Remember the Good Old Days? Marzipan candy, maple walnut fudge, and good old-fashioned hard Christmas candy add traditional flavor to holiday celebrations.
Christmas celebrations are rich in tradition: Christmas Eve story reading from classic tales like ’Twas the Night Before Christmas or Polar Express…setting out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa…maybe even one special gift exchange for kids who just can’t wait until Christmas morning. Traditions inspire childhood memories—joyful memories like special foods and desserts that are only served at Christmas and found in stockings hung for Santa. One of those edible traditions is good old-fashioned Christmas candy.
Create a special memory for the children in your family by sharing the magic of Christmas with a sweet indulgence. Here are some traditional candies that can help kindle those memorable moments:
One of the oldest traditional candies eaten for special occasions like Christmas is marzipan. This almond-based confection dates back centuries, with origins in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Each region has its own uses for the sweet. At Christmas, many cultures shaped and painted the candy to resemble cheerful miniature fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges, and strawberries. In Germany, it is common to give marzipan shaped like a loaf of bread, called Marzipanbrot, and also shaped to look like small potatoes (Marzipankartoffeln).
The earliest American candy (not brought over from Europe) came from Native Americans and the colonists, whose primary sweetener was maple syrup. Sugar maple trees, native to North America, yield a slightly sweet sap that is boiled down to make a rich syrup; it takes approximately 40 gallons of sap, depending on conditions, to make one gallon of syrup. When the syrup is boiled down further, it thickens into a slightly granular sugar that can be poured into decorative molds and cooled. A favorite pastime of early American children in the winter was to boil maple sugar outside and pour the hot liquid in the snow to make a hard candy. Today, maple sugar candy is still a time-honored tradition and a perfect winter treat.
So let’s explore what the most popular Christmas candies are across the world.Candy Canes.M&M’s.Chocolate Santa Clause.Marzipan Figurines.Nougat.Snickers.Peppermint Bark.Hershey’s Kisses.
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Candy Canes.
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M&M’s.
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Chocolate Santa Clause.
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Marzipan Figurines.
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Nougat.
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Snickers.
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Peppermint Bark.
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Hershey’s Kisses.
More Christmas Treats from the Candy Kitchen
Many remember their mothers and grandmothers making honeycomb candy for Christmas. Also known by several regional names across the U.S., such as fairy food, sponge candy, and sea foam, this crunchy but super light toffee confection is found all over the world. Made with baking soda (which makes the candy syrup foamy and filled with tiny air pockets before it hardens), it can also be coated in chocolate.
A similar confection, called divinity, also has a light, airy (and less crunchy) texture, but is made with sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, and chopped fruit or nuts.
Christmas candy is a fun treat. But, making candy at home can be tricky. Professional-style cookware made of copper is expensive, but produces the best results for melting sugar at high heat. A marble or stainless steel surface is excellent for spreading out candy, like butter toffee or peanut brittle to cool on a large surface. If you like the idea of including several types of candy in your holiday celebrations, consider online resources that specialize in traditional candy making.
Perhaps the best-known Christmas candy mixes of all are the multi-colored hard candies we all grew up with as kids. Every trip past the candy dish yielded a handful of cut rock candy, rainbow gems, baby ribbons, chocolate-filled straws, filled raspberries, and other treats to suck on while opening gifts. Other Christmas classics include peppermint patties and candy canes.
So what about peppermint bark – the addicting Christmas candy made of candy canes, dark chocolate, and white chocolate? It’s actually a relatively new invention, found in a Florida candy shop in the 1960’s, when it was sold year round.
Is caramel corn a candy? We think so! We snack on it throughout the holidays, decorate our Christmas trees with it, and buy big Christmas tins as soon as Thanksgiving is over.
We’ve all seen (and eaten!) these classic circular candies with green triangles designed to look like Christmas trees – they’re a classic part of our holiday!
Peppermint bark is as tasty to look at as it is to eat.
In 1847, a German immigrant to the U.S. became the first documented person to use candy canes as Christmas decorations – he hung them on his Christmas tree along with paper ornaments.
GRANDPA’S CHRISTMAS CANDY- almost 100 year old family recipe
FAQ
What is the most popular candy sold on Christmas?
What is the oldest Christmas candy?
What are some easy Christmas candy recipes?
We’ve gathered some of our favorite easy Christmas candy recipes: recipes for nostalgic sweets like old-fashioned peanut butter balls, peppermint bark, and chocolate covered cherries, rich, luxurious chocolates like Bavarian mints and homemade truffles, and colorful, fun candies like gumdrop nougat, reindeer bark, and Grinch buttons.
What is a good Christmas candy?
Traditional Italian Torrone is a sweet, chewy Christmas candy made with roasted nuts and nougat. Sugar Cookie Fudge is a decadent Christmas fudge that tastes just like a sugar cookie! Crunchy peanuts smothered in caramel make this Homemade Peanut Brittle perfect for holiday gift giving.
What is the most popular Christmas candy?
Candy canes may be the most popular Christmas candy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy other holiday treats. Gather friends and family to help you dip, portion, and wrap your homemade candies and soon your kitchen will feel like Santa’s workshop.
What Candy should you make for the holiday season?
It’s made with saltines, chocolate, and toffee. Crush up some M&M candies to sprinkle on top for some extra holiday cheer. Or add a salty element with your favorite nut. Either way, this is a candy to make year after year. 2. Peppermint Meringues Soft, melt-in-your-mouth meringues are exactly what you need this holiday season.