Candy Across the Country

How far would you travel to eat the best candy? 

I don’t know about you, but I’d go pretty far.  But where in the world would I start? 

Well Parade Magazine has made the journey a bit easier by mapping out the top ten candy factories and their delicious creations. Unfortunately, we don’t have a real Wonka factory, but no worries; these factories are sure to blow your mind. 

Real-Life Willy Wonkas: 10 Candy Meccas That Are Worth a Road Trip  

Let the sugar rush begin!

1. Jelly Belly Factory
Fairfield, Calif.
Lemon and mango and buttered popcorn? Oh my! Take a 40-minute guided tour to see the many molds and machines that make jelly beans, then test your bravery at the sample bar, with flavors like Pencil Shavings and Barf. In the gift shop, bags of irregular jelly beans (Belly Flops) go for half-price. (jellybelly.com)

2. Z. Cioccolato
San Francisco
You may not make it past the candy-filled rain barrels that fill this colorful shop. But if you find your way to the back counter, you’re in for a real treat: some of the tastiest fudge to be found, with flavors like peanut butter pie, cabernet, and raspberry cheesecake. (zcioccolato.com)

3. Sweet Candy Company
Salt Lake City
This factory produces nearly 25,000 pounds of saltwater taffy a day. Sample 40 flavors—from cherry cola to cookie dough to coconut key lime—while learning about the 121-year-old company, which also manufactures 200 types of chocolate and gummy treats. (sweetcandy.com)

4. Big Top Candy Shop

Austin
Owner Brandon Hodge’s biggest fascinations—sugar and sideshows—collide in this shop bedecked with vintage circus posters. Feast on childhood favorites or try the house-made Double Bacon Chocolate Bar. (facebook.com/bigtopcandyshop)

5. Rebecca Ruth
Frankfort, Ky.
Known as the originator of bourbon candy, Rebecca Ruth was established in 1919 by two plucky schoolteachers, Rebecca Gooch and Ruth Hanly Booe. Today, the company produces over 120 confections, many of them laced with Kentucky liquors. (rebeccaruth.com)

6. Hershey’s Great American Chocolate Tour
Hershey, Pa.
On an automated ride, chocoholics follow cacao beans from the rainforest to the factory floor where the creamy final product is poured. Or play candy maker at the Create Your Own Candy Bar. (hersheys.com)

7. Economy Candy
New York City
Rare European chocolates, jawbreakers, Pixy Stix—if the candy you’re craving isn’t among the 5,000 types sold at this filled-to-the-rafters shop, it may not exist. A Lower East Side landmark since 1937, the store also has a robust mail-order business. (economycandy.com)

8. Cero’s Candies
Wichita, Kan.
Pete Cero first arrived in Wichita in 1883 as a worker on the transcontinental railroad. But when an illness forced him to stay behind while his crew moved on, the Greek immigrant opened Cero’s. That was sweet news for local residents, who loved his cream-filled confections. Today, the mother-daughter owners lead a guided tour, which includes lessons on the history of chocolate and the making of truffles. (ceroscandy.com)

9. Taza Chocolate Factory
Somerville, Mass.
During a visit to Taza, one of the few bean-to-bar chocolate factories in the U.S., you can watch traditional stone-ground Mexican chocolate made from scratch, allwhile snacking on generous samples in flavors like salt-and-pepper, cinnamon, and Guajillo chili.  (tazochocolate.com)

10. Candyality 
Chicago
This Windy City store mixes modern décor with wall-to-wall retro sweets, like Bit O Honey, candy cigarettes, and ring pops. The owner, Terese “Candy Maniac” McDonald, offers hundreds of bulk candies, along with a sit-and-feast licorice bar featuring selections from around the world. (candyality.com)

Healthy, Speedy Breakfast

As you may know, I am an intern at A Royal Flush. I am also a full time Sophomore at Bay Path College in Massachusetts. This basically means that every second of my day is full.

For some particular reason, which I have yet to figure, I always seem to skip breakfast because I wake up, get ready, and by the time I need to leave, it is way too late for breakfast. I am pretty sure that many of you reading this experience the same thing. Whether you are on your way to work or late on dropping your children off at school, breakfast seems to be the easiest thing to forget about.

Now, we all know; breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So, I have found a few breakfasts that are fast and easy:

The first one is Emerald Breakfast on the go!. They come in three delicious flavors, Breakfast nut, S’mores nut and Berry nut. Not only are they delicious, but they are good for you and have tons a protein.

Next there is Special K Breakfast Shakes. With 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, the breakfast shakes keep you full for a long time

Lastly, there are the Clif Bars. They come in a variety of flavors like peanut butter, chocolate chip, and blueberry crisp. They, like the Emerald trail mix, are delicious and have 9 grams of protein.

These are just some of the options out there.  What is your favorite “fast food” breakfast of choice?

I hope that you will benefit from these recommendations. I know they work for me and hopefully work for you.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog: The Super Bowl 

Happy Hot Fudge Sundae Day

 

Happy Hot Fudge Sundae Day Everyone! In order to celebrate, we thought it would be nice to give you all a recipe to make a hot fudge sundae, FROM SCRATCH!

First, start with making the ice cream.

For this you will need:

·         ¾ cup sugar

·         2 tablespoons cornstarch

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         2 cups milk

·         1 cup heavy whipping cream

·         1 egg yolk

·         1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

To prepare:

1.     Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

2.     Whisk egg yolk until slightly thickened. Gradually whisk about 1 cup hot cream mixture into yolk. Add yolk mixture to remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in vanilla bean paste. Cool 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3.     Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture, and chill 8 to 24 hours.

4.     Pour mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

Next, we need to make the hot fudge.

Begin by gathering:

·         ½ cup milk

·         1 cup sugar

·         5 tablespoons melted butter

·         3 tablespoons unsweetened chocolate cocoa powder

·         Dash of salt

·         1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare by:

1.       Combine milk, sugar, butter, cocoa, and salt in heavy sauce pan, stir over medium heat to begin the hot fudge sauce.

2.       Continue stirring the hot fudge sauce over medium heat, bringing to a boil. As the chocolate cooks you will notice the fudge changing from a speckled coloring to a more even colored fudge.

3.       Continue to stir the hot fudge sauce over heat, until chocolate reaches soft ball stage. To test for soft ball stage, take a glass of room temperature water, and add one drop of the fudge to the water. If the fudge somewhat holds its form as it slide to the bottom of the glass, it is soft ball. If it dissolves immediately, it is not done. If it immediately forms into a hard ball as it moves through the water, it is overcooked.

4.       Remove hot fudge sauce from heat.

5.       Stir vanilla into the hot fudge sauce.

6.        Allow hot fudge sauce to cool before spooning warm hot fudge over ice cream.

The last step is to get about 4 – 6 waffle bowls, scoop 3 scoops of ice cream in to the bowl, drizzle hot fudge over the ice cream, top it off with whipped cream, nuts and a cheery, and then deliver it to us before it melts. J