Original White House Cookbook

These are a very delicious candy seldom met with out of France. They are rather more trouble to make than other kinds, but well repay it from their novel flavor. Blanch a cupful of almonds ; dry them thoroughly. Boil a cupful of sugar and a quarter of a cupful of water till it “hairs,” then throw in the almonds; let them fry, as it were, in this syrup, stirring them occasionally ; they will turn a faint yellow brown , before the sugar changes color ; do not wait an instant once this change of color begins, or they will lose flavor ; remove them from the fire, and stir them until the syrup has turned back to sugar and clings irregularly to the nuts. These are grilled almonds. You will find them delicious, as they are to alternate at dinner with the salted almonds now so fashionable. PEPPERMINT DROPS. One cupful of sugar crushed fine, and just moistened with boiling water, then boiled five minutes ; then take from the fire and add cream of tartar the size of a pea; mix well and add four or five drops of oil of peppermint. Beat briskly until the mixture whitens, then drop quickly upon white paper. Have the cream of tartar and oil of peppermint measured while the sugar is boiling. If it sugars before it is all dropped, add a little water and boil a minute or two. CURRANT DROPS. Use currant juice instead of water, to moisten a quantity of sugar. Put it in a pan and heat, stirring constantly ; be sure not to let it boil ; then mix a very little more sugar, let it warm with the rest a moment, then, with a smooth stick, drop on paper. LEMON DROPS. Upon a coffeecupful of finely powdered sugar pour just enough lemon juice to dissolve it, and boil it to the consistency of thick syrup, and so that it appears brittle when dropped in cold water. Drop this on buttered plates in drops; set away to cool and harden. NUT MOLASSES CANDY. When making molasses candy, add any kind of nuts you fancy ; put them in after the syrup has thickened and is ready to take from the fire ; pour out on buttered tins. Mark it off in squares before it gets too cool. Peanuts should be fresh roasted and then tossed in a sieve, to free them of their inner skins. SUGAR NUT CANDY. Three pounds of white sugar, half a pint of water, half a pint of vinegar, a quarter of a pound of butter, one pound of hickory nut kernels. Put the sugar, butter, vinegar and water together into a thick saucepan. When it begins to thicken, add the nuts. To test it, take up a very small quantity as quickly as possible directly from the centre, taking care not to disturb it any more than is necessary. Drop it into cold water, and remove from the fire the moment the little particles are brittle. Pour into buttered plates. Use any nuts with this recipe. COCOANUT CANDY. One cocoanut, one and one-half pounds of granulated sugar. Put sugar and milk of cocoanut together, beat slowly until the sugar is melted, then boil five minutes ; add cocoanut (finely grated), boil ten minutes longer, stir constantly to keep from burning. Pour on buttered plates ; cut in squares. Will take about two days to harden. Use prepared cocoanut when other cannot be had. BUTTER-SCOTCH.