ISO Great Grandma's Candy Recipe

I am in search of a recipe my German great grandma used to make us.  It was a very hard chocolate candy.  She would pour the candy mixture into a 9x13, let it harden and break it apart like peanut brittle.  The candy reminds me of the center of a Riesen candy.  Anyone have a recipe similar to this?  Thanks!

Anita

hi anita,

it ounds like caramel - but i have to look for a recipe in my books - i hope we can find it for you. Was it chocolate color or flavored or real chocolate??

Cheers Twinkle 

 

The candy was chocolate in color, and a chocolate-fudge taste, even though it was hard as a rock!  Thanks for helping!

Anita

I may have a solution for you. Many years ago my mom used to make fudge the old-fashioned way, cooking it until a soft ball formed when some of the candy was drizzled into a dish containing cold water. I recall that on one occasion she failed to check the candy soon enough and it had reached the hard crack stage. She spread this candy into small portions on greased waxed paper, stuck popsicle sticks into each and let the candy harden. It made delicious fudge hard suckers. You may want to give this technique a try using the old Hershey's cocoa, white sugar recipe.

Could you givbe me that recipe?  I am not "up" on fudge recipes--never quite made fudge part of my repertoire!  Thank you for your help!!!!

Anita

I searched through my recipe database and was unable to find the recipe. What I can tell you is that it was a recipe for fudge found on Hershey's Cocoa containers about 50 years ago. I recall that it contained cocoa, butter, granulated sugar, ?. You might try Hershey's--they may be able to provide the recipe.

 

Would this be the one? Instead of soft ball stage, it would need to be cooked to hard ball stage or even hard crack.

Hershey Fudge

4 tablespoons Hershey's Cocoa

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

 

Directions: Mix cocoa and sugar. Add milk and butter, then boil. Continue boiling until soft ball is formed when a small amount from spoon is dropped into cold water. Remove from heat, add vanilla, allow to stand until fairly cool, then beat until creamy and pour into buttered pan.

This is a little larger batch, but very similar. 

Directions:
1. Line 8-or 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Butter foil.

2. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in heavy 4-quart saucepan; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full rolling boil. Boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches 234°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water, forms a soft ball which flattens when removed from water. (Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.)

3. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla. DO NOT STIR. Cool at room temperature to 110°F (lukewarm). Beat with wooden spoon until fudge thickens and just begins to lose some of its gloss. Quickly spread into prepared pan; cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. About 36 pieces or 1-3/4 pounds.

NOTE: For best results, do not double this recipe.

I'm wondering if you are referring to chocolate bark. You can melt it and then stir in whatever nuts you want , pour on a cookie sheet and crack when hardened. I don't know if I ever heard of chocolate being like britle but this idea comes close.

The following recipe was published in a very popular German cookbook that was translated into English in 1897.

  

Chocolate Caramel. Take 1/2 pint of rich milk and put it to boil in a porcelain kettle; scrape down 1 1/2 squares of chocolate, put it into a very clean tin cup and set on the top of a stove until it becomes soft. Let the milk boil up twice. Then add, gradually, the chocolate, and stir both over the fire until thoroughly mixed and free from lumps. Stir in 1/2 pint of the best powdered sugar, and 4 large tablespoonfuls of molasses. Let the whole boil fast and constantly (so as to bubble) for at least 1 hour or more, till it is nearly as stiff as good mush. When all is done add a small teaspoonful of essence of vanilla, and transfer the mixture to shallow tin pans, slightly greased with very nice sweet oil. Set it on ice or in a very cool place, and while yet soft mark it deeply in squares with a very sharp knife. When quite hard cut the squares apart. If it does not harden well it has not been boiled long enough or fast enough.

 

 

HENRIETTE DAVIDIS'
Practical Cook Book
COMPILED FOR THE UNITED STATES FROM THE
THIRTY-FIFTH GERMAN EDITION.

1897

Oh how fun to read this recipe!  Thank you so much!  I will give it a try this weekend (5 kids and the crazy school-activities week and trying a new recipe are not very complimentary!)  and let you know how it turns out.  Thanks to all of you for your help!

 

Anita