Blanch one cupful of almonds. Chop them and place them in the oven to dry. They must be watched that they do not brown. Put into a saucepan two and a half cupfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Place it on the fire and stir with a wooden spoon until it is melted and slightly colored. Let it stand a few minutes so it will be thoroughly melted and not grainy, then turn in the hot almonds, mix them together quickly, not stirring long enough to grain the sugar, and turn it onto an oiled slab. Spread it out in an even sheet, one eighth of an inch thick, using a half lemon to press it with. While it is still warm, mark it off into squares or diamonds. Break it into pieces when cold.

These sheets of nougat can be lifted and pressed into molds, but it hardens quickly and is not as easy to work as the receipt No. 2.

=NOUGAT No. 2 (For Molding)=

Put two cupfuls of granulated sugar into a saucepan with a half cupful of water. Let it boil to the crack (310) without stirring (see boiling sugar, page 511), add a few drops of lemon-juice, and then turn in a half cupful of hot chopped blanched almonds which have been dried in the oven. Mix them together, stirring only enough to mix them and not grain the sugar. Pour it on an oiled marble slab, and press it as thin as an eighth of an inch or less. Cut the sheet of nougat into pieces of the right size and press them into oiled molds. Do this while the nougat is only just cool enough to handle, so it will be pliable. Loosen the form from the mold while it is still warm, but keep it in the mold until cold. The work has to be done quickly, as the nougat hardens in a few minutes. Perhaps the first trial to make nougat forms will be a failure, but a few trials will enable one to accomplish it.

If any pieces get broken off the molded forms, they can be stuck on again with liquid sugar or with royal icing. Horns of plenty are favorite forms for nougat. The molds come of different sizes. These pieces filled with glace fruits make very ornamental pieces. The horns are molded in halves. When the nougat has hardened, the two pieces are tied together, rested on a m.u.f.fin ring, and royal icing pressed through a pastry-tube into any ornamental shape along the edges. This quickly hardens and binds the horn together. A support for the form is made from nougat cut into strips and formed into a box-shape, open at one end.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HORN OF PLENTY IN NOUGAT FILLED WITH GLACe GRAPES.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HORN OF PLENTY IN NOUGAT FILLED WITH GLACe ORANGES AND GRAPES COVERED WITH SPUN SUGAR.]

=NOUGAT No. 3 (Soft White Nougat)=

Put into a saucepan the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth; beat into them one pound of heated strained honey, then add a pound of sugar cooked to the ball, 236. Continue beating until it attains 290.

A little of the mixture cooled in water will then crumble between the fingers. At this stage add a pound of sugar cooked to the crack, 310, a pound of whole blanched almonds, and a few pistachio nuts. Pour the mixture into a dish lined with wafers, making the nougat one inch thick.

Cover the top with wafers, and when cold cut it into pieces three inches long and one inch wide. To make wafers, see receipt for gauffres (page 479); but instead of baking them in the gauffre-iron, spread the mixture as thinly as possible on an oiled paper and dry in a slow oven without coloring.

=NOUGAT No. 4 (Bonbons)=

Blanch, chop, and dry without coloring one cupful of almonds. Melt one cupful of powdered sugar with one teaspoonful of lemon-juice, stirring all the time. When it is thoroughly melted and a delicate color, turn in the hot almonds. Mix them together and turn into an oiled tin. Press down the nougat evenly, leaving it an inch thick. Cut it in inch squares before it becomes hard. This nougat has only enough sugar to bind the nuts together.

=BURNT ALMONDS=

Put a cupful of brown sugar into a saucepan with a very little water.

Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil a minute, then throw in a half cupful of almonds and stir over the fire until the sugar granulates and is a little browned. When the nuts are well coated, and before they get into one ma.s.s, turn them out and separate any that have stuck together.

=SUGARED ALMONDS=

Put a cupful of granulated sugar in a saucepan with a little water. Stir until it is dissolved, then let it cook to the ball stage without touching except to test. Turn in a half cupful of blanched almonds and stir off the fire until the nuts are well covered with the granulated sugar, but turn them out before they become one ma.s.s. Boil another cupful of sugar to the ball, turn in the coated almonds and stir again in the same way, giving them a second coating of sugar, but not leaving them in the pan until they are all stuck together. The nuts may be given a third coating in the same way, if a larger size is wanted.

For pink almonds, add a little carmine to the sugar just before putting in the almonds for the last coating. Any flavoring desired may also be added at this time.

=MARRONS GLACe (Candied Chestnuts)=

Remove the sh.e.l.ls from a dozen or more French chestnuts. Cover them with boiling water and let them stand a few minutes until the skins can be removed. Put them again in hot water and simmer slowly until the nuts are tender, but not soft.

Put a cupful of sugar and a cupful of water in a saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the boiled chestnuts and let them cook in the syrup until they look clear, then turn them onto a sieve, using care not to break the nuts, and let them cool. Return the strained syrup to the saucepan and cook it to the hard-ball stage. Remove it from the fire, add a few drops of lemon-juice and a half teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Drop the chestnuts into it, one at a time, turn until thinly coated, and remove with a candy wire to an oiled paper or slab; or, when the sugar has reached the ball stage, add a few drops of lemon-juice, let it cool a few minutes, and then stir until it begins to whiten; then immediately place in a pan of hot water, flavor with vanilla and stir until it again becomes liquid, and dip the nuts as directed above.

=MARSHMALLOWS=

Soak four ounces of gum arabic in a cupful of water until it is dissolved. Strain it to take out any black specks that may be in the gum. Put the dissolved gum arabic into a saucepan with a half pound of powdered sugar. Place the saucepan in a second pan containing boiling water. Stir until the mixture becomes thick and white. When it begins to thicken, test it by dropping a little into cold water. When it will form a firm ball remove it from the fire, and stir into it the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth. This will give it a spongy texture.

Lastly, flavor it with two teaspoonfuls of orange-flower water. Turn the paste into a pan covered thick with corn-starch. The layer of paste should be one inch thick. Too large a pan must not be used, or it will spread and make a thin layer. After the paste has stood twelve hours, turn it onto a slab and cut it into inch squares, dust them well with corn-starch or with confectioner"s sugar, and pack in boxes. As the paste is more or less cooked, it will be more or less stiff.

Marshmallows become harder the longer they are kept, but are best when as soft as they can be handled.

CARAMELS

=CHOCOLATE=

Put into a saucepan a half cupful each of mola.s.ses, of white sugar and of brown sugar, a cupful of grated chocolate, and a cupful of cream or milk. Stir the mixture constantly over the fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage, then add a teaspoonful of vanilla and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into a greased tin, having the paste an inch thick. Mark it in inch squares and cut before it is quite cold.

Wrap each piece in paraffin paper.

=VANILLA, COFFEE, MAPLE=

Put into a saucepan one cupful of sugar and three quarters of a cupful of cream. Stir constantly over a hot fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage; remove from the fire, add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into greased tins, the same as directed for chocolate caramels. For coffee caramels use a half cupful of cream and a quarter of a cupful of strong coffee. For maple caramels use a cupful of maple syrup in place of sugar, and omit the vanilla.

BONBONS OF FONDANT

=HARLEQUIN b.a.l.l.s=

Take several small portions of fondant and color each one a different shade Do this by dipping a wooden toothpick into the coloring matter and then touching it to the paste. The colors are strong, and care must be used not to get too much on the fondant, for the candies should be delicate in color. For orange b.a.l.l.s, color and flavor with orange-juice; for pistachio, color green and flavor with orange-flower water and then with bitter almond (see page 391); for pink, color with carmine and flavor with maraschino or with rose-water; for chocolate, mix in cocoa powder and flavor with vanilla; for white, flavor with noyau, peach, or anything preferred. When liquid flavors are used, if the fondant becomes too soft, mix in a little confectioner"s sugar; use as little as possible, as too much gives a raw taste. Work in the flavorings and colors by hand, and wash the hands between each different color. After the fondant is prepared, roll it into b.a.l.l.s the size of filberts, then roll them in almonds chopped fine. The nuts improve them, but may be omitted if desired. Let the b.a.l.l.s stand for two or more hours to harden before putting them together. If the b.a.l.l.s are wanted of one color on the outside, omit the nuts and dip them in liquid fondant colored as desired.

=NEAPOLITAN SQUARES=

Color and flavor fondant in three colors as directed above; roll it into layers one quarter inch thick, and place the layers one on the other; press them together lightly and cut into inch squares.

=NUT CREAMS=

Mix chopped nuts of any kind into flavored fondant, then roll into a layer three quarters of an inch thick, and cut into squares.

=SUGAR-PLUMS=

Take small pieces of fondant, flavored and colored to taste; form it into olive-shaped b.a.l.l.s. Hold one in the palm of the hand, cut it half through and press into it an almond; form the fondant around it, leaving a narrow strip of the nut uncovered, giving the appearance of a sh.e.l.l cracked open, showing the kernel. If chocolate color is used the almond should be blanched, but with light colors the skin is left on to give contrast. When green color is used it represents a green almond.

=CHOCOLATE CREAMS=

Roll fondant flavored with vanilla into small b.a.l.l.s; let them stand a few hours to harden. Melt an ounce of unsweetened chocolate, add to it two tablespoonfuls of milk, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a quarter teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter. Stir till smooth; drop the b.a.l.l.s into it and remove with a fork or candy wire. If the chocolate becomes too stiff, add a few drops of syrup and heat it again.

=CREAMED NUTS AND CREAMED FRUITS=