Granny Law’s Tablet and Candy Page

Comments Off on Granny Law’s Tablet and Candy Page | October 5, 2019

Edit: Plus Coconut Ice

Tablet

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 1kg bag of sugar
• 250ml milk
• 350ml can of condensed milk
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tray 12” x 10” greased with butter

Method:

Melt the butter in a large heavy based pot over a low heat. Add the sugar, milk, condensed milk and stir until the sugar dissolves.  Bring to the boil and simmer over a fairly high heat for about 10 minutes. Turn down the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test for setting consistence by putting some of the mixture on a cold saucer.  Leave to cool and push with your finger.  If it sets its done. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract and then beat on high with an electric mixer for 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Pour onto the try and allow to cool.  Mark into slices with a knife when after about 30 minutes into cooling.

Candy Apples, Sugar Candy Brittle/Nut Brittle, Chuckers Candy and Puff Candy.

Granny Law, in addition to her famous tablet, also made lots of other sugar treats.  Things were tough back in the day, and she had a few part time cleaning jobs to make ends meet, in order to keep a hungry family of seven fed.  I better mention Grandpa Johnnie “the best left-handed riveter on the Clyde” especially after a few wee “Goldies”, who struggled with work in the shipyards, where there was others to get paid from their riveting teams pay. 

“Chipped fruit”….. bruised apples etc. were available, either bought or probably stolen from local trees.  Greta was a smart lady and knew well that the family were an excellent advertisement for her range of sugary treats.  They though they were doing well to get a treat but actually they were sent out onto the street with a slice of trimmed apples that she turned into Candy Apples on a stick, to drum up some business.  Mammy ….. Mammy …… Mrs Law is making Candy Apples.  Anything for a few extra halfpennys.  Supermarkets today would call that a loss leader.  No flies on Granny Law……….

Oh, the recipe……

All of the above all come from the same basis recipe, Sugar and water.  Some recipes like Puff Candy would include syrup.  Granny Law didn’t have syrup to add.  At the end of the day, syrup might speed up the process and colour.  Its just processed sugar. You will also find recipes that give temperatures. Again, Granny Law didn’t have a sugar thermometer, she did it all by eye and colour.

Ingredients (you can scale up to suit what you’re making)

• 2 Cups Granulated sugar
• ¾ Cups Water
• (you could add some red food colouring if making Candy Apples, she never did.)

If making Candy Apples, wash and get the apples prepared on a stick.

If Making Puff Candy, 1 teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda.

 Method

Add the sugar and water to a heavy based pot, on a low heat until they combine and the sugar melts. Don’t stir the mixture, it will go sugary, but you can swirl the mixture in the pot.  The water will evaporate and the sugar will start to bubble and take on colour.  Be careful not to let it burn.  You will smell a difference.  When the colour goes a deep sweet sherry colour. You’re ready to dip the apples or other sugar treats.

Either Candy Apples:  

Alternatively, at that stage you can pour onto a buttered tray and have a layer of brittle candy or throw in some crushed nuts to make a nut brittle.

Or, Candy Chuckers: pour the mixture onto a marble surface and work the candy with a knife or spatula into a long snake about 1 inch diameter.  Pulling and working the candy will make it go lighter, or you could have added some food colouring to the mix for this method.  While still warm and pliable …. And being careful…. You can cut the candy roll into Chuckers (boiled sweets), cutting each end of the sweet in different directions. Working pulled candy and unpulled candy can give a striped sweet.

Or, Puff Candy: last of all you can throw in a teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda and stir the mixture quickly with a wooden spoon and pour quickly onto a buttered tray and allow to set.

Coconut Ice

Ingredients

• 250g condensed milk
• 250g icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
• 200g dessicated coconut
• pink food colouring, a drip.

Method

Add the coconut, icing sugar and condensed milk to a bowl and mix together.
Split the quantity of the mixture into two.
Spread half the quantity onto a lined baking tray about 1/2 inch thickness.
Add a drip of pink food colouring to the remaining mixture and mix through. Spread the pink mixture on top of the white mixture. Allow to firm up, slicing into chunks.

Optional, you could also add a layer of melted chocolate on top.

This was one of her cookbook that she gave me in her later life. It had the same words on the front as long as I can remember. It must be a very old book.