Chocolate Bars and Coating Dex+

Chocolate. King of candy, vital for candy bars, and has a magical snap and sheen. How, then, does a mere mortal sweeten an unsweetened chocolate bar, without ruining the magic? Very carefully. :)

This Dex+ chocolate has a great snap, and is shiny, with a deep dark chocolate taste. It is very thick, even when melted. When using it as a coating, I use a knife or the edge of the pot to swipe off part of the chocolate, otherwise the coat is too thick.

Mix in Rice Krispies and peanuts for a tasty treat!

I tried several methods before finding what really works, including using cocoa powder instead of chocolate bars, and adding cream and sugar. Adding any liquids tends to produce tootsie rolls instead of chocolate. The best way I found was to use Ghirardelli 60% and 100% chocolate bars.

Hot Cinnamon Jelly Beans Dex+

Halloween is almost here, and my son really wants Hot Tamales. I've been thinking about that, and they are basically a hot cinnamon jelly bean, so I picked up some of this Cinnamon Oil at a local cake supply shop. After making caramel, cookies, and syrups, how hard could a jelly bean be?

Declared "As good as Hot Tamales" by an expert taster.

It only took an entire day, complete with one wholesale change of recipes and five failed attempts, resulting in three very strange bowls of gloppy gluey but fun-to-play-with "stuff", one batch of super-hard candy, and one just a little too hard. I achieved a candy that was declared "Pretty much the same as Hot Tamales, I love you Mom." :) :)

To compensate for the softness of candy made with most of the sugar replaced with dextrose, I had an ace up my sleeve.

Soft Buttery Vanilla Caramel Dex+

Caramel. Gooey, buttery, amazing caramel. What is fall, or Halloween, without it? Dex+ is all about removing fructose and adding fiber, but caramel's primary ingredient, sugar, is half fructose. I wasn't sure what I'd end up with after replacing most of the sugar with dextrose, but clearly the only option was to give it a try.

Soft, buttery vanilla caramel, Dex+

Here's what I got: a soft, sticky, buttery, amazingly delicious caramel! It is less sweet than regular caramels, which I very much prefer. What do other people think? My work friends think I should open a candy store! :)

Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes, Dex+

This is a Dex+ version of "Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes" from Allrecipies. The origingal recipe uses the simplest ingredient list, and results in terrific pancakes. My husband liked them quite a bit, and he's not even a pancake fan.

We doubled the recipe, added vanilla, and adjusted the sugar and fiber to be Dex+. This is the thing to make when we want waffles, but we're out of buttermilk.

We froze the extras, and the kids toasted them on "defrost", having them for breakfast on school mornings. I didn't get any because they ate them all. I take that as an endorsement. Have them with Maple Syrup Dex+, and try with some blueberries thrown into the batter too.

Chocolate Malt Nougat Dex+

Halloween. The father of all sugary holidays. We also have a family birthday on that day. I've been working on how to save this special tradition without giving up on my low-fructose efforts. Sure, it's just one day, but that bag of candy that each child brings home can last over a week, and we also buy bags to pass out, usually nibbling and there are leftovers. I had a plan though. I asked the kids, what is your favorite candy? If I make that Dex+, will you trade me all your fructose-filled candy for what I make instead?

They agreed! The favorites? Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, Hot Tamales, and Gummy Worms. With a lot of uncertainty, I started trying my hand at the caramel, chocolate, and nougat. Is it possible to Dex+ a candy recipe? Yes, yes it is!

For several months, I've been rotating through the list, and now the experts (kids) have declared that I am done, and should move on to the gummy candies!

Candy Burn Prevention and Preparedness

I've been working on some candy recipes. Hot candy can cause a really nasty burn; I know, because I accidentally splashed some on my arm while taking notes. Here are some tips I follow for prevention, and preparedness if a burn occurs:

Maple Syrup Dex+

Maple syrup is an amazing thing; except that it has a lot of fructose in it. Use the darkest maple syrup you can find, and this syrup blend packs a great flavor. We find it delicious, and a bit less intensely sweet than 100% maple. It beats any "maple flavored pancake syrup" available at the grocery, no question. And it's Dex+, which means less fructose, with fiber.  :)

Waffle of Insane Greatness Dex+

These waffles really are great! The outside had a crispy crunch, inside was creamy, overall they were light and wonderful. The first waffle was actually a tad lighter brown than the rest, but was still good. They were flavorful and delicious. Butter, a light dusting of dextrose, a drizzle of Maple Syrup Dex+, and maybe a handful of fresh berries... mmm... One Dex+ waffle will leave you happy until lunch time, if not later.

(Left) Waffle topped with dextrose and Maple Syrup Dex+, and (Right) a waffle sandwich, with ham, smoked gouda, and Jam Dex+ 

The recipe is also pretty simple, not requiring anything fancy like separating eggs and beating the whites. Between this and the pancake recipe I found earlier, we will not be buying any more mix. Allow any extra waffles to cool, then wrap, freeze, and reheat in the toaster. If we don't have buttermilk, we make Good Old-Fashioned Pancakes instead; substitutes aren't worth the effort.