Sweet Treat - Nougat or Torrone

Hello every one, I Wish you and your loved ones Wonderful Holiday full of love , Joy and Good Health. May the dear Lord bless us all in the coming new year

Since it’s the Holiday Season, the kids are around, or maybe some family members are visiting, how about a Sweet Treat for every one.

Almond Nougat (you can use any kind of nuts)

We need heavy duty stand mixer machine, edible rice paper or wax paper, candy thermometer.

Ingredients:
1 cup blanched hazelnuts
2 x 4 1/2 oz packages blanched whole almonds

1/2 cup ground almonds
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
2 egg whites
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add hazelnuts and whole almonds to cookie sheet. Toast until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add sugar, corn syrup, honey, salt and water in a heavy bottomed saucepot (3 quart). Over medium heat, stir mixture until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, without stirring until syrup reaches the hard ball stage, reading 252 degrees F. on a candy thermometer.
Meanwhile, in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form.
While mixer is on, in a thin steady stream, pour ¼ cup of hot syrup over egg whites, beating at high speed until mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, about 5 minutes.
Continue to cook the remaining syrup to brittle threads, reading 315 to 318 degrees F. on a candy thermometer.
While mixer is on, in a thin steady stream, pour remaining hot syrup over egg whites, beating at high speed until mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape. Add vanilla and almond extract and butter, beating again for about 5 minutes. Stir in toasted nuts and ground almonds with a wooden spoon. Transfer mixture to a buttered 11 x 7 x 1 ¼-inch pan covered with a sheet of rice paper or wax paper, Smooth the mixture evenly with a spatula. lay another sheet of edible rice paper over the nougat and let it set over night or till the next day. if it is a particularly humid day, refrigerate until firm.

Loosen edges of candy with a knife. Invert nougat on cutting board. Cut into pieces. or logs .

wrap in wax paper and store in airtight container.

Edible Rice paper to be used in the bottom of a greased tray, and on top of the candy.

Maroon Glace

This is a home made recipe for candied chestnuts if you cannot find it in your local store.

Its delicious and easy if you follow the instruction.

Score a cross or x on the brown shell of the chestnuts with a sharp knife and bake them for about twenty minutes at 250 F. ( if you have a non stick pan you can do that on top of the stove) This will make them easier to peel. Let them cool for couple of minutes to enable you peel them without burning your hands. Remove the outer shell and the brown membrane as carefully as possible, being sure to leave the chestnut whole. If you got broken pieces, chop them and add them to the frosting.
Boil the chestnuts for twenty minutes and let them sit in the hot water for half an hour afterward. This softens the nut, and lets it soak up the sugar later. Taste one; they should be soft.

While the chestnuts are soaking, prepare the sugar syrup in a separate saucepan. For each measure of chestnuts that you are making, add one measure of water and one and half of sugar to a large saucepan. Place the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. With a candy thermometer, take the temperature of the syrup. When the syrup reaches 230-235F “thread stage,” add the chestnuts to the syrup. The thread stage is also the point at which a bit of the sugar syrup will spin a thread between the thumb and forefinger when it is plunged suddenly into a cup of ice water: don’t stir the chestnuts, let them cook in the syrup.
The goal now is to bring the chestnuts slowly to the “soft ball stage,” at 235-240 F, and to keep them there for about fifteen to twenty minutes. The mixture will continue to boil, which is not a problem, but do not let it get hotter than 240 F. If it does, just take the pot off the heat for a minute or so , then bring it back, to the stove.
Some recipes say that you should re-apply the syrup again to the nuts by repeating the above procedure, by ladling syrup over them, or even by baking it onto them as a final step. I find that these steps either break them up too much or else have no real effect on the finished product. In other words, you’re done. Drain them using a colander and store in the refrigerator .