Golden Glow Candy Wreath Recipes

CORNFLAKE CHRISTMAS WREATHS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Combine the marshmallows and butter in a large bowl and microwave on 50-percent power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each, until melted, about 1 minute 30 seconds.
• Stir in the vanilla and enough food coloring to make the mixture a deep green, 10 to 15 drops. Stir in the cornflakes until they are completely coated.
• Working with wet hands, form the mixture into twenty-four 2-inch balls. Flatten on the prepared baking sheets and poke a hole in the middle of each with your finger, molding the sides as needed to form a wreath shape. Decorate with the cinnamon candies to create holly berries. Form the red candy strips into a simple bow on each wreath. Sprinkle lightly with the white nonpareils for snow. Let set at room temperature to firm up, about 2 hours, or refrigerate 30 minutes.

PEPPERMINT CHRISTMAS WREATHS FOR TREE OR GIFT PKGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
• Place the aluminum foil tart pans on a cookie sheet
• Remove the candy wrappers from a few candies -- as many as you plan on using. You might start with 20 or 30 and unwrap more if you need them as you go along. (We had 3 kids and 2 adults working at different stages and had a great time. Make sure it is the adults using the oven, depending on the ages of the children. Safety first!!)
• Arrange the candies in a circle inside the pan but do not place any in the middle of the pan. This will take about 5 or 6 candies (depending on the size of the foil pan). Line up the candies touching one another in a circle lining the outer edge of the inside of the foil pan.
• Place the cookie sheet in the oven for from 5 to 8 minutes. You will need to watch them carefully to get familiar with judging them. The candies will start to melt and wherever they are touching they will become permanently attached together.
• When they have formed a perfect little wreath, remove them from the oven and cool.
• NOTE: If you bake them too long they will begin to run together and you will have a candy disk rather than a candy wreath. You want the candy to retain it's original look, but be melted enough to attach to the next one. Watch the time on your first batch then the second will be the same.
• After they have completely cooled, tie on a length of ribbon to suit your purpose -- if hanging on the tree, you'll need a long strip to make a loop with a bow. It worked well to simply tie the ribbon to the candy, make the bow, then make the loop above the bow (not like in the attached picture -- the bow is prettier on the candy, not the loop). If for packages the ribbon should be just long enough to make a pretty bow on top or bottom as you wish.
• You can alternate red and green candies, or, as mentioned above you can use any hard candy to make these. All red candies, or blue candies, or whatever you have. Remember the white candies will show up on a dark tree better, but the darker colored ones look great as package trims that the receiver can eat!!
• The ones we made for the tree lasted about three years before they began to get broken and soft and were thrown out. They don't get sticky unless they get wet for some reason. They can be packed in tissue paper or wax paper but make sure to store them away from, say a furnace! LOL
• The foil pans dictate the size of the wreaths and make it easier to handle them later and also keep them uniform in size. They simply pop out of the pan when they have cooled. You can easily turn them upside down and lightly tap the bottom letting them fall gently into your hand.
• If you have some reason to make larger wreaths the candies can be laid out on an aluminum-foil-covered cookie sheet in a circle and heated the same way. Just keep your eye on them... the hotter they get, the farther they spread.
• In fact... this is funny... I saw a blog where a lady had laid out an entire bag of candies in a rectangle on foil, melted them together, and used them as a candy dish to give treats to friends and neighbors!! I've attached a picture of that, too!! (That was at tipgarden (dot) blogspot (dot) com) I imagine you could make some cool patterns with the candies, too... just be creative!
• Merry Christmas!!

GOLDEN GLORY

Steps:

• Fill 4 champagne glasses 1/4 of the way with the sparkling cider, and then fill them 1/2 of the way with ginger ale. Add a shot of vanilla vodka, and a shot of cinnamon schnapps to each glass and serve.

POPCORN BALL WREATHS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put the popcorn in a bowl large enough to toss it with the melted marshmallows.
• Combine the marshmallows and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second intervals at 50 percent power until the marshmallows are puffed and melted inside, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla and food coloring and stir until smooth and bright green.
• Pour the marshmallow mixture over the popcorn and stir with a spatula to combine. Coat your hands well with cooking spray. Use your hands to toss and finish combining. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then sprinkle in half of the candy-coated chocolates and mix. Add the remaining chocolates, mixing to combine evenly.
• Divide the mixture into 12 portions (about 1 cup each). Pat into balls, then flatten slightly and use your thumb to make a hole in the center, similar to a wreath. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
• To make the bows, cut 12 thin strips (about 1/8 inch thick) from the fruit leather and loop into bows. Place one at the bottom of each wreath.

SWEET GRAZING WREATH

Steps:

• For the chocolate salami, put the biscuits and pretzels in a food processor and blitz to coarse crumbs or put in a bag, seal, then crush using a rolling pin.
• Put the chocolate, butter, syrup and a small pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl, and melt in the microwave in 20-second bursts until smooth, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir in the biscuit and pretzel crumbs.
• Spread the mixture onto a sheet of baking parchment, then roll into a log around 6cm in diameter, using the parchment to help, then twist the ends of the parchment around the log to hold the shape. Tuck the ends underneath. Chill for at least 3 hrs or overnight until set.
• Remove the log from the parchment and dust with icing sugar, removing any excess with a pastry brush. Dip a sharp knife into a mug of boiling water and wipe dry. Slice the salami into 2cm-thick pieces.
• For the jazzies, melt the white chocolate as described in step 2, then line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and spoon on small, round blobs of it - around 40. Sprinkle with the hundreds and thousands and chill for at least 30 mins.
• Unwrap the chocolate coins. Use a small paint brush to coat them with lustre, if you like, or leave them as they are.
• To assemble, arrange the chocolate salami, jazzies, coins and the rest of the ingredients into a circular wreath shape on a round serving platter.

GRAPEVINE WREATH WITH PILLAR CANDLE

Steps:

• Place wreath on table.
• Tie ribbon around candle. Place candle in center of wreath.
• Cluster artichokes and grapes on wreath. Add bay leaves, juniper and pepper berries.

CINNAMON-APPLE WREATH

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200°F. Cut apples lengthwise from stem end through core into 1/4-inch slices. Dip apples into lemon juice to prevent browning; place on wire racks. Carefully place wire racks on oven rack. Bake 4 hours.
• Remove wire racks from oven and place on heatproof surface. Let apples stand about 2 hours or until completely dry. Place dried apples on waxed paper. Coat each side with 2 light coats of spray varnish, following manufacturer's directions.
• Tie 10-inch cinnamon sticks together. Attach to front of wreath with 6 inches of the ribbon. Glue dried apple slices and 3 1/2-inch cinnamon sticks to front and side of wreath, using glue gun. Attach leaves to ribbon on 10-inch cinnamon sticks. Make a bow with the remaining ribbon, and attach to wreath. Attach wire hanger if desired.