I have always made Easter candy from a recipe handed down from my Grandmother, so a couple of years ago I decided that I would like to branch out.
Cookbooks pictured received.
After a disastrous attempt in which I tried to make candy apples for my mother and ended up with a painful burn on my finger, I had sworn off candy making for a while. That’s why I was excited about 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes by Jane Sharrock.
I decided it was the perfect time to try again. This book is packed full of delicious recipes and candy making tips. Each recipe has a brief description and many have a variation on the recipe you can use instead. Several of the recipes have pictures and a few even have pictures to accompany the step by step directions.
The thing I like most about this book however, is that the recipes are broken down in the back of the book by Novice (super simple), Novice (easy), Average, Advanced, and Expert. The recipes I decided to make were Aunt Mary’s Favorite Fudge, Lollipops, and Dainty Mint Puffs, which all fell under the advanced category.
Even though I don’t consider myself an advanced candy maker, I decided I would give them a try. The directions were very easy to follow, and each of the recipes were so delicious my family and I can’t stop eating them.
The fudge was smooth and creamy, the lollipops were sweet and delicious and the Dainty Mint Puffs were light and full of mint flavor.
I will definitely be using the recipes from 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes again and would recommend it to anyone looking to make candy, no matter whether they are a novice or an expert. I am so excited to try out other recipes for our next family gathering.
I was also lucky enough to receive for review Sensational Buttercream Decorating by Carey Madden. This book is full of 50 projects for luscious cakes, mini-cakes, and cupcakes. I can’t wait to create one of these designs for the next birthday party!
I recommend both these books to the novice, intermediate, or advanced. They are full of wonderful instructions for delicious goodies.
I took a cake decorating class years ago – I’d love these :)
These would be great to have to help come up with new ideas. I like how they break them down by skill level. That would be perfect for my daughter.
I make a big variety of homemade chocolate candies, but I always wanted to try the hard candy and brittle. This book looks like a good place to get easy to follow recipes from. Thanks for the review.
I’ve already got the 300 Best Homemade Candies book on my wish list. Not so much with the buttercream decorating, though–I just don’t have the patience that type of thing requires. Thanks for the reviews.
This looks like a great book. I have never made home made candies.
great ideas! Love making homemade candies
These look so good! I have a huge sweet tooth.
Oh, yummy Homemade Candies. I used to make homemade suckers and other candies years ago. I would love to make some of these recipes this summer when I will be babysitting my nephew.
I love that the candy cookbook recipes are broken down according to skill level and the bee cupcakes are simply adorable!
I think this is so awesome. I have always wanted to try out different recipes. I have never thought of making our own lollipops. That could be such a fun treat :)
I have always wanted to try recipes like this but am always afraid that they would be too difficult for me to pull off, but after reading your review I think I would love these books, especially since they have recipes that are for the beginners.
The rose cake looks lovely! I’d love to learn how to decorate with buttercream, so I could create cakes for different holidays and celebrations.
These books would be fun to have! Lots of yummies!
I’ve never made homemade candies before! I’d love to try some of these recipes!
I love homemade candies! My mom makes the best. Love me some peanut butter brittle and homemade peanut butter cups.
ohhhh the bee cupcakes are so cute !!
Candies have always scared me because of the precise temps involved…not to mention bodily injury from burns. But that fudge looks awesome. I have always wanted to learn how to make my own buttercreams and decorate cakes. So both of these books would be very helpful!
love them both- i like using buttercream, so thanks for sharing, I need to get theat book!