candy | BitterSweet

Is it just another nasty side effect of growing older, or are pumpkin patches slowly losing their luster? No longer the exciting field trip out into an amber- and golden-hued land, far from reality, where the gourds sit proudly in tangled and vine-covered rows, but a meager errand. Hay rides serve only to incite a maddening barrage of sneezes and itches, and most disconcerting, the pumpkin selection is nothing to raise an eyebrow at. Small to medium orange orbs of approximate roundness, more often than not, scarred with moldy spots, contagious-looking warts, or odd concave surfaces, most are not suited to carving even on a good day. Pick out something adequate in the pumpkin patch, only to discover the thickest inner walls ever created out of squash, or worse yet, empty seed pods that are no good for roasting. So many stumbling blocks, so few “perfect” pumpkins.

Dead-set on ending this cycle of disappointment once and for all, I set off to a brand new pumpkin patch this year in search of something better. Would you believe it, I found gourds there so impossibly ideal, it was a downright magical discovery. Flawlessly shaped, smooth, and glittering in the sunlight, I could overlook their diminutive size in favor of their other advantages. Cracking one open straight away to investigate the seed situation, the reality of what filled those thing shells was far sweeter…

Pumpkin candy! Forget those truly scary mass-produced sweets for Halloween and try making easy treats like these. Taking a page from my Shamrock Patties, these festive treats do indeed have real pumpkin in them, along with bright, pie-inspired spices. Should you get a hold of edible ink markers, you could even dress them up as jack-0-lanterns, complete with uniquely cute or creepy faces.

Turns out that the elusive perfect pumpkin may actually exist… In candy form, at least!

Pumpkin Patties

Patties:

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Tablespoon Non-Dairy Margarine, at Room Temperature
3 – 4 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
Pinch Salt

Candy Coating:

1/4 Cup (2 Ounces) Food-Grade Cocoa Butter
1/4 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Tomato Powder (Optional, for Color)
1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric (Optional, for Color)
Pinch Ground Cinnamon

Orange Colored Sugar, if Desired

Place your pumpkin puree in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the paddle attachment, or in your food processor. Add the margarine and cream the two together until smooth. Incorporate 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar to start, along with the vanilla, spices, and salt. Start on a slow speed, or pulse to combine. The mixture will likely look like thick icing at this point, so add in another cup of confectioner’s sugar, and once again mix on low. You’re looking for it to become the consistency of soft cookie dough; malleable, but not gooey or drippy. If it still seems to be too loose, mix in up to an additional cup of the sugar, as needed.

Turn the pumpkin candy out onto a silpat or piece of parchment paper, and gently flatten it out to about 1/4 – 1/2 inch in thickness. To prevent sticking, either sprinkle on a very light dusting of confectioner’s sugar, or top it with a second silpat or sheet of parchment before taking the rolling pin to it. Stash your candy disk in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

Once chilled, pull out a small pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter approximately 1-inch wide. Lay out a second silpat or piece of parchment on top of a baking sheet. Cut out your pumpkins, and transfer them to the prepared sheet. Gather up the candy scraps, re-roll, and cut again, until you’ve used all of the dough. Should the dough become too soft and finicky to work with, just toss it back in the fridge for another 15 – 30 minutes, and try once more. Now, stash the whole sheet of cut centers in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before getting to work on the coating.

Place your cocoa butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 – 3 minutes, so that it completely liquefies. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients for the coating in a small dish, making sure that they’re thoroughly combined and that there are no clumps. Once the cocoa butter is melted, whisk in the dry ingredients, stirring vigorously to make sure that everything is completely dissolved into the liquified fat.

Pull out your semi-frozen candy centers, and dip each into the coating, one at a time, letting the excess drip off. Place them back on the silpat, and watch the coating set up right before your eyes. This top coat is thinner than regular chocolate, so you may wish to double-dip once the first layer has solidified. If using, quickly sprinkle the decorative sugar over the dipped patties as soon as you set them down.

Make 3 – 4 Dozen Patties

Printable Recipe

Leprechauns; Lucky four-leaf clovers; Soda Bread; Potatoes; Excessive amounts of beer; Green-colored anything and everything; These are the only things I know about St. Patrick’s Day, but with an understanding that’s as spotty as an inbred dalmatian at best, I couldn’t tell you how any of the above are interrelated here. Who is St. Patrick? What did he once do? Why are we celebrating him? The best answer ever offered tends to be along the lines of “…Does it really matter? Pass me another drink!” There is no doubt good reason to declare the 17th of March a holiday every year, and yet I still couldn’t tell you a single thing about it. Rather than fuss over the details, it really is better just to take the opportunity to make merry.

Happy to fill in the gaps on any day that give me an excuse to compose a special sweet treat, this one didn’t immediately fill me with dessert inspiration. Not wanting to go along the route of a big, boozy, knock-out grand finale, the options, like my knowledge of official St. Patrick’s Day traditions, were severely limited. At the last minute possible, it all began to fall into place. Potatoes were the start of this production, and remembering the old-fashioned formula for potato candy, the remaining pieces quickly fell into place.

Sweet, refreshing, and strongly minty, these soft patties are the green cousins to the typically chocolate-covered mint fondants. Contrasted by an emerald-colored coating of slightly bitter matcha, these mature treats are far more complex in flavor than their playful appearance might suggest.

Considering how last-minute this recipe is being delivered, you could certainly run with the idea and just use a simple coating of melted bittersweet chocolate instead… They simply won’t be nearly as festive. And for a holiday that I have the only loosest grasp on to begin with, I need all the bells and whistles I can get! Consider glamming up your patties with colored sugar or sprinkles, too.

Shamrock Patties

Mint Patties:

1/4 Cup Smooth Mashed Potatoes*
1 Tablespoon Non-Dairy Margarine
3 – 4 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Peppermint Oil**
Pinch Salt

Matcha Coating:

1/4 Cup (2 Ounces) Cocoa Butter
1/4 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Teaspoon Matcha Powder

Green Colored Sugar, if Desired

*Peel and chop one russet potato into small chunks. Boil for 7 – 10 minutes, until very tender, and drain thoroughly. Beat well either with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, or a potato masher, until completely smooth and lump-free. Do not add any liquid or seasoning. Measure out 1/4 cup and reserve the rest for another use.

**Peppermint oil is much stronger than peppermint extract, and thus the two are not directly interchangeable. If you can’t get a hold of the oil, try substituting 3/4 – 1 1/4 teaspoons of extract, to taste, and bear in mind that you will likely need more confectioner’s sugar to make up for the added liquid.

Place your mashed potatoes in the bowl of your food processor fitted with the paddle attachment, or in you food processor. Add the margarine and cream the two together until smooth. Incorporate 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar to start, along with the vanilla, peppermint oil, and salt. Start on a slow speed, or pulse to combine. The mixture will likely look like thick icing at this point, so add in another cup of confectioner’s sugar, and once again mix on low. You’re looking for it to become the consistency of soft cookie dough; mailable, but not gooey or drippy. If it still seems to be too loose, mix in up to an additional cup of the sugar, as needed.

Turn the potato candy out onto a silpat or piece of parchment paper, and gently flatten it out to about 1/4 – 1/2 inch in thickness. To prevent sticking, either sprinkle on a very light dusting of confectioner’s sugar, or top it with a second silpat or sheet of parchment before taking the rolling pin to it. Stash your candy disk in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

Once chilled, pull out a small shamrock-shaped cookie cutter approximately 1-inch wide. Lay out a second silpat or piece of parchment on top of a baking sheet. Cut out your clovers, and transfer them to the prepared sheet. Gather up the candy scraps, re-roll, and cut again, until you’ve used all of the dough. Should the dough become too soft and finicky to work with, just toss it back in the fridge for another 15 – 30 minutes, and try once more. Now, stash the whole sheet of cut centers in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before getting to work on the coating.

Place your cocoa butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 – 3 minutes, so that it completely liquefies. Meanwhile, mix together the remaining ingredients in a small dish, making sure that they’re thoroughly combined and that there are no clumps of matcha. Once the cocoa butter is melted, whisk in the dry ingredients, stirring vigorously to make sure that everything is completely dissolved into the molten fat.

Pull out your semi-frozen mint patties, and dip each into the matcha coating, one at a time. Place them back on the silpat, and watch the coating set up right before your eyes. This top coat is thinner than chocolate, so you may wish to double-dip once the first layer has solidified. If using, quickly sprinkle the decorate sugar over the dipped patties as soon as you set them down.

Make 3 – 4 Dozen Patties

Printable Recipe