Nonpareils were my favorite candy when I was a kid. I think I consumed a zillion pounds of them at our local movie theater. Etsy seller Nuts4Candy makes delectable heart shaped chocolate non-pareils in a cute take out box. Taking order for Valentine’s Day up until February 10th. They’re going fast at only $6.50!
These Retro Recipes Challenge’s are lots of fun and a welcome break from cleaning, mending, steaming and photographing vintage clothing. Not that I don’t love my vintage business, it’s just that once in a while I still feel the need to mess with food since it’s what I previously did for a living and still enjoy it!
This month’s theme is named appropriately "The Candy Man" and Dolores from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity is kind enough to be hosting this challenge.
The recipe submitted has to be from before 1980. So I dug out the dessert edition of my 1972 "Family Circle Illustrated Library of Cooking" and lo and behold, there was a whole chapter on making candy.
I chose a recipe for Raisin Bon Bons because it involves three of my favorites foods, peanut butter, raisins and chocolate. I figured how bad could it be?
Raisin Bon Bons
1/2 c seedless raisins
8 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tbsp softened butter
1/2 cup 10X powdered sugar
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Chop raisins.
2. Place peanut butter, butter and 10X sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in raisins.
3. Shape into balls about 1/2" in diameter (this was a little tricky). Refrigerate.
4. Place chocolate pieces in a medium bowl over hot, not boiling water and leave until melted (I microwaved for a few seconds at a time , stirring in between)
5.Dip raisin/peanut butter balls in chocolate, remove with a fork, drain and place on wax paper. Let stand until firm. Store in an airtight container.
Here’s the finished product. I sprinkled orange, black and purple jimmies on top that I had leftover from baking Halloween cupcakes.
They taste just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, with a hint of raisin flavor. I put these out in addition to a dessert I served at a recent dinner
party and everyone liked them, though a couple of people didn’t care
for the raisins. I suppose they’d taste fine without them. I was also thinking they might be good dipped in white chocolate too. Maybe I’ll try that another time.
What I did notice was they really do start to melt if left out too long. So I’m not going to be able to give them out for Trick or Treat. I used Ghiardelli semi sweet chocolate chips and the candies just won’t stay firm for very long after taking them out of the refrigerator. Of course, I live in Florida and the humidity here has been unbelievable lately. So that may have something to do with it!
I’m thinking next time I would use the chocolate they sell for dipping strawberries, as that forms a nice hard shell when it cools and pretty much stays that way. It seems to hold up a bit better in the Florida weather.
Need a last minute Valentine’s Day gift? There’s still time to say "I Love You" the old fashioned way, by having one of these fun retro candy assortments from Candy Crate-Nostalgic Candy and Gift Store overnighted to that special someone.
You can even order era specific sweets to ensure your loved one receives the appropriate mid-century munchy of their childhood. I can still remember how excited my sisters and I would be when we got a little extra spending money. We’d immediately hurry to the corner store for "penny candy" , visions of Sweet Tarts, bubble gum cigarettes, Atomic Fireballs, Necco Wafers and Sky Bars dancing in our heads. Yikes, I’m totally giving away my age.
So, for a sugar filled trip down memory lane, these candy assortments will make a uniquely sweet gift for Valentines Day or any other special occasion.
