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| I know this is the Harvest Forum, but this is where I hang out...I'm making holiday candy and maybe cookies and wondering how far in advance I can make things and the best way to store them. Cookies, I think, freeze okay, but do you freeze candy also? The recipes I'm wondering about are fudge and pecan pralines. I also have an old family recipe for Pecan Chew Candy that tastes like pralines, but has a texture between caramels and fudge or chewier, depending on how it's cooked. It is made with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, karo syrup, vanilla and pecans. It's spread into a cookie sheet and cut like fudge. Which of your favorite candies or cookies do or don't freeze well? |
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- Posted by readinglady z8 OR (My Page) on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 19:08
| Humidity is the enemy of candies and I'd expect the pralines, especially, might start to break down if there's moisture in the air. I have an old recipe for pralines (I don't remember where I got it.) and the first instruction line says, "Check the barometric pressure before starting. If it is 30 or more, proceed; if not, wait for another day." So I consider that a good rule of thumb for making and storing. Truth to tell, here in the Pacific Northwet a lot of candies do better in February when we're more likely to see a few cold bright dry days. There are some years when I haven't even attempted any "real" candy for Christmas. You might have luck if the candies were in a tin or other airtight container but you're probably going to make a test run and see how the different types hold up. Any sugar confection is going to be susceptible, especially traditional fudges and candies, but fudge confections with marshmallow cream or condensed milk, melted chips, etc. do hold up better than the true old-fashioned fudges. The added ingredients seem to serve as stabilizers. I've frozen gobs of cookies but depending on the timeframe I've done just as well with a tight tin container and a cool garage. Freezing also works well for unbaked pre-portioned drop cookies or refrigerate-and-slice cookies. Then you can bake on demand. Carol |
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| I don't make candies ahead of time, IF I make them at all. I've not had good luck with freezing anything chocolatey (fudge, truffles, etc.) and only marginal success with other types. At most, I have made candies a day or two ahead and stored at room temp in tins or air tight containers. I do make cookie dough and freeze in tubs, then I can bake a bunch when I need them. A 16 oz. cottage cheese container holds enough dough for about 2 dozen or so cookies (usually a couple of extras for sampling, you know). The dough doesn't take long to thaw enough to scoop out and roll or drop as needed. I can take them out first thing in the morning and by the time I've had my coffee, checked email, preheated the oven, etc. they're ready to go! I write the baking time/temp on the lid before freezing so I don't have to drag the recipes out again. Deanna |
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- Posted by myfamilysfarm 5b (My Page) on Mon, Nov 18, 13 at 19:53
| My grandmother was the candy maker in our family. She did lots of chocolates. She would start about Halloween to have enough for Christmas. She saved butter container throughout the year and stored all the candy in them. She also did homemade chocolate covered cherries, nougat with and without nuts, chocolate bark with peanuts. To say the least, none of the family is underweight. We were expected to take a minimum of 1 3# butter container home with us, usually 1 per person. |
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| Thanks everyone! That's exactly the information I needed. I remember my grandmother's wonderful divinity and her unbroken rule never to make it on a rainy or high humidity day! The pecan chewy candy I think will hold up fine in tight tins stored in a cool dry part of the house. I think it "probably" would freeze well, too, and will try a small zip lock bag in the freezer just to test it out. Cookie dough...I hadn't remembered about freezing the dough instead of the baked cookies. That makes much more sense and easier to store. Plus, when baked, you have fresh, hot cookies! One of the reasons I wanted to store some of the goodies in the freezer was making them last longer...not for shelf life, but it's the last place my husband will look for them! :-) Jill |
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