Easy Sweets & Fudge Recipes

Makes: 10-15 sweets depending on how thickly you roll them out.

Note: Allow at least 3-4 hours for sweets to dry. I left mine overnight.

Ingredients:

• 240g icing sugar
• ¼ teaspoon of peppermint essence
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• Green food colouring, optional

You’ll also need biscuit cutters – I actually used playdough cutters as they are smaller and more manageable for children to use.

Method:

1. Sieve icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add the egg white and peppermint essence.
3. Mix together with a blunt knife. It should come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
4. Remove from the bowl, place on a flat surface, sprinkled with icing sugar and knead until it becomes smooth (you can always add a little more icing sugar if it is too sticky).
5. Using a rolling pin, sprinkled with icing sugar, roll out the mixture until it is as thick as you would like it. I made my sweets about 0.5cm thick but you may want it a little thicker so it’s easier for children to handle.
6. Take the cutters and cut out the sweets. You can add decorations at this stage (I used silver balls) but make sure you push them in about half way so they don’t fall out once the sweets harden. If younger children are helping and find it too difficult to manage the cutters, then they could take small amounts and simply roll into a ball and decorate instead. I did this with my children when they little and it worked well too.
7. Place on some greaseproof paper and leave to dry. I left mine overnight to harden but they seemed ready after several hours.

Coffee Creams

Makes: about 20 sweets

Note: Allow at least 3-4 hours for sweets to dry. I left mine overnight.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of coffee essence (I made my own with 1 teaspoon of hot water and 2 teaspoons of instant coffee. I tried using 1 teaspoon of espresso coffee but it was not strong enough to flavour the sweets)
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• Walnuts, optional

Method:

1. Sieve icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add the egg white and coffee essence.
3. Mix together with a blunt knife. It should come away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
4. Remove from the bowl, place on a flat surface, sprinkled with icing sugar and knead until it becomes smooth (you can always add a little more icing sugar if it is too sticky).
5. Break off bits of the mixture and roll into small balls, about the size of a walnut. You can decorate with walnut pieces if you wish. (We only made these for friends and family I knew didn’t have nut allergies!)
6. Place on some greaseproof paper and leave to dry. I left mine overnight to harden but they seemed ready after several hours.

Marzipan Sweets

Makes: about 45 sweets (depending on the size!)

This recipe and quantity is also perfect for a Christmas or Simnel cake.

Ingredients:

• 250g icing sugar, sifted
• 250g golden syrup
• 500g ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg, beaten
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Dark chocolate, optional

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Knead the mixture until smooth.
3. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge until firm.
4. Roll out the marzipan on a surface sprinkled with icing sugar. Cut out shapes using biscuit cutters or roll into small balls if preferred.
5. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water and gently melt.
6. Dip the marzipan sweets in the melted chocolate. Place on a foil-covered tray and put in the fridge to set.

Mint Chocolate Fudge

Makes: 25-30 (depends on how big or small you want the pieces to be)

Ingredients:

• 250g white chocolate
• 250g milk chocolate
• 1 x 397g tin condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• a few drops of green food colouring
• Mint chocolate to decorate

Method:

1. Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and the milk chocolate in another heatproof bowl.
2. Add half the condensed milk into each bowl.
3. To melt the chocolate, you can either use a microwave or place the bowl over a pan of simmering water.
4. Melt everything together, stirring all the time until it comes together in a nice smooth consistency.
5. Add several drops of green food colouring and the mint extract to the bowl of melted white chocolate. Mix well.
6. To make the fudge, you can either make 2 layers by simply pouring the white mint chocolate and then the milk chocolate on top or you can make a swirling pattern by adding both fudges at the same time, bit by bit, and swirling them as you go along using a blunt knife or back of a spoon.
7. Once all the fudge is in the tin, decorate the top with the mint chocolates. You can break them up a bit and sprinkle over. Press them in gently so they stay put once the fudge has hardened.
8. Cover your fudge in cling film and leave to cool down a little before putting it in the fridge. It will set completely within a few hours.
9.  Once the fudge has firmed up, carefully cut it into small pieces. I cut up our fudge into bite-sized pieces so we got about 30.

Maltesers Fudge 

Makes: about 25-30 squares

Ingredients:

• 500g (3 cups) milk chocolate (or a mixture of dark and milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• A large knob of butter
• 1 can (395g or 14oz) sweetened condensed milk
• Large pack Maltesers

Method:

1. Break up the chocolate into small pieces (this helps it melt quicker) and place in a heatproof bowl.
2. Add the vanilla extract, butter and condensed milk to the chocolate.
3. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted.
4. Line a 20cm (8inch) baking tray with greaseproof paper.
5. Pour the fudge mixture into the tray. Wait a little until it is cool enough to touch and then decorate with Maltesers. Push a few Maltesers into the fudge as well so you have some in the middle when you cut into it. I also decorated it with some gold stars too for a festive touch!
6. Cover with cling film.
7. Place in the fridge for several hours to firm up.
8. Cut into squares. I made about 30 but you can make them a big or little as you like.

Mini Rocky Road Cakes

Makes: about 15 

Ingredients:

• 200g milk chocolate
• 70g butter
• 1 ¼ mug broken digestive biscuits
• 1 ¼ mug sultanas
• 1 ¼  mug mini marshmallows

Method:

1. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl with the butter. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir gently with a wooden spoon until melted. Alternatively place the chocolate and butter in a microwaveable bowl and heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from the microwave and mix well.
2. Place the sultanas, biscuits and mini marshmallows in a bowl with the melted chocolate and butter. Mix well, so that everything is coated.
3. Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto a foil-covered baking tray. Leave to cool for a while before placing in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.

Chocolate Ginger Truffles

Makes: about 30

Ingredients:

• 250g ginger nut biscuits
• 40g cocoa powder
• 45g desiccated coconut
• 1x (397g) tin condensed sweetened milk
• Extra desiccated coconut for rolling

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits or blitz in a food processor to fine crumbs.
2. Add the cocoa powder and coconut to the biscuits and mix well.
3. Stir in the condensed milk gradually till well combined.
4. Take a small amount of the mixture and roll into bite-sized balls.
5. Roll each ball into the extra coconut (I put the extra desiccated coconut on a plate as this made it easier to roll the truffles in) and place on a tray, taking care not to let the balls touch.
6. Place the truffles in the fridge for 1 hour.

There are more lovely recipes which children will enjoy helping with in my blog Easy Baking Recipes.

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