Making Popular Edible Gifts
While holidays are typically famous for all the gift giving that goes around, they need not be the only occasion for gifting sweets. You may want to present your new neighbors with a nice house-warming gift, you may want to give your husband a gift for being promoted or may want to present your father-in-law with something on his retirement. Instead of spending hours in a mall looking for a gift that is just right for them, you could spend the same number of hours in making an edible gift for them. Here is a lovely edible gift recipe that you can use in all seasons.
Let us take a look at how we can make butter candy at home. While candy delights almost everyone this is particular favorite. To make butter candy, you will need:
- butter – about half a cup. Keep some extra aside to use as needed.
- sugar – 1 cup
- salt – half a teaspoon
- water – one-fourth cup
- chocolate chips – four ounces
- sliced almonds (you might to roast them slightly at first)
How to make it:
First rub the insides of a microwavable mixing bowl with the extra butter. Now place the half-cup butter in side the bowl. You can pour the sugar right on top of the butter. Now add the salt and water. Begin by cooking for about seven to eight minutes though some microwaves do take more time. Stir the mixture occasionally till it starts to boil. You should now be a little careful to ensure that the mixture is not overcooked.
When the mixture is the color of brown sugar or of a heath bar, the candy is done. Put the sliced almonds on a buttered cookie sheet. Now pull the bowl out of the microwave and pour the mixture on the sliced almonds, making sure that the mixture spreads evenly. Use a buttered spatula so that you can spread the mixture without any problem. You can top this up with chocolate, spreading it once it has melted a little. You can sprinkle more sliced almonds on top if you wish. Let this whole preparation cool down – it takes roughly 15-20 minutes for the candy to cool down completely.
When the candy has cooled down, it is easy to break it into pieces. You can now arrange them any way you want in a basket, bowl or coffee cup that you are presenting to your friends. You can save nice decorative tins to be used for packing these candy pieces or purchase cheap holiday dishes.
While the recipe is fairly straightforward, it is important that you follow all the steps carefully and watch the color of the mixture, as it turns brown. Keep all the ingredients on hand before you start cooking so that you do not have to hunt around for them at the last minute. Also, you might want to try making this a couple of times at home before presenting them so that your gift turns out to be perfect.