Our Tree is very glittery this year thanks to lots of tinsel garland.
Tonight we will watch the Dr. Who Christmas special at 9:00 PM. Ursula got the Dalek for Jack several years ago. She made the hedgehog in grade school and it is a treasured one as well.
Special ornaments from Granny Max.
I love these cookies which are like a rich no-bake candy. They are pretty fast and easy and the recipe can be doubled easily to give them away. This is a recipe that was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s and still has legs.
My version has a significant change which I think makes a real improvement. I use graham crackers not vanilla wafers! This version also includes some cocoa, which isn’t in all recipes. My friend Les Hoffman gave me some bourbon balls with this change some 25 years ago and I haven’t looked back. If you like a sweeter cookie, use the traditional vanilla wafers or dried pound cake crumbs.
They need to be freshened up with a dusting of fresh powdered sugar for serving on a fancy plate, since the moist bourbon and corn syrup makes the first coating look kind of wonky as they sit.
This base recipe comes from Visions of Sugarplums by Mimi Sheraton (Random House, 1968). This cookbook is subtitled “A Cookbook of Cakes, Candies and Confections from all of the Countries that Celebrate Christmas.” It is a comprehensive and detailed cookbook and lovely to use and read. Mimi Sheraton was a food critic for the New York Times and I have made many of the recipes. Find it used at a garage sale like I did and you will have a treasure. Or try the public library.
Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 1/2 cups ground honey graham crackers (I food process these. I break up the crackers in the little packages and then process until they are very fine. I sieve out any big pieces with a collander or just pick them out and then I grind the big pieces more.)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped lightly toasted pecans. (I food process these and have used them not toasted as well. You want them very fine but not a paste. I toast nuts at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes on a cookie sheet.)
2 tablespoons light Karo syrup and a little more to achieve texture
1/4 cup bourbon and a little more to achieve texture.
Instructions
I put all the ingredients except the Karo syrup and bourbon in the food processor and pulse to combine. You could also use a kitchen mixer or do this step by hand with a wooden spoon and clean hands at the end.
Then I food process and trickle in the Karo Syrup. I find Karo hard to measure. Use a wet spoon or add a little extra and don’t worry about cleaning the remainer from the spoon or cup. 2 tablespoons is half a quarter cup or a coffee measure spoon.
Then I add the bourbon itself while pulsing. The goal is to make a texture like Play Dough- not sopping wet but a maleable putty. I usually keep adding more bourbon until it is correct texture. Too wet- add some more graham cracker crumbs to get it right. I used a tiny cookie scoop to make the balls this year and it worked great!
They taste a little unsweet and have a harsh bourbon taste at this point, but they greatly improve by rolling them in the powdered sugar. The alcohol evaporates over night and that also makes them less harsh.
You roll out balls about 1 inch in diameter and roll them in powdered sugar. I have two cookie sheets side by side with a big pile of powdered sugar on one and the other ready to receive the finished balls. I roll about six balls and heavily coat them with sugar and transfer them to the other sheet. The moisture does make the sugar turn wet, so sieve some more sugar over them before serving. This wet unattractive sugar coating hardens slightly and preserves the moist interior of the bourbon ball too.
These go fast once they mellow for a day or two. I lightly cover them with some saran wrap for the mellowing and then dust them before putting on the plate or shipping off in a bag or tin.
I named this blog “Murray Family Favorites” without doing any google searching. After starting the blog I searched for it and found out that the phrase is used as a header in one section of the Murray Bros. Caddy Shack Restaurant’s menu. Yes, Bill Murray and his family have started a Caddy Shack themed restaurant just outside a golf course in St Augustine Florida!
Their motto is “Eat, Drink and be Murray.” Jealous not to have thought that one up! Nick’s girlfriend Emily did suggest we could use, “The more the Murrayer,” which we all liked a lot too.
Reminds me to ask cousin Glen, the family golf pro, if he has eaten there. Ursula is looking for the picture documenting the time I met Bill Murray at the Saint Paul Saints stadium at the AA All Star game in summer 2008. I introduced myself as Liz Murray and he then introduced me to the crowd seeking photos with him. Bill Murray is part owner of the Saint Paul Saints and often appears to interact with fans.
My first recipe is one I have been making for many years to great success. The original recipe is from James Beard’s American Cookery (1972, Little Brown). I have made some modifications and variations. I always make this recipe for Christmas presents and even bring it to cookie exchanges. It always impresses people to make homemade candy and this one is less difficult than the delicious taste and appearance indicate.
The key is a good candy thermometer. I recommend the Polder Candy/Jelly/Deepfry Paddle Thermometer. I got mine at the King Arthur Flour Company. This themometer has a clear read and doesn’t steam up like those hollow glass one. The glass thermometer is protected by a stainless steel metal paddle with a study clip for a heavy, straight sided pan.
Ingredients
4 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 pound butter- 4 sticks- cut into 12-16 pieces (I use unsalted butter at room temperature)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated or very finely chopped untoasted almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate chips or grated chocolate (6-12 ounces)
1/4 to 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted chopped almonds (I am very generous in almonds and use more).
Cooking Instructions
Prepare the pans. I use three cookie tins per batch. I also unwrap the butter, put it on a plate and cut it up and grease the pans lightly with the butter wrappers.
Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a 4 quart kettle . I use a heavy All Clad pan with a lid. Clip on the thermometer. Stir gently to blend and then bring to a full boil. Wash down any sugar crystals on the side of the pan with a clean pastry brush dipped in water. (I often just avoid getting crystals on the side and skip this). Boil to 280 degree with the pan partially covered with the lid to steam the crystals down and heat faster . This takes a while but you don’t need to stir at this time. Watch the thermometer because the last 10 degrees go a lot faster. I use medium high or medium for this boil.
Stir in the butter a piece or two at a time with a wooden spoon.
The butter will make the sugar boil up to a brown froth and the temperature decreases- so room temperature butter makes this go faster. This takes a while- at least 5-7 minutes.
Add the salt and stir until the mixture reaches 315 degrees.
It can be a good idea to wear a heatproof glove. It will look silky and bubble up.
Add the 1/2 cup of untoasted ground almonds and cook until 320 or slightly below.
Take the candy off the heat and stir in the vanilla well.
Unclip and drain candy from thermometer and leave it on a plate to keep hot molten candy from burning yourself or others. This candy is lost to the ages- don’t try to sample it now. You will burn your mouth.
Immediately pour the hot toffee into the pans.
Scrape the last out but you won’t get all of it. Don’t break your heart over this, you’ve got to move quickly to spread out the toffee in the pans!
Tilt the pans and spread the toffee on the edges with the wood spoon to the thickness you like. While the candy is hot you can press in marks with a buttered knife to break it into more even pieces.
To coat the candy with chocolate on one side, sprinkle chopped chocolate chips on the still hot toffee to melt it.
Be generous. The chips will melt and turn soft and glossy.
Spread them with a spoon back to evenly coat the candy.
Then, cover the melted chocolate with chopped almonds. I like a lot of nuts.
Let it cool, even overnight. Then break into pieces. I like thinner toffee with lots of chocolate and nuts, but you can make much thicker toffee too- just use fewer pans or don’t spread it much after pouring.
Store in an airtight container. Makes a lot of toffee- depending on how much chocolate and almonds you use, up to three pounds.
Be patient, food is coming soon!
Murray Family Favorites 