labor of love

Snickers candy bars...they are delicious but also have artificials and the chocolate Josiah can't have.  So this Christmas, I tried a recipe for homemade! 

First, I had to make homemade syrup to replace the corn syrup, something else Josiah has trouble with.  This recipe is easy:

1. 1 c. sugar


2. 1/2 tsp. white vinegar


3. 1 c. water


4. 1/4 tsp. salt

Boil all ingredients together 5-10 minutes.

I made a batch and a half to have enough for my recipe. 

Then, on to the homemade Snickers recipe which you can find here: http://candy.about.com/od/otherchocolaterecipes/r/snackers.htm.

It could have been disastrous.  I'm not a cook, and my candy thermometer didn't work.  I burned one batch of nougat, three fingers, and melted a plastic spoon.  But amazingly enough, they pretty much turned out, and they taste great!!

My last task was to try melting carob chips to make a carob version for Josiah.  I wasn't sure if that would even work, but it did!  The top bar is carob, the bottom is chocolate.

Can't wait to try these--ok, we've had a few little tastes here and there.  Not low-fat or low sugar, but ok for us just once a year!

My challenge for next year: try to find some non-dairy substitutes so Rachel can eat them, too.