In front of me was a simply beautiful book on candy making:
Sweet Confections: Beautiful Candy to Make at Home
The library had placed the book on an end cap, where librarian choices are often featured, it caught my eye as I walked by. I can rarely pass up taking a look at candy making cookbooks, this book especially stands out. The photography makes it worthy of being on a coffee table instead of in a dusty bookshelf. The recipes and instruction on candy making make it a must have book. And on the recipes, Nina has picked many that are not what you would expect. And so that is how I made a dried fruit and nut treat out of a candy book. Yet, it works. I would be happy to receive the Sugarplums as a gift, tucked into a box of truffles. The rolling of them in spiced sugar takes them from “raw balls” to “candy like”. I will have to remember to come back to this book next winter when I am making candy for gifts!
I did adapt the recipe: I used raw almonds and I was out of apricots so I used golden raisins. Otherwise I followed it.
Sugarplums (Adapted from pages 92-93)
Ingredients:
- ½ cup raw almonds
- ¼ cup dry roasted/unsalted pistachios
- 1 cup dried plums
- 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
- ½ cup golden raisins or apricots
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ½ tsp rosewater
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Directions:
Finely chop the almonds and pistachios in a food processor, transfer to a small bowl.
Add the dried fruit and honey to the food processor, process until it starts to clump. Add the nuts and rosewater, process on high until a ball forms.
Use a 1 Tablespoon Disher
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Makes about 22 balls.
~Sarah