Fun with fondant

Aah... the season of holiday treats! It's time to get into the kitchen and make something wonderfully delicious without worrying over the fat/calorie/carbs content.

This past week I went to work on our list of Christmas treats. I have two types of cookies in dough form in the freezer now. I also finished the two treats that need fondant, and that is what I want to share with you today.

Candy making can be tricky for those of us who avoid milk products. So many are based on butter, or sweetened condensed milk, or cream (I miss you, dairy products!). In trying to make an old-fashioned candy called Martha Washingtons, I found I needed to make my own fondant for the base, as all the modern recipes used sweetened condensed milk to start out. Traditional fondant is tricky when your candy thermometer is off by an unknown number of degrees! I searched the internet for another, easier recipe, and found marshmallow fondant to be the one. Originally meant to be used to cover cakes, it works well as a base for candies, too.

1 bag marshmallows + 2-5 Tbsp. water + confectioners sugar + crisco
Melt your marshmallows and water in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Knead or beat in enough confectioners sugar to make a smooth non-sticky dough, using crisco to keep it from sticking to your hands or mixer beaters.
*Flavorings and colors can be added before the sugar.

With one full batch of fondant I made my Martha Washingtons. In the food processor I chopped 1 cup pecans + 1 cup dried cherries + 1 cup coconut. These I formed into small logs to be dipped in chocolate. Yummy!

My small dark chocolate cookie needed a topping of mint, and I didn't want to use fudge that needed to be kept cold, or frosting that might be too sweet. I used a half batch of fondant, tinted green and flavored with peppermint. I rolled it out thin and cut it with a small circle cookie cutter. It needed a little smear of icing to stick to the cookie, and then a drizzle of chocolate to finish.