This was one of my favorites, and it occurred to me that the recipe should be similar to my homemade Altoids.
This image is from the original website
which was saved on the wayback machine.
From Wikipedia:
Each roll of Necco Wafers contains eight flavors: lemon (yellow), lime (green), orange (orange), clove(purple), cinnamon (white), wintergreen (pink), licorice (black), and chocolate (brown). The ingredients in Necco Wafers are sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, gums, colorings, and flavorings. [2]
(n.b. the company website, as saved on the wayback machine, says it contains no corn syrup.) Just can't trust wikipedia!
Let's try:
Color Flavor
Orange Orange
Purple Clove
Brown Chocolate
Yellow Lemon
Pink Spearmint
White Cinnamon
Those are the colors/flavors I have at home.
I am missing lime, wintergreen and licorice (perhaps not much loss).
And I'll substitute spearmint for wintergreen.
I'll also skip the corn syrup and use confectionery sugar instead of corn syrup and regular sugar.
Techniques will be similar to my homemade altoids.
Mix 1/2 cup of water with 4 teaspoons gelatin, warmed and stirred until clear. Then add 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum. Beat all the lumps out! Put that into the stand mixer and add almost a two-pound bag of powdered sugar. Divide into about 140 gram portions for coloring and flavoring.
I began with lemon yellow. I started by cutting rectangles. That's easy with a pastry wheel.
But then I really wanted circles, so I used a small lid.
Next I made orange.
I think it needed more oil flavoring than I used, but I'll know for sure when they dry.
I did lose patience with those circles, so I just cut rectangles with the rest.
Then came chocolate.
I did not have chocolate flavoring, so
I used Scharffen Berger 100% Unsweetened Chocolate Cocoa Powder.
They should be really good, I think.
I used two tablespoons of cocoa with about 200 grams of candy.
I also added some vanilla.
By doing lemon, followed by orange, followed by chocolate, I did not have to wash the equipment between batches. The rest are strong enough flavors that there will have to be a serious wash-up between flavors.
By then I had had enough. . . I'll save the other flavors for another day.
Finished with clove (purple) and mixed mint (pink).
Alas, I overdid the flavoring - these two are very powerful.
Recipe needs tinkering in terms of flavor.
Made 1 quart of round and more than 1 quart of square.
Round and square taste the same. . .
Finished with clove (purple) and mixed mint (pink).
Alas, I overdid the flavoring - these two are very powerful.
Recipe needs tinkering in terms of flavor.
Round and square taste the same. . .
5 comments:
Chocolate and wintergreen were always my favorites. I haven.t had any for years. The chocolate ones make a nice roof on a Gingerbread house!
Does the structure or feel of the sugar mixture change as you handle it, and how long does it take for them to dry?
Thanks for sharing this!
VMM
The structure or feel of the mixture does not change while you're making it. It takes from 2 to 4 days to dry, depending on the humidity. Sometimes, in winter, when the air is very dry, it can take less than two days.
I make herbal remedies cooked into hard candy, but I like necco wafers much better. I've been wondering how these are made because I think they will do nicely for my zinc cough lozenges and other remedies. I've saved the recipe. Thank you.
Good luck. I still make this recipe every three weeks, but mostly the peppermint. I will be interested in learning your results.
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