| | Published December 10th, 2008
| Crunchy Holiday Treats!
| | By Susie Iventosch |  | |
With the holidays rapidly approaching, it's time to think about baking cookies and making candy as little gifts for teachers, friends, granddads and stocking stuffers. I just love homemade toffee, but never had much luck making my own ... must have missed that chemistry lesson! Recently, though, a friend gave me her recipe for English toffee, which she said is fool-proof. Just like magic, it worked perfectly the first time I tried it. Don't ask about the second and third times. Those were a disaster with the result being a soft, crumbly, un-presentable mess.
Apparently, the candy had not reached the hard crack stage, which can be tricky, because you don't want to cook it so long that it burns. After a little research, I went back for a fourth attempt, this time taking the candy through the hard crack stage and cooking it there for a bit longer than my instincts told me to, but not long enough to get much past 310 on the candy thermometer. This time it worked very well, and the result is delicious!
If you have the desire to try to make candy on your own, here are recipes for the English toffee and peanut brittle. But, if you don't feel that urge, you can always trek down to Loard's Ice Cream & Candies in Orinda or Moraga, and purchase from their beautiful selection of sweets. They also sell adorable ice cream snowballs, made to order with your choice of ice cream and toppings, and adorned with holly and a candle. These festive little treats go for $3 apiece.
Loard's has been at the Orinda location for 56 years, and according to current owner Brooks Stubblefield, the ice cream is still made in small batches at the San Leandro factory. The Loard's process uses minimal whipped air producing a denser, creamier ice cream, which is available in some 60 flavors. It could take a while to study this fabulous selection of flavors before deciding on your custom snowballs, but don't let it deter you, they are really fun! Please call or stop by the store to place special orders.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA