Candy Apples

If October isn't National Candy Month, then it should be.  And second only to candy corn as the season's most delicious sweet are candy apples.

These are really easy to make, and by doing so you can select the apples to use, thereby controlling the best thing about the treat, which is the contrast between the sweet hard candy coating and the juicy tartness of the apple.

I made these, not from an old recipe in my collection, but from a more modern one.  I can't share this fail-proof recipe, but you can get it just like I did, by visiting betterbaking.com, the wonderful site of Marcy Goldman, where you can purchase this recipe and many, many others for a very reasonable price. (The recipe is called Big Red Candy Mountain Candy Apples, listed in the Miscellaneous Baking section.)

Although I failed to take step-by-step pictures, I can walk you through the process. After washing and drying apples, insert a wood skewer into the stem end of each and start cooking the sugar, corn syrup and water over low heat.

After a while, it will come to a boil.  Stick in a candy thermometer and let the temperature reach 310 degrees, a process that is painfully slow.  But you're free to move about the kitchen and straighten the silverware drawer or whatever.  You just need to check the temperature every once in a while.

Add the red food coloring after you take the pot from the fire and dip the apples in the mixture, letting the excess coating drip off  back into the pan.  Have a parchment lined cookie sheet ready so you can place the dipped apples on it.

At the end, you'll end up with a mess of candy coated utensils, above.  But you'll also end up with a tray of glistening candy apples, below.  And you won't even need to go to Coney Island to get one.  Though if you do go, stop at the classic Williams Candy Shop for a wonderful candy apple (a visit there on Sunday inspired this post) and other treats that are perfect all year round.

The Amazing Matzoh Buttercrunch

Matzoh Buttercrunch is simply the best, most addictive Passover dessert ever.  And unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, chances are you've made it or eaten it.  But just in case you somehow missed this hyper-delicious treat, I'm posting it here -- even though it's a modern recipe.  (You know if I break my vintage rule, it's gotta be great.)

It was invented by Marcy Goldman, a wonderful baker, recipe inventor and writer, worth checking out at Betterbaking.com.

Lay the matzoh boards out on a baking pan, lined with both aluminum foil
and a sheet of parchment paper.

Heat the sugar and butter in a saucepan and within moments,
it will transform into the mixture below.

After the mixture starts to boil, let it cook three minutes.

Carefully pour the sugar syrup over the matzoh boards.  I used an offset spatula
to spread it evenly over the boards.

The cooked caramel does not look this orange in real life.  Here, the chocolate chips are
melting from the heat of the caramel.

No need to gild the lily, but some toasted nuts make for a lovely presentation.

Waiting for the chocolate to cool, before breaking the candy into smaller pieces.

Breaking the candy into pieces is somehow very satisfying.

Marcy's recipe and the story behind it are on Arthur Schwartz's blog, Foodmaven.com.  I've just pasted the recipe below, but do check out the story on Arthur's site.


4 to 6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible. 

Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh. 

Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure mixture is not burning. If it seems to be browning too quickly, remove from oven, lower heat to 325 degrees and replace. 

Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand 5 minutes then spread melted chocolate over matzoh. While still warm cut into squares or odd shapes. Chill in refrigerator until set. This makes a good gift. You can also serve it in confectioners' paper cups as a candy.