Homemade Old Fashioned Christmas Candies

Old-fashioned Christmas candies are an indispensable part of Christmas. Their unique flavors and exquisite packaging can always evoke peoples nostalgia for past Christmases. Next, lets step into the world of these candies, understand how they are made, and relive those Christmas moments full of joy and warmth.

Ingredients Needed

White granulated sugar: As one of the main ingredients, it provides the necessary sweet foundation for making meringue. In the entire production process, it interacts with egg whites and affects the texture and taste of meringue.

Egg whites: They are the key raw material for making meringue. Through a series of operations such as mixing, heating, and whipping with white granulated sugar, a meringue with an upright state can be formed, laying the foundation for making various shapes later and giving marshmallow candies a unique fluffy texture and shaping ability.

Edible pigment: Used to color the meringue. Different colors can be adjusted according to needs, such as black, orange, brown, red, yellow, etc., so that color elements required for various shapes can be squeezed out on marshmallow candies.

What tools are needed

Mixing tools:

Stirring rods or egg beaters (manual or electric) are indispensable. At first, they are used to mix sugar and egg whites. When heating, they continuously stir the solution to ensure uniform heating, prevent caking or protein denaturation, and maintain the stability of the solution texture.

Heating tools:

Pots combined with stoves create a hot water bath environment. Thick-bottomed pots can accurately control the temperature, and stoves output heat steadily on low heat to slowly heat the sugar and egg white mixture to 70 degrees.

Filtering tools:

Sieves come on stage after heating to 70 degrees and are used to filter the solution to remove lumps and ensure that the meringue is fine and smooth, improving the taste and appearance.

Whipping tools:

A stand mixer or electric egg beater is responsible for whipping the sieved solution. The high-speed gear of a stand mixer operates stably and efficiently, helping the meringue form a small upright tip. Electric egg beaters can also meet the requirements.

Injection tools:

Pastry bags and piping nozzles work together to squeeze the meringue into various shapes. Different-shaped piping nozzles create diverse shapes, such as making the fine parts of snowmen and reindeer.

Baking trays and baking paper:

Baking trays carry marshmallow candies. Baking paper is non-stick. High-quality baking trays ensure uniform heating or ventilation, which is beneficial for baking or drying marshmallow candies to form.

Styling tools:

Edible pigments are used for coloring. Black, orange, etc. provide color support for making the facial features of snowmen and reindeer shapes, making the candies full of Christmas characteristics.

What are the skills in the decoration process

Key points for extruding meringue:

When extruding meringue, precisely control the pressure. At the beginning, apply light force to make it flow out slowly. For example, when squeezing the small dots on the body of a snowman, ensure uniform shape. If the pressure is too high, the shape will be messy and it is easy to waste. At the same time, keep your hand stable. When squeezing lines such as reindeer antlers, a stable hand can avoid uneven and curved lines. You can use the tabletop or your other hand for assistance.

Tips for color and styling:

After coloring, pay attention to layered decoration of colors. When making a reindeer, squeeze the brown main body first. After it is slightly dry, decorate the details. For making a snowman, make the white body first and then draw the facial features to avoid color mixing and make the shape more three-dimensional. When shaping complex shapes, pay attention to details. For example, for the eyes of a snowman, use small black circles, a curved mouth, and an orange circle for the nose. It is advisable to choose a small-caliber piping nozzle.

Combination decoration techniques:

When combining biscuits and meringue, gently press the biscuits and use stickiness to fix them. Apply appropriate force to prevent destroying the shape. Also, pay attention to the coordinated proportion of the two to make the combination natural. You can also be creative. For example, squeeze snowflakes in the blank areas of the baking tray and decorate with silver sugar beads to echo snowmen and reindeer and add Christmas atmosphere to create beautiful old-fashioned Christmas candy decorations.

How to deal with candy surface adhesion

If the adhesion is slight, you can use a toothpick or small tweezers to gently pry from the edge. For example, when handling snowman candies, gentle movements can ensure the shape. You can also separate them after refrigerating for 15 - 30 minutes. Using low temperature can make the candies brittle and easy to operate, but those with fragile textures should be used with caution to prevent breakage.

When adhesion occurs due to sugar seeping out, you can use a clean damp cloth or paper towel to gently wipe from the undecorated edge. Replace it in time to avoid adhesion again. For relatively sturdy candies that are not afraid of water, you can rinse them under running water for a few seconds, then immediately use kitchen paper towels to absorb moisture and air dry. However, candies made of meringue may deform when in contact with water. This method should be used with caution to restore the independent form of candies.

How to store

Store candies in sealed containers or sealed bags, which can effectively isolate air and external moisture and prevent candies from getting damp, adhering or deteriorating. Preferably choose plastic boxes or glass jars with sealing strips. After putting the candies in, squeeze out the air and then seal.

Store the sealed candies in a cool, dry and dark place, such as a cabinet or food storage room. The temperature is preferably 15 - 20 degrees Celsius. High temperature will cause candies to melt and deform. Strong light may cause fading of pigments and loss of fragrance. A humid environment is easy to make candies get damp.

If you have made candies of various flavors or shapes, it is best to store them separately to avoid flavor transfer and mutual compression. Separate them with small partitions or individual packaging to maintain the integrity of the candy shape and the original flavor and prolong the shelf life, so that the candies can always maintain good quality during storage.