Miss Elsie’s No-Bake Candy!

Small towns and small town churches are great places to grow up. I was raised in Hargill, Texas and attended the Hargill First Baptist Church every Sunday (whether I wanted to or not).

My mom played the piano, my sister led the singing, and the elegant and amazing Miss Elsie taught my Sunday school class. I was about 5 years old and Miss Elsie was simply magic to me. She was kind and gentle and the bearer of stickers and happiness. I miss and think of her often.

Miss Elsie was an AMAZING cook and I could spend many days on this blog recreating some of her dishes (her chocolate pie and cabbage rolls are the stuff of legends), but today, I’m sharing her no-bake candy that she made for us kids.  It’s a sugar-on-sugar extravaganza with an accent of peanut butter — super sweet and super awesome! We all LOVED it. Not sure where the original recipe came from, but here is how my beloved Miss Elsie made it.

Enjoy!

4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

Combine everything in one bowl

Roll into bite size balls

Miss Elsie’s No-cook candy

4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

Mix all the ingredients. Roll into small balls and place on wax paper to harden. Eat them with your face.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls of Yumminess

I saw this recipe back around Easter and have wanted to try it ever since. Thank you Vanilla Sugar Blog!! Since it’s not Easter, and I couldn’t really make them look like eggs, we are just going to call them balls. They are sinful, crunchy, sweet and rich. You will eat one, then you will feel full and say you don’t want another one, but you will be back for another. I guarantee it. Here’s how it went down!

Ingredients!

Mix the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and panko crumbs together in a large bowl.

Mix well.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Take out of the fridge. (It will look just like it did when it went in. Just more firm.)

Scoop out.

Roll into a ball shape or whatever shape you want. Go crazy. You could make ovals, or spheres, or circles, or logs.

The world is your oyster!

They are good to eat right now, but chocolate will make’em even more teriffical!

Melt chocolate in a double boiler.

A bowl of melted chocolate. I’m gonna need a moment.

Ok, I’m back. Dunk’em in the chocolate and coat well.

Back in the fridge until their yumminess has solidified.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls of Yumminess

12 ounces high quality chocolate

1½ cups crunchy peanut butter

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

½ cup plain panko crumbs

Pinch of sea salt

Mix the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, panko, and salt together in a large bowl.  Check to make sure it is sweet enough. If you want to make it sweeter;  just add a little more powdered sugar and mix it in well.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put that bad boy in the fridge for at a few hours at the very minimum.

Time to roll these boys into balls. We are getting much closer to eating them. Once rolled; put them on a tray covered with parchment paper and chill again.

Get your chocolate melted while the peanut butter balls are chilling in the fridge.

In a double boiler, carefully melt the chocolate (set a heat proof bowl on top of a saucepan with an inch of boiling water – don’t let the bowl touch the water).

You can start dipping when the chocolate is melted. Drop a couple of the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate and coat well. Place the coated peanut butter balls on your prepared tray. When done place tray in the fridge and let firm up.

Eat! Do it now.  SO GOOD!

How to make Coconut Long Boy Candy

Man o’ man do I love this candy!

Those yellow and red wrappers were on of my irresistable go-to treats on those magical days when my mom or dad would take me to Dominguez grocery in Hargill (my hometown) and say those beautiful words that every kid lives for: Go pick out some candy!

The phrase still fills my heart with joy!

Childhood passes quickly, and it’s the small memories that end up meaning the most. I remember so clearly grabbing a handful of Coconut Long Boys, then placing them on the tall countertop so Mrs. Dominguez could ring them up and put them in a tiny brown paper bag that was just for me (and not my dumb sisters!) It was just about as good as it could get.

Sadly, Dominguez Grocery has long since gone out of business, and we lost Mrs. Dominguez a few years ago, but simple memories like this help keep me from roaming too far from home.

Crystal and I had tossed around the idea of a series of blog post where we recreate things we loved as a child. So, when this candy popped into my head not long ago, I became obsessed with finding a recipe for these sweet treats. And I was totally successful! (Thank you so much Athena Hessong!)

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on making them yourself! Do it! Who knows, maybe you’ll love them too?

Gather these things! (full recipe at the bottom of the post)

    1/2 cup heavy cream

    1/2 cup sugar

    1/4 cup light corn syrup

    1/4 tsp. salt

    1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

    2 tbsp. butter

    2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

You’ll also need: 10″ square baking pan lined with wax paper, heavy saucepan, wooden spoon, candy thermometer, pastry brush, sharp knife, and additional wax paper or candy wrappers for wrapping, cut into 5-inch squares.

Place the sugar, cream, corn syrup, and salt into the saucepan

Heat the pan over medium heat, stirring to combine and dissolve the sugar. Use a wooden spoon (not metal) to stir so that the heat from the cooking caramel will not travel up the spoon and burn you.

Put 2 tbsp. butter into the mixture and bring the pot up to a boil over medium high heat.

Stop stirring as soon as you see the mixture boiling.

Wait for the caramel to reach 248 degrees or above on the candy thermometer. Getting so close!

Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it reaches 248 degrees. Add the vanilla and flaked coconut and stir thoroughly to combine.

Stir!

Full disclosure moment! The paper did not work. I spent more time trying to peel that paper off the back side of my candy! Next time I will omit the paper and just lightly spray the pan.

I could totally get up in this with a spoon and never regret it.

Spread out the mixture, and let it cool for 30 minutes on the counter, or 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Do not let it cool completely or the caramels will be too hard to roll.

Cut the caramel in the pan into 1-inch-long strips.

Remove a strip from the pan and roll it out into a rope about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. Use a knife to cut the rope into 3-inch sections. Repeat making the individual candies with the other caramel strips.

Cut the wax paper into 5-inch squares

Wrap each coconut candy by rolling it up in the center of the paper and twisting the excess paper on either side to close.

Too cute!

Coconut Long Boys! (original recipe courtesy of Athena Hessong)

Instructions

• 10″ square baking pan lined with wax paper
• Heavy saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Candy thermometer (includes a clip on the side)
• Pastry brush
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut (you can also use unsweetened if available)
• Sharp knife
• Additional wax paper or candy wrappers for wrapping, cut into 5-inch squares

Place the sugar, cream, corn syrup and salt into the saucepan.

Heat the pan over medium heat, stirring to combine and dissolve the sugar. Use a wooden spoon (not metal) to stir so that the heat from the cooking caramel will not travel up the spoon and burn you.

Put 2 tbsp. butter into the mixture and bring the pot up to a boil over medium high heat.

Stop stirring as soon as you see the mixture boiling. Wait for the caramel to reach 248 degrees or above on the candy thermometer.

Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it reaches 248 degrees. Add the vanilla and flaked coconut and stir thoroughly to combine.

Pour the caramel into the pan, and let it cool for 30 minutes on the counter, or 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Do not let it cool completely or the caramels will be too hard to roll.

Cut the caramel in the pan into 1-inch-long strips.

Remove a strip from the pan and roll it out into a rope about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter. Use a knife to cut the rope into 3-inch sections. Repeat making the individual candies with the other caramel strips.

Cut the wax paper into 5-inch squares and wrap each coconut candy by rolling it up in the center of the paper and twisting the excess paper on either side to close.

Clip the candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan so that the tip is inside the mixture at the bottom but not touching the sides or bottom of the saucepan.

Another option

After telling you all of that, I should let you know that Coconut Long Boys are still manufactured today by Atkinson Candy in Lufkin, Texas and can still be purchased HERE!

Probably should have told you that before, but I really want you to make them for yourself! 🙂

Have a great day!