Hello peoples! I personally love homemade candies and sweets, and I'm always looking for new recipes. And so, I think it'd be great if we could compile a list of such recipes. Post a link, or just put the directions directly in your post. The posts may get a little long, but I'm sure they'll all be worth it! Let's see what sweet treats we come up with!

This is a good toffee recipe. It's really simple, and it's usually a big hit whenever I make it.

You'll need:
1 cup white sugar
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup water
Optional: Chocolate, nuts, etc. for coating

1. Prepare a cookie sheet (12x16in is good) by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying it with nonstick cooking spray (buttering it also works, if you prefer).

2. Combine butter, sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan (make it a medium-large one; heavy is good) over medium heat. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. A spoon or spatula works for this. Insert a candy thermometer and bring the candy to a boil. It's good to periodically brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization, if you have one. If not, you can simply periodically swipe the sides with the spatula's edge for a similar effect.

3. Continue to cook the candy, stirring frequently, until it reaches 300 degrees. If the candy appears to separate (with a layer of melted butter on top) stir vigorously to make it come back together again. Watch the candy as it approaches 300, since it cooks quickly and can scorch at high temperatures.

4. Once the candy reaches 300 degrees, remove from heat and pour it onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the candy to an even thickness. Allow the toffee to begin to set, then spray a knife with nonstick cooking spray (or butter if you'd prefer) and score the toffee into small squares or rectangles. Allow the toffee to cool completely.

5. Once the toffee is cool, break it apart on the scored lines. The toffee can be left plain, or dipped in chocolate or whatever else you may want on it.

And that's it! I usually leave mine plain (boring, I know), but you can do whatever you want from there!

I haven't made candy before, but I know how to make syrups with berries. It's a easy recipe. I like to use it for pancakes, waffles, french toast, ice cream, and as a topping for cheese cake.

1 pint fresh or frozen berries; I've used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
1/3 cup of water
3/4 cup of sugar (Sometimes I use less, though)

You just put it all in a pot and put the heat on medium. When the berries start to get soft, take it off the heat and let it cool off so it will thicken. It's that easy :D

But! If the syrup is thinner than you want it (which usually happens to me), make a mixture of cold water and corn starch. Add enough corn starch to the water so that it's about as white as milk. You should only need about 1/4 cup of this mixture, and you probably won't need all of it. Also, the colder the water, the easier the two mix together.

Put the syrup back on low heat and add the mixture to the syrup a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring between spoonfuls so they blend completely, until it's the thickness you want it. And if you make it a little too thick, add some water. Just be careful not to dilute the flavor.

Hope you like it!

Well. Here's one of my favorites for New York Cheesecake

•1 cup graham cracker crumbs
•3 tablespoons sugar
•3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine, melted
•5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened must be Philadelphia if you can
•1 cup sugar
•3 tablespoons flour
•1 tablespoon vanilla
•1 cup sour cream
•4 eggs
Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs
1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature (this helps to prevent cracking).
2. MIX crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter;.
3. press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. (using a hamburger press handle works great for this!).
4. Bake at 325°F for 10 minutes.
5. MIX cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
6.Blend in sour cream. mix well
7. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Do not over mix!
8. Pour over crust.
9. Run a knife through to remove any air bubbles.
10. BAKE 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. 325 °F for a silver springform pan 300 °F if using a dark nonstick pan
11. Crack oven door open slightly and allow cheesecake to temper for about 30 minutes.
12. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake;.
13. Remove rim of pan.
14. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. (This is a must!).
15. Top with cherry pie filling and garnish, if desired.
16. Variation, 1/3 cup seedless strawberry jam can be dropped in spoonfuls over the batter and cut through the batter several times for marble effect before baking.
17. Variation #2 Cook above recipe and add 10 minutes before bake time ends. Mix 1 cup sour cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla together and carefully spread over cheesecake and bake 10 minutes longer. When serving, top with mixed berries!
18. Variation #3 Before serving, melt caramels in the microwave until smooth, stir in chopped pecans in desired and spoon on top of each slice.
19. Variation #4 Before serving, Crush us peanut butter cups press lightly into top of cheescake and drizzle with chocolate syrup.
20. Variation #5 Before serving, Cut cheesecake into cubes if desired, and drizzle with melted chocolate. Refrigerate for chocolate to harden.

...does anyone have tips for making chocolate? I tried/attempted/failed last valentine and they ended up tasting like rocks "OTL

>>5 Making chocolate? o__o I've never made chocolate, sorry. :< I've made fudge though.

>>5 What did you do? I might be able to help.

>>7 Umm I cut up chocolate, put it in a bowl on a small pot with heated water underneath, then when it melted I added sugar and hot milk... Stirred... I don't have chocolate molds so I scooped them into mini paper cups...um yea. o.o;;

>>8 Oh dear. Were you trying to make something like fudge? Or what? Normally I would melt the chocolate and just pour it into molds ( you can usually buy at crafts stores like Michaels, and such ) without doing much else. But if you were looking to make something sweeter, you should've stuck to a fudge recipe.

>>9 Eheh, I have no idea what I was doing xD;; Thanks for your advice anyway~ \^^/

>>10 That.. would explain a lot. Yeah, unless you're making fudge/following some recipe that calls for adding things to the chocolate, I don't recommend doing it. Glad to be of some help, though

If you want to make fudge, my mum has a good recipe. We put nuts in ours, but you can just take them out.

>>4 I tried the recipe, it was awesome, though i think you could have a bit more crust ratio in there cause my crust was a bit thin, but it was delicious either way!

Making truffles is pretty easy. take a heat safe glass bowl (and a pot it can sit in without touching the bottom) and mix equal weights (as in pounds or ounces) of heavy whipping cream (not whipped) and semi sweet or bitter sweet chocolate. put water in the pot and the bowl on top and set the water to a boil, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl. mix until shiny and smooth. cool for a couple hours in the fridge (until mostly solid) then scoop out small rounds with a spoon and roll in cocoa powder.

This is a strange recipe, but it tastes amazing

Sweet Corn Gelato

3 ears of sweet corn, preferably white, husked
3 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
1 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1. Slice the kernels off the corncobs, reserving the cobs. Break each cob into 2 or 3 pieces.
2. Bring the milk to a simmer in a large saucepan. Add the corn kernels and cobs, remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 45 minutes.
3. Remove the corncobs from the milk and discard. Use an immersion blender to buzz the milk and corn to break up the kernels; or transfer the milk and corn to a regular blender, in batches, and blend to break up the kernels. Strain through a coarse strainer into a bowl (discard the remaining corn mush). Measure the milk and add more if necessary to make 3 1/2 cups.
4. Combine the milk, cream, and 1 1/4 cups of the sugar in a large heavy-bottomed sauce- pan and bring just to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt together in a medium heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of the hot milk mixture, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stir- ring constantly with a heatproof spatula or a wooden spoon, until the custard registers 185°F on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Immediately strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl and chill over an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until cold. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or, preferably, overnight.
7. Freeze the gelato in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack into a freezer container and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving. (The gelato is best served the day it is made.)