Food Memories – Aunt Nellie’s Candy

Have you met Shutterboo?  Well you should.  She takes incredible pictures and is disciplined enough to complete one photo assignment each week.  She also did that fantastic tutorial on how to make a light box which led me to make my own.  She’s got a wicked sharp sense of humor and the warmest heart.  The girl has one flaw, I could not get her to send me a Food Memory.

But when the Food Memory about Uncle Lorne’s Buckeyes posted, she sent me this comment:

“LOVE buckeyes. My mom makes them frequently for friends and neighbors. When she’s a feisty mood though, she’ll sub out peanut butter and use coconut with dark chocolate. And then you have Mounds ball. nomnomnomnom.”

Clearly, Boo had been holding out on me which was completely unacceptable.  How could someone possess the knowledge of homemade Mounds candy and not share it?  So I badgered her a little more and dragged a Food Memory out of the girl.  Even better, I got an alternate Buckeye recipe and the modifications for the “Mounds”.  Yeah Boo!  I knew you were good people.

Aunt Nellie’s Candy

My mom calls it “Aunt Nellie Candy” because my Great Aunt Nellie used to make it for the kids when they visited down in the country.  I’d only met my Great Aunt Nellie a handful of times but every time I was impressed with her wit.  She once told me a funny story that involved a porcelain pot they used as the “night toilet” and a long sausage.  Apparently her sister wasn’t as amused with her humor.  She’s since passed; we had a huge 95th birthday for her and she remarked she couldn’t wait for the 96th.  Two weeks later she found her way Home.

Aunt Nellie’s Candy (or Buckeyes)
1 18oz jar of peanut butter
1/2 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1/2 stick butter
1 lb box of powdered sugar
6oz pkg of chocolate chips & paraffin

Mom said to make Mounds, substitute peanut butter with 1 cup sweetened coconut.  And use semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I love the buckeyes but the coconut candies… I could eat until I got a stomach ache.  That’s why she doesn’t make them as often.  We’re more of a bourbon ball family anyway. 🙂

And I promise to come up with a contribution piece; I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. I just have a hard time deciding on something that reminds me of home while still tasting wonderful.  Bourbon balls, buttermilk biscuits and bubble biscuits are at the top of my list.  But I don’t have great stories to tell with them.

Boo, you don’t give yourself enough credit.  I think your memory of Aunt Nellie was beautiful.

For anyone wanting to make the coconut candies at home, I went kind of crazy with the recipe that Boo’s mom provided.  I doubled the butter and condensed milk, used a few more handfuls of powdered sugar than the pound, and then used nearly two bags of sweetened coconut.  I think the resulted in something like 5 dozen candies…just so you know what kind of scale we’re talking about.  Thankfully, my Kitchen Aid has a nice big work bowl and a powerful motor. You “could” mix all this by hand but I don’t think you “want” to.

Once I was happy with everything, I used a small ice cream scoop to portion out the candies (you can use a heaping tablespoon in lieu of the small ice cream scoop), formed them roughly into rectangles, placed them on a parchment lined sheet pan, and set it in the refrigerator to chill while I melted about two bags of chocolate chips and let it cool to room temperature.  Once the chocolate cooled, I used a fork and spoon to coat the candy and then put them back in the refrigerator to set up.  And don’t think for one second that this wont be one of the messiest things I’ve ever asked you to do. If you’re feeling especially feisty, press an almond into the candy before you coat it in chocolate and you’ve got a DIY Almond Joy. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.  When ready to serve, allow the candy to sit a room temperature briefly (maybe 20 to 30 minutes) so that everything softens just a bit.

Note to self, what would happen if I pressed the candy into a square or rectangular baking pan to set up, cut the candy into bon bons, spread a layer of melted chocolate on a sheet of parchment to coat the bottoms, and then spooned chocolate over the tops and sides?  Please investigate and report back.

I don’t know that Boo’s mom would necessarily recognize those noms up there as her coconut candies, but they did taste wonderful.