MAPLE CREMES

Maple Cremes are a homemade candy that I make every December.

They are balls of flavored confectioner's sugar and butter, 

dipped into chocolate and topped with a pecan.

I actually have no idea why they are a tradition.

We are southern so...
maple is not a traditional flavor for us....
Ag nerd fact:  More than 50% of the maple syrup produced in the United States is sourced in Vermont.  Maple is a northern flavor...not a southern thing.

Maybe it's the pecan on top that cemented this as a tradition?
More Ag nerd facts:  80% of the world pecan market are grown in the southern United States 
North Carolina is in the top 10 states that produce pecans but the volume is much lower than GA, TX and NM. 
Nevertheless...pecans have persisted in NC and often grow
in yards, churches or parking lots.
My grandmother, her sisters and friends 

essentially farmed multiple pecan trees in yards and around town.

In the fall, they would coordinate the status of these trees-
tracking when the pecans were ripe,

painstakingly picking up the fallen pecans

and then hand shelling them over a course of weeks.

There were often stacks of ziploc bags 
filled with pecans laying around our house.

They would be given as gifts,

sold at the church bazaar, 

or used to make treats.

Quick aside...how do you say PECAN?
Almost no one I know says this word with exactly the same inflection or tone.

I enjoy all the ways that people say this word.

All of them give me a giggle.

Are you a peh-KAHN or a PEE-can 
or do you say something different?

I say PEE-KAHN.  

Both syllables have force and emphasis in my personal dialect.

Anywho....back to the point.

Maple Cremes are one of the things that I associate with Christmas.

I'm not quite sure where the original recipe came from

or if they're truly a southern tradition.

My Aunt Opal made them and everyone was crazy over them.

When I became adultish...I started making during the holiday season.

It was a way that I grounded myself as a college student 
who was ending an old life and starting a new one. 

There's a rhythm to making them that is simple and direct

but has just enough fiddlely bits that puts you into a zone.

Most people love them.

True Confession:
I actually don't like to eat them.

They hurt me...too sweet.
I'm not a sugar-lover
in spite of the name of this blog.
I do like to make them though.

Ingredients
32oz (2lbs.) of 10X powerdered sugar
2 sticks of butter, melted
2 TBSP maple flavor
2TBSP Water
1 box unsweetened baking chocolate
1 block paraffin wax
Pecan halves to garnish


Creation Steps
In a double boiler, 
heat chocolate and paraffin wax over medium heat 
until liquid.  
Do not burn, do not rush.
Stir occasionally.

Low tech double boiler=metal mixing bowl in a pan of boiling water.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, butter, flavoring and water.

Lay out a big sheet of parchment paper or wax paper.
With your hands, 
create 1" balls out of the sugar mix 
and lay out like soldiers on the wax paper.

We do this as an assembly line.  
Couple of people (usually kids) rolling the sugar into balls.
Couple of people (usually adults)
dipping the sugar balls into chocolate and topping with a nut.

You have to dip the ball into the chocolate
without dropping it into the chocolate.
Let it drip a little, then place onto the wax paper.
As you're pulling the toothpick or stick out of the dipped ball
use the pecan to hold the item onto the wax paper.
Allow to cool.

Words of Warning
There are a couple of potential snafus.  
1.  Sometimes the sugar mix is too dry.  If it won't stick together and hold a shape, then add a little bit of water (1 TBSP at a time) until it shapes up.
2.  If the chocolate gets too hot, it will be watery.  You can just take it off the heat for a couple of minutes to let it cool.
3.  If the chocolate gets too cool, it will get clumpy and weigh the balls down.  put it back on the double boiler water.
4.  If you drop a ball into the chocolate, just scoop it out with a spoon and give it to one of your co-chefs to eat.  DO NOT attempt to re-spear it with the toothpick or you run the risk of contaminating the chocolate with the sugar.
5.  If you don't like pecans, use a different nut.  My kids don't like pecans so this year we used salted almonds for some of them.  

These make great gifts.
Box up about 6-8 and give to people.
I do NOT recommend giving more than that....
they are seriously sweet.

Merry Christmas!