Christiansburg Candy Making Workshop Event

The Christiansburg Recreation Center hosted a holiday candy making workshop Monday night at the Montgomery County Government Building.  Dedra Altizer, Anita Smith and Kathy Perdue instructed the workshop after working with chocolates for over 20 years as a family tradition passed down from generation to generation.

The ladies hosted the two-hour workshop sharing their knowledge, recipes and helpful hints for this delicious time of year when holiday treats are eaten as quickly as they are made. 

Mother and daughter, Jennifer Slusser and Joan White, came to the workshop to pick up some new recipe ideas.

“I can’t believe they aren’t using real chocolate!” said White.  “I had never even heard of almond bark before, but I’ll definitely be using it from now on.”

White is right, surprisingly real chocolate isn’t used to make these treats. 

Altizer explains that real chocolate blooms, meaning that it separates. Almond bark has the cocoa butter removed and substituted with other fats so that tempering is not necessary.

Altizer and Smith used chocolate and vanilla almond bark to show the class how to make everything from home-made mints and coconut balls to chocolate covered cherries and peppermint bark.

“You don’t need a fancy double-boiler to melt your chocolate almond bark,” said Smith. “All you need is a ring from an old jar, a saucepan, a bowl and water.”

The bowl sits on the jar ring in a half-filled saucepan of simmering water.  The ring and the simmering, not boiling, water prevent the chocolate from burning. 

“When dipping, the less time in the chocolate the better,” said Altizer. “You could actually cook whatever you’re dipping.”

The ladies warn about the dangers of melting chocolate because if water gets into the bowl, the chocolate will freeze up and the batch will be ruined.

Altizer encouraged everyone in class to take a turn dipping goodies into the chocolate and reminded them that practice makes perfect.

Most recipes from the workshop stemmed from a simple fondant recipe.

The recipe for fondant includes one stick of margarine with 100 percent fat content, one pound of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/4 cup of water and 1teaspon glycerin.

Glycerin is only needed if storing plans exceed one week.

This basic fondant recipe can create peanut butter balls by mixing one cup of fondant and 1/4 cup peanut-butter.  Simply shape into balls before dipping in chocolate.

Peanut-butter pin-wheels were also a favorite treat of the evening.  To make, add 1/2 cup powdered sugar to one cup of fondant, roll out and spread desired amount of peanut-butter on top.

“My husband likes fondant with his peanut-butter,” said Smith.

Smith had a great trick to rolling the dough together.  She’s used waxed paper to help release the dough as she rolled it into a cylinder shape.

After a quick stop in the freezer to help harden up, Smith cut the pinwheels with the help of an ulu knife.

“It seems to cut better than a normal knife,” said Smith.

Perdue had some great ideas about giving special marshmallows as great holiday gifts.  She recommends cutting them in half because otherwise they tower over the boxes.

“You can dip them in white chocolate and put some toasted coconut on top,” said Perdue. “But what I really love is to dip the marshmallows in butterscotch and put a pecan on top.”

Peppermint bark was made easy by adding peppermint flavoring to white chocolate with accents of crushed peppermint stick.  The mixture is then pored out and left to harden.

A participant in the workshop, 72-year-old Will Beuler, enjoyed the workshop but claimed these candies are a little different than the way his dad made them.  Beuler’s father owned Johnson Candy Co. in Blair, N.J.

“The way dad used it make it, he used about 40 pounds of sugar a day,” said Beuler. 

Beuler brought original iron molds from 80 years ago that his father used.  The class admired the classic candy tools in addition to the modern day plastic ones used in the workshop.

Altizer, Smith and Perdue encourages everyone to try their hand at making these holiday treats! The trio will be back next year to teach another class in holiday candy magic making.

Photo courtesy of Melly McGee, licensed under creative commons.