Wafers.—To make wafers, boil without stirring two cups of granulated sugar, a half cup of water. When it will “spin a thread” set the kettle in cold water and beat till creamy. Flavor with peppermint, wintergreen, cinnamon, or any flavor you choose. Squeeze through a pastry tube upon paraffin paper in quantities that will spread to the size of a quarter dollar.
Chocolate Peppermint Wafers.—Take some of the fondant prepared as above, flavor rather strongly with peppermint and dip in sweet chocolate.
Molasses candies.—Nothing pleases children more than a “candy pull.” Turn them loose in the kitchen and let them make molasses taffy.
Molasses Taffy.—Boil a cup of good Porto Rico molasses, a cup of brown sugar and a piece of butter the size of an egg until a little will harden, in cold water. Cool on buttered plates, and as soon as it can be handled grease the fingers and pull till hard and light colored. To prevent boiling over, grease the edge of the pan or kettle in which it is boiled.
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Molasses Taffy No. 2.—Four cups of sugar, two of molasses, half a cup of vinegar. Boil till it hardens in cold water, then add a tablespoonful of soda dissolved in a little water. Pour into buttered dishes and pull when sufficiently cool to handle.
Butter Scotch.—One cup of each of sugar and molasses, half a cup of vinegar, one tablespoonful of butter and a quarter teaspoonful of soda.
Nougat.—Nuts intended for nougat should be blanched, skinned and dried. Melt in a porcelain lined vessel, one pound of fine white sugar with two tablespoonfuls of water, stirring continually with a wooden spoon. Heat the nuts in the oven, after chopping them, add to the syrup, and stir for five minutes. Remove from the fire and add a little grated lemon rind. Oil a flat pan; place it in a warm place on the range and pour the candy into it. When brown, turn out of the mould, cut in cubes and wrap in oiled paper.
Nut Bars.—Chop any kind of nutmeats you prefer, or a mixture of nuts, moderately fine. Butter a shallow pan and spread the nuts evenly over the bottom. Boil one pound of granulated sugar with half a cup of water and a pinch of cream of tartar till thick, but not too brittle. Pour over the nuts and set aside to cool. When it begins to harden mark into bars with a sharp knife. Let stand several days, when it becomes soft and delicious.
Nut Loaf.—Chop nutmeats into small pieces and work into fondant. Make into a roll, and after standing a day or two, cut into slices. Chopped dates, figs and raisins may be used in the same way.
Peanut Candy.—Carefully remove the shells and brown skins from roasted peanuts. Put them an inch thick in a buttered pan. Boil a pound of crushed loaf sugar with three gills of water and a salt spoon of cream of tartar (to prevent graining) dissolved in water, to the caramel stage. The instant the sugar reaches that point, shown by its beginning to brown, it must be removed from the fire and the pan set in cold water to check the boiling; then pour over the nuts.