Healthy Edible "Candy" Bracelets

Make Your Own Healthy Edible Candy Bracelets!

A healthy, fun craft for kids!

Spring break is here! I remember my idyllic spring break days fondly. Since it was always raining, my afternoons were spent colouring, reading, staging fantastically melodramatic movies starring Barbie and her crew — it was a time of imagination and creativity. When imagination wore thin, Mom would break out some arts & crafts project that would occupy bored minds for a short time. Eventually, bored kids would drive our Mom to give up and we would embark upon a rare outing to the corner store, meagre allowances in hand. How exciting that was! My sister and I would chatter excitedly about what we would get — Mike & Ike’s, Bottle Caps, Pixy Stix, and Lik-m-aid Fun Dip were usually on our list. But the one we would ALWAYS run for first, was the Candy Necklace.

To this day, I can still see myself unwrapping the necklace from its crinkly cellophane package and jamming the necklace over my head. Usually hair got caught in-between the candies, but I didn’t care. I always tried to make it last forever. I would then go about my day with an elastic cord hanging out of my mouth, pink stains on my lips, until the necklace was gone. Later came other candy jewelry — bracelets and rings. 

There are endless patterns to create – and better for you than candy!

Candy jewelry is so much fun, but can you imagine how much sugar and food colouring they contain? With people cutting back on sugar and artificial everything these days, why not try a healthy, natural alternative? These Healthy Candy Bracelets are fun to make, and healthy, too! You need very few ingredients and tools. Smaller children may need assistance getting the needle through some of the tougher fruit, or help with scissors, but the delicious result will be worth it!

Rich Chocolate Fudge

Oh chocolate fudge, how I do love you. You are creamy. You are rich. You make me hide batches of you around the house so no one but me knows where you are. I am a squirrel in your presence.

No fudge here – move along.

We made fudge a lot when I was a kid. In fact, that original fudge recipe is on this blog, and you can find it here. It doesn't quite taste the same, however, because I think the manufacture of marshmallows has changed since then. When I stumbled upon this variation, I was ecstatic! This tastes exactly how I remember it from childhood! It really is very, very close to the original. I know you will love it, too.

A quick note about marshmallows — do not use old marshmallows, where the bag has been open for awhile. Trust me, freshly opened bags of marshmallows really do make a difference.

Rich Chocolate Fudge
Based on this recipe from Nestlé

Ingredients
3 cups white sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
24 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

1. Line two 8-inch-square baking pans with foil and set aside.
2. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in large saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Time it! Remove from heat.
3. Stir  in marshmallows, chopped chocolate, and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared pans. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Mints

Gifts from the Kitchen

Give the gift that doesn't mints around... get it? See what I did there?

If you're stuck for a gift idea, these Cream Cheese Mints are super easy, quick to whip up and look incredibly pretty! Package them up in little jars, throw on a sparkly ribbon, and you have an almost-instant gift. And who doesn't like getting candy as a gift? (That's a hint, by the way).

Cream Cheese Mints
Based on this recipe from Kraft Canada
Makes 8-12 dozen tiny mints, depending upon the size you make them

Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
1 tsp. peppermint extract
5.5 cups icing sugar
Blue food colouring (I used AmeriColor gel)

Tools Required

Piping bag

Rosette piping tip

Method

1. Prepare 3 baking sheets by lining with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Beat cream cheese, peppermint extract, icing sugar and food colouring together until smooth.
3. Spoon mixture into piping bag and pipe little swirls onto the parchment paper. Let mints dry overnight, then package them into pretty jars, decorated with ribbon.

Tiger Butter, Hallowe'en style!

It really does taste exactly like a peanut butter cup!

Here’s a quick, easy candy that tastes just like those famous peanut butter cups in the orange wrapper — my favourite candy from my trick-or-treating days! It’s bright orange & dark brown stripes are perfect for your spooky party. For an elegant variation, skip the peanut butter and add orange extract to the white chocolate.

Peanut Butter Truffles

Got a sweet & salty craving? Rich and crunchy peanut butter, salty pretzel pieces and a sweet milk chocolate coating, these peanut butter truffles are sure to satisfy. Use natural peanut butter for the best flavour. Keep the finished truffles in the freezer for a refreshing snack.

Peanut Butter Truffles