I was lucky enough to be invited to a candy party last weekend, and figured this was a good excuse to try to make candy. The lovely hostess Elizabeth is vegan, so I started some Internet searches for vegan candy recipes. I decided to make homemade tootsie rolls using this recipe, which can be either vegan or not, depending on the ingredients. I had to use more powdered sugar in order to get the right texture, but they came out pretty well. I probably should have let them cool a little more before packing them up to leave the house, but time was of the essence, there was Skittles infused vodka waiting! They were good, but a little too sticky.

Since I was on a roll (get it?) I decided to make another batch to bring to work. This time I used a bit more sugar, and also let them cool completely for about an hour before storing them in a airtight container. The modified ingredients and simplified instructions are below. The texture this time was more like fudge, not exactly like a Tootsie Roll but still good.

There were definitely a few things that surprised me:

1. Just one tiny teaspoon of cocoa powder provides the chocolate for a whole batch
2. Almost 2 cups of powdered sugar somehow fits into this same size batch
3. Ginger snaps give the candy a distinctive spicy flavor

I don’t have much experience making candy, but it was fun!

1 t cocoa powder
2 T butter, margarine, or vegan margarine
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/3 c. ginger snap crumbs
1 2/3 c. powdered sugar, plus more for dusting cutting board

Place cocoa powder and butter or margarine in a small saucepan. Heat slowly, until butter or margarine is melted. Add corn syrup and stir well. Remove from heat.

Add 1/3 cup sugar and stir to mix thoroughly. Repeat 3 more times, until you’ve added 1 1/3 c. sugar total. At this point, turn the candy ‘dough’ onto a cutting board dusted with powdered sugar. Knead in an additional 1/3 c. sugar. Add more sugar if dough does not feel stiff enough.

Divide dough into sections, and roll each section into a log. Slice into 1″ pieces. Allow to cool completely before storing covered.

-Adapted from recipe submitted by vegbilayameogo on vegweb

• Desserts