My daughter-in-law, Eileen, turned me on to a website that I JUST LOVE. www.pinterest.com. I can get lost in there for hours. Don’t go yet, you may not come back to my site. But just as soon as you read this, head on over. You’ll be lost for hours.
While there, I was thrilled at a picture of candy buttons. The picture, and recipe, was from a website called www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com. (You may also wish to visit this website..too cute. But, really, finish this first!!!)
Remember the strips of colored candy dots on paper? You would strip them off with your teeth, and end up with just a little bit of paper in your mouth. If you had siblings, you just might nibble the paper into a small weapon? I wouldn't do that, of course, but SOMEONE might.
Well, that started me thinking. Wouldn’t it be cool to make our own candy buttons and them have them for movie night?
So, with willing helpers (my beautiful and talented nieces (Miranda and Monica), we began.
Candy Buttons
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. meringue powder OR 2 egg whites
6 Tbsp. water (I only needed about 3 Tbsp. You just need to add enough to help thin out the candy a bit)
1/4 tsp almond extract (or vanilla, lemon, peppermint, etc) I used lemon and loved it.
1 box (1 pound) confectioners’ sugar (7 cups)
Decorator bags or ziploc sandwich bags
Food coloring
You don't need a lot of ingredients. I included a lot of food coloring and extract choices, but really I would think 4 colors and one taste would be fine.
I forgot to include this in the original ingredient list, but you will also need decorating bags or sandwich bags. I use disposable decorating bags for lots of things, so that is what I used. You can fill the bags and then snip the tip to any size you wish.
I also use bag closures when the kids are helping. They sometimes forget to keep the top closed, which results in a big mess. The bag closures are easier to use than rubber bands and really keep the mess to a minimum.
These are reusable so a good investment.
Directions:
Separate the eggs.
Perfect. And now you have some egg yolk for .... how about lemon curd?
Measure out the confectioners' sugar.
Whip together confectioners sugar and the egg whites (or meringue powder) on low speed for one minute. If you have a stand mixer, this is the time to use it. Your arm will get tired with a hand mixer (although, if you switch hands, you might be able to count it as exercise)
Add flavoring and about 1/2 of the water. You may wish to add more water to get this to the right consistency, but start out with a little less than you think you need. Whip for 10 minutes on high speed. If the icing is too thick, thin it out with drops of water, until it is the consistency of sour cream. A drop should hold its shape and slowly smooth out to create smooth button.
While you are mixing the icing, cut strips of paper into 2 3/4″ by 10″ strips.
Divide the “icing” into small bowls.
If you are using gel paste, you don't need much. I used bamboo skewers to mix the different bowls of color (and I have NO IDEA why I did that). This is the amount of coloring I used.
Isn't this pretty? Maybe that's shy I used bamboo skewers, it just looks so pretty while I am mixing it.
All mixed in. This just makes me feel good.
Divide the “icing” into small bowls and color each bowl a different color.
Pour each color into a decorator bag or sandwich bag and seal. I put the bag into a glass and pour the icing in.
This is a great way to neatly fill the bag.
Cut a VERY small corner off of each bag.
Squeeze a drop of icing at a time onto the paper.
You can place the strip of paper on top of the template, so you can see where to place each drop evenly.
This may seem tedious, but it is actually very satisfying. Very much like popping bubble wrap. Only sweeter.
Doesn't this look wonderful? And the candy looks good too!! (Come on. I'm Dear Sweet Aunt Jill. I HAVE to be cheesy).
Place the strips on baking sheets in a cool dry place uncovered to dry overnight.
Once they have dried, you can place them in a zipper bag or airtight container.
You can store the "icing" in the frig in plastic bags. This recipe makes a LOT, and it would sure be a shame to waste any of this....Right?
