Candy

We like the rich flavor and look of Marcona almonds in this bark, but roasted almonds work nicely, too.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. Making pralines always involves a bit of trial and error, as sugar is finicky. Some people swear that these treats will set up only on a cool, dry day, while others have had success no matter what the temperature. Be sure to have all your ingredients measured and at the ready as the sugar mixture's temperature fluctuates rather quickly, so you'll need to be prepared for each step. Ask a friend to help scoop the hot mixture onto wax paper as you keep stirring the pot. For a more pronounced molasses flavor, substitute brown sugar for 1 cup of the white variety.

Honeycomb and chocolate—the perfect combination for Halloween or camping trips.

While at Tavern in L.A., Breanne Varela elevated the classic candy bar with puffed rice and quality chocolate.

Two years before I was asked to teach a class at De Gustibus Cooking School in Macy's Times Square, I did the backroom kitchen work for two different chef friends who were teaching there. The head assistant, Amaral Ozeias, who during his long tenure has seen every great chef and TV personality pass through the doors of that kitchen, quietly motioned for me to come into his office. He pulled out the prettiest little yellow truffle and proceeded to recite the recipe, one of his all-time favorites. This kind gesture was the most delicious favor he could have done for me.
Parve
Non-gebrokts

People think of truffles as such a luxurious item, yet they couldn't be easier to make. Pop one in your mouth for a mid-afternoon snack or serve as a small delicious bite at the end of a large meal. There is so much buzz out there lately about the good effects of chocolate—hey, think of it as health food!

Season: Anytime. I like to make several batches of these sweets in November or early December. A dozen or so, wrapped in cellophane, are a charming gift. Needless to say, you don’t need to stop at oranges: lemon and grapefruit peel work equally well, and you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate for dipping. The corn syrup is optional, but does prevent the sticks from becoming too hard. It is best to keep the candied sticks in an airtight container and only dip them in chocolate shortly before you want them.

If your prefer, chopped toasted walnuts or almonds can be substituted for the macadamia nuts here. Either way, the result is an elegant, easy-to-prepare candy. Pack the bark, between layers of waxed paper, in decorative tins for holiday gifts.

If making the candy ahead, let it stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Cookies and candies create cute hats to top off these Halloween treats.

Kids will get a kick out of these cake pops. Let them help and make messy monsters.

Cake balls are bite-sized balls made of crumbled cake mixed with frosting and covered in candy coating. They are super-easy to make and form the basis of endless variations of decorated cake pops, cupcake pops, and cake bites.

Chewy, fudgy, addictive. These little chocolate fudge balls are as common and as loved in Brazil as cookies and brownies are in the United States. Traditionally, brigadeiros are a simple mixture of condensed milk, sweetened cocoa powder, and butter, cooked to a fudge state, then formed into little balls and rolled in chocolate sprinkles. I find this to be much too sweet, so I made a few changes to the original recipe, adding real chocolate, real cocoa powder, heavy cream, and corn syrup. Chocolate sprinkles are usually made with vegetable fat, so unless I know the sprinkle is made with real chocolate like the ones from Guittard or Cocoa Barry, I prefer to use cocoa powder, or grated chocolate, for rolling and the result is amazing. This is a perfect dessert to give as a gift for any occasion. Children will love it and so will adults.

Leftover dulce de leche is nothing if not versatile: You can spoon it over ice cream, drizzle it over fresh fruit, or serve it with cookies. But if you're still feeling industrious after making our Dulce de Leche Half Moons, use the rest in these truffles. We promise you won't be sorry. The combination of caramelized milk, bittersweet chocolate, and almond butter produces a deeply flavored, not–too–sweet confection. And there's no need to chill the mixture before rolling, as you would if making traditional truffles with chocolate and cream—this user–friendly "ganache" practically rolls itself. If you make the truffles with peanut butter, the nut flavor will be a bit more pronounced than in the almond–butter version.

Who doesn't love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter? These eggs are like an upscale version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. You can actually make them in any mold you like, but I generally make them egg-shaped. To do it my way, you will need plastic or polycarbonate egg molds (see tips, below) to make perfectly shaped ovals. They are avilable in various sizes at most candy- and cake-supply stores. Make sure that they are very clean and dry before using, or the chocolate will stick. Note that you are not making whole egg shapes, but rather an open half that will be filled with the peanut butter mixture.

With a crisp outer shell of chocolate and a gooey marshmallow interior, these eggs are an Easter-basket favorite. If we have any left after Easter, I like to pop one of them on top of a mug of hot chocolate for a special treat. You can either decorate the eggs with chocolate, or you can simply dip the entire egg in tempered chocolate. If dipping, you will need to temper about 1 pound of chocolate to cover all the eggs. Then, working with 1 egg at a time, place it on a dipping fork, dip the entire egg in the chocolate, and then lift it out, allowing the excess chocolate to drip off. I prefer bittersweet, but milk or white chocolate will also work. You will need plastic or polycarbonate egg molds with each side forming half an egg that, when filled, clip together to make perfectly shaped eggs. They are available at most candy- and cake-supply stores.

To create a successful molded figure, you must use tempered chocolate to ensure a smooth, snappy finish. Making the mold is rather like working with plaster except that chocolate is far messier! Antique metal molds are absolutely beautiful but not terribly effective, as the hardened chocolate will stick to the metal mold and crumble as you try to remove it. The best types of molds are plastic or polycarbonate. As they are the most reliable, I work with modern plastic molds and I strongly recommend that you do also. Just remember that the temperature of your kitchen will affect the speed at which the chocolate sets. Plastic molds usually come in two equal parts, which must be united before filling with chocolate. I suggest that you clip the two parts together using small steel binder clips (available from all office supply stores). You can tape the parts together with heatproof tape, but the clips are much more efficient. If this is your first attempt at making a molded figure, I suggest that you make a simple chocolate bunny without the painted trim.

This traditional sweet is believed to have originated in Sichuan, where walnut trees from Persia were first planted in China. As with many Chinese foods, the walnut is imbued with symbolic meaning: it is believed to benefit the mind because the shelled nut looks like a brain lobe. Brain food or not, the walnut was a deliciously significant sweet long ago in Sichuan and western China. Reminiscent of halvah, mashed walnuts encased in a thin, flaky dough and covered with sugar syrup is a famed tea-time dish and just one of many Sichuan creations based on walnuts. In this recipe, walnuts go through four distinct cooking processes: they are boiled, reboiled, glazed, and finally deep-fried. Once a provincial sweet, they emanated outward from Sichuan many years ago, turning up in restaurants in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, usually as appetite-whetting, pre-meal snacks and just as often as snacks to conclude a meal along with fresh fruit. They were quickly dubbed "honey walnuts," though they are glazed with sugar syrup. They began to appear in the West about forty years ago, with the onset of the popularity of Sichuan and Hunan restaurants. These days, they are a standard offering. One particularly attractive aspect of these crisp, sweet walnuts is that they do not become soft if stored properly. Packed into an airtight container and left at room temperature, they will keep for at least 1 week. They will keep for at least 6 months in the freezer, and when served directly from freezer to table, they will still be crisp. Although I do recommend freezing them for an inordinate time, I did once leave them in the freezer for a year as an experiment. They were perfectly crisp and not at all stale. If you decide to make walnuts for storage, do not double the recipe, as the walnuts won't cook properly. Instead, make individual batches. Pecans can be prepared the same way.