant" for the center of a truffle or bonbon. The basic center is butter and sugar - that's it. Then you add your tastes and your flavors. It's that simple.

So using a food processor, process 2 sticks of butter and a box of powdered sugar until smooth. Don't over process and don't use margarine. Margarine is one molecule away from plastic.

You can double this recipe if your processor is large enough. If you are going to go to the trouble of making candy, it's always nice to have a BIG batch! Using a single recipe, you should have about four cups of fondant.

Now is the time to think about flavors and tastes.

You can divide your fondant into say six small bowls or 3/4 cup fondant for each bowl give or take a heaping tablespoon.

Into the first bowl, let's say you add finely ground coffee and walnuts. Mix a teaspoon of coffee and a handful of nuts into the mix. Roll this mix into ping pong sized balls, insert a toothpick, place on a cookie sheet in a row marked coffee- walnut.

Next bowl - let's say you have a hankering for orange candy. Grind the rind of half an orange and mix the rind in with the fondant. If you want to add nuts, say almonds or pecans - go for it. Roll this mix into ping pong sized balls, insert your toothpick and line up next to your coffee walnut balls and mark - orange nut.

In the next bowl, you might think - mmmm - toasted coconut! On a flat iron skillet, put a handful of coconut and on high heat stir till lightly browned. Add your toasted coconut to your bowl of fondant and maybe a little vanilla flavoring. Roll, tooth, and line them up and mark.

In the fourth bowl, lemon strikes your fancy. Use a teaspoon of real lemon juice and roll, tooth, line and tag!

In the fifth bowl, chocolate peanut butter says it all. A giant tablespoon of peanut butter and a quarter of a cup of cocoa will do the trick nicely. Roll, pick, line and tag.

One of my favorite tastes is butterscotch. It's not unheard of to chop butterscotch pieces. Heath bar bits makes a fine candy taste. Roll, pick, line and tag!

Now freeze your tray. When balls are frozen, they will either keep for months or can be dipped immediately.

Here's how: In a tiny pot, melt a half sheet of Gulf wax and a cup of your favorite chocolate chips. Watch your heat because this will scorch very quickly. Use more chocolate if the mix is too thin. While your candy is frozen, dip each piece twice in the hot chocolate and wax and let the excess drips drip off back into the tiny pot. Lay dipped candy on Ziplock bags. Wax paper will do as well. Once the candy shell hardens, you can twist the toothpick out and re-dip the top and place an identifying mark on your truffle - a peanut for the chocolate peanut. A bit of coconut for the coconut and a tiny piece of orange...etc.

Don't miss keeping back some of your candy for the inscrutable guest who suddenly appears at your door. I keep my tiny pot of dipping chocolate ready most of the time. You can gather a dozen balls and dip them in five minutes and look like the queen of homemaking - any time you want.

Easter is coming, and candy made with real butter is healthier than storebought.

Happy candy making!