Vintage candy making for nostalgic treats (The Holiday Candy Book was first published in 1952): Here is a book that will bring back the nostal-gic days of our extreme youth when we chose our penny candy with such deliberation . . . "one of these and two of those" . . . for this book acknowledges that candy is good, tastes good and is much better if you make it yourself. Candy plays an important part in every holi-day. And it has a place in family celebrations, too . . . from the first lollipop of the chil-dren's party to the gold-wrapped cherry cordial at a golden wedding anniversary. So with this collection we learn to make candy-really good candy-beginning with the winter holiday favorites: candy popcorn, fondants of all de-scriptions, mint patties, marzipan and many kinds of hand-dipped chocolates. Spring is the time for Easter Eggs, divinity and nougats and fudge. For the summer holidays we have a choice of marshmallows (they're really easy to make), hard candies, crunch and brittle. In the fall there are the candied fruits, sugared nuts, caramels, pecan turtles and stuffed dates. And then there is that most welcome addition . . . a chapter on wholesome candies for. children . . . lollipops, taffy, candy sticks, spirals and candy apples on a stick. Successful candy-making is easy with the charts and tables and the helpful directions that Mrs. Pasley provides. For instance, do you know that butter crunch will not separate if cooked in a heavy skillet instead of a saucepan? That caramels can be made by a new method that cuts the cooking time as much as two and a half hours? That even chocolate dipping-a fussy task at best-can be conquered if you understand chocolate? This is more than a book of recipes . . . it is a complete, thoughtful guide to home candy making, including lists for equipment, general discussions of cooking techniques and instruc-tions on storing, packing and even mailing the finished product. The novice will find that with this slim guide she can whip up a batch of fudge as expertly as her mother-and the experienced cook will discover how to master such difficult arts as decorating and chocolate dipping. And best of all, the entire family will enjoy having delicious home-made candy from their own kitchen.
