My Life

When I was little girl I couldn’t go to the market without asking for a candy bar or piece of “penny” candy. Lol!  Maybe it cost a nickel. Anyway, I loved it.  All of it. My absolute favorite candy growing up was “Butter Brickle,” which, I believe, is still available in some parts of the country.  It’s no surprise then that I would later attempt to master my version of this delectable candy. My mother discovered a recipe for English Toffee that had been given to my grandmother by my great-grandmother.  The one personal comment included with the recipe was how “challenging” the endeavor could be.  Everyone can’t make candy. Period.  (Everyone can’t make soap either, but that’s another story for another time) For some reason there is a tendency for the sugar to re-crystallize at the most inopportune time, which causes the toffee to seize, which then ruins the entire batch.  This, the “old women” believed, was attributed to cooking in inclement weather or using “bad” sugar.  The lore went on and on, as did the remedies for recovering a “sugared” batch–an art/talent in and of itself.

While I’m not particularly superstitious, if at all, I have come to realize, based on scientific proof of course, that making candy in the rain, is highly inadvisable.  After laborious experimentation, and not a few failed batches and burns to prove it, I feel that I have mastered the art of toffee making and officially inducted into the Sisterhood of Toffee. Making candy soon became a holiday tradition for me and my family.  I would start making toffee right after Thanksgiving. . .transforming the basement of our home into a mini-chocolate factory.

Instead of the familiar smells of Christmas such as apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pine, our home smelled like the wonders of butter and chocolate. Yummm. Different, yes, but equally wonderful and rich.  As our gift list grew, we created “stations” for each facet of manufacturing: cooking station, coating station, weighing/bagging, packaging/decorating and, finally, shipping. Everyone in the family old or young enough to assist had a job; some were better at certain tasks than others.  A few even discovered talents they never knew they had.  My ex-husband was actually quite adept at making lovely, lovely bows.  We won’t name names! Let’s suffice it to say that I could not have done it without the help of those wonderful elves.

I make and share toffee because I love the idea of creating something with love that others can enjoy and appreciate.  I like making people smile. The most beautiful part is that I am able to share a gift that can be shared with others.  Something like the popular idea of “Paying it Forward.” What more could I ask?  It gives me both purpose and joy.

On this day, and on every day to come, I wish you all the love and joy you so deserve!  Please share it.

Confectionately yours,

Judi