Candy And Cream Ribbon Food

CANDY RIBBON

Steps:

• Before you begin this recipe, please take a class from a professional on working with sugar. This is a skill that professional pastry chefs develop after years of experience. Working with sugar will burn your fingers so know before you start that your fingers will develop burn blisters. Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until the sugar reaches 320 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks or the sugar may recrystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean. Pour the cooked sugar onto 3 or 4 silicone baking mats. If you want to color and/or flavor the sugar with food colors and/or flavored oils, this is the time to do so. Add a few drops of color to the sugar. Mix with a wooden skewer. To get started, push the sugar from the sides toward the center. This process takes a little while. Try to keep the sugar divided by color. Use the mat to push the firm sugar around the edges toward the center. Use a folding motion to accomplish that task. The next step is to pick up the sugar with your hands. Place each color under the heat of the sugar lamp. Pull the sugar until it becomes glossy and the color is evenly distributed. You will need to pull the colors simultaneously. Keep them under the sugar lamp but keep an eye on them. The lamp can melt the sugar so it is important keep rotating it and folding it onto itself.
• Start with 2 colors. I used green (mint) and yellow (lemon). Place the sugar pieces side- to-side. Pull and lengthen. Cut in half. Place them side-to-side again. Pull to lengthen. Cut in half and place them side-to-side. Now you have a flat piece of sugar that you are pulling long. Cut off the ends, (they are bulky), when the sugar starts to harden. Make some waves to create the ribbon. Join the 2 edges to make a circular ribbon. Voila! Beautiful for the holidays.

FUDGE RIBBON CAKE

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350F. Spray 10-inch fluted tube pan with flour no-stick cooking spray.
• PREPARE cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• BEAT cream cheese, butter and cornstarch in medium bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over cake batter.
• BAKE 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan. Cool. Drizzle with Chocolate Glaze or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• CHOCOLATE GLAZE
• COMBINE chocolate and butter in 1-quart glass measure. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) 30 to 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in powdered sugar, water and vanilla until smooth and well blended. (Makes about 1/3 cup).
• VARIATIONS
• FUDGE RIBBON SHEET CAKE: SPRAY 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan with flour no-stick cooking spray. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan. Prepare cream cheese topping as above; spoon evenly over batter. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. Frost with 1 (16 oz.) can Pillsbury Chocolate Frosting.
• FUDGE RIBBON CUPCAKES: LINE 36 muffin cups with paper liners. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill muffin cups half full of batter. Prepare cream cheese topping as above; spoon about 2 tablespoonfuls into each cup. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Frost with 1 (16 oz.) can Pillsbury Chocolate Frosting. Garnish as desired.

CLASSIC HOLIDAY RIBBON SQUARES (JELLO)

Steps:

• Stir 1 cup boiling water into each flavor of gelatin in separate medium bowls at least 2 minutes, until dissolved.
• Stir 3/4 cup of the cold water into the red gelatin.
• Pour into 9-inch square pan.
• Refrigerate about 45 minutes or until set but not firm to the touch (gelatin should still stick to the finger when touched).
• Meanwhile, stir lemon gelatin gradually into cream cheese in large bowl with whisk until smooth.
• (I use the blender for this step, because I don't like lumpy Jello).
• Stir in pineapple with the juice.
• Refrigerate about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites).
• Stir in whipped topping and mayonnaise.
• Spoon over red gelatin layer in pan.
• Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set, but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger and should mound).
• Meanwhile, stir remaining 3/4 cold water into lime gelatin.
• Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites).
• Spoon over lemon gelatin mixture in pan.
• Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.
• Unmold and cut into squares.
• Garnish with small dollop of Cool Whip.

OLD-FASHIONED RIBBON CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Prepare four cookie sheets by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray or covering them with a light layer of oil.
• Preheat oven to 200 F. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolves.
• Insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking without stirring until candy reaches 285 F (soft-crack stage).
• Once the proper temperature is reached, remove candy from heat immediately and stir in peppermint extract.
• Pour 1/3 of the mixture onto a prepared cookie sheet and place it in the heated oven to stay warm.
• Pour another 1/3 onto a second sheet and sprinkle green food coloring on top. Place this sheet in the oven as well.
• Add red food coloring to remaining 1/3 of candy.
• Pour candy out onto a marble slab or heat-safe cutting board. Allow it to sit briefly until it forms a "skin."
• Spray a bench scraper or heat-safe spatula with nonstick cooking spray, and use the tool to begin spreading candy out and pushing it back together, working it across the board and allowing it to cool. Don't forget to check out the instructions showing how to pull candy if you get confused about the process.
• As soon as the candy is cool enough to handle, but still quite hot, begin to pull it. If you have plastic gloves, put them on and spray the gloves with nonstick cooking spray-this will help prevent overheated or burned hands. Take candy in both hands and pull hands in opposite directions, stretching candy into a long rope.
• Bring ends of strands together and twist candy into a rope.
• Then pull rope out into a long strand.
• Continue to twist and pull candy until it has a satin-like finish and is an opaque red color.
• Once candy is still pliable, but barely warm, pull it into a strand about 2 inches thick, and place it on remaining prepared baking sheet. Put this sheet back into oven, and remove baking sheet with uncolored candy syrup. The pulled candy will remain pliable in the warm oven while you work the second portion.
• Repeat pulling procedure with the second, uncolored portion of candy. In the end, candy should be a pearly white color.
• Form into a log 2 inches in diameter, just like red candy.
• Repeat pulling procedure with last, green portion of candy. In the end, candy should be an opaque and satiny green color.
• Form into a log 2 inches in diameter.
• Remove candies from oven. Cut a 5-inch segment from each of the green, white, and red logs, and place them next to each other on fourth greased cookie sheet, with the white in the middle.
• Begin to pull candies together, gently molding them together as candy gets thinner. Try to end up with a very thin piece of tri-colored candy 1-inch in height.
• Once twisted candy is the shape you want, use oiled kitchen shears to cut them to into approximately 6- to 8-inch lengths.
• Immediately push them into a ribbon shape and place them on a baking sheet to set at room temperature.
• Repeat pulling and cutting with remaining candy.
• If candy gets too hard to pull, place in the warm oven for a few minutes to soften, but don't let it sit too long and melt.
• The ribbons will get very hard at room temperature, but if left out for long periods of time they will get soft and sticky, so be sure to wrap them in cellophane once set.

KENTUCKY CREAM CANDY

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients.
• Cook over medium heat but do not stir after mixture starts to boil.
• Continue boiling until mixture reaches 265 degrees on a candy thermometer.
• Pour on marble slab or cool hard surface.
• As edges cool, push toward center once.
• When cool enough to handle, pull with buttered hands (Keep hands cool with damp cloth).
• Pull and fold over in a half twist.
• When pulling is completed, cut into pieces with scissors.
• Makes approximately 30 half twists.
• Recipe History: an old recipe for cream candy.
• Candy is not hard like taffy but has a softer and smoother consistency.
• This candy tends to melt in your mouth.

BLUE RIBBON CREAMY CARAMELS

Steps:

• Spray a large loaf pan or 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• Stir white sugar, 3/4 cup cream, corn syrup, butter, vinegar, and salt together in a heavy pot; bring to a boil. Stir in remaining cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until caramel is 244 degrees F (117 degrees C), or until a small amount of caramel dropped into cold water forms a firm but pliable ball, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool briefly.
• Stir walnuts and vanilla extract into caramel; pour caramel into prepared baking dish. Cool completely, at least 1 hour. Turn baking dish over onto a flat work surface to remove cooled caramel from dish; cut caramel into serving pieces.

RIBBON COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.
• In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add to the butter mixture, making sure all ingredients are incorporated.
• Divide dough into three equal parts. Add a few drops of red food coloring to one third, mixing until the color is even. Add cocoa and pecans to one third, mixing well. Leave the other third plain.
• Line a loaf pan with wax paper or foil. Press the chocolate layer into the bottom of the pan, pressing firmly to make the dough as flat and even as possible on top. Add the plain dough to the pan, again making an even layer on top of the chocolate. On top of the plain dough, add the red, pressing down flat on top. Wrap the dough completely, leave it in the loaf pan, and chill over night, or until firm enough to slice.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from loaf pan and place on cutting board. Cut the dough lenghth-wise, down the middle, so you have two long "bars" of dough. Put one bar back in the refrigerator, to keep chilled while you work with the other.
• Slice into about 1/8" slices, or thicker if you like them a little softer. The thinner they are sliced, the crispier they will be.
• Bake for about 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Take them out when the bottoms are just browned. Try not to overbake, or they will lose their pretty color.
• Cool on wire rack.