Sweet Things: Chocolates, Candies, Caramels & Marshmallows – To Make & Give

I've doggie-eared so many pages in this book that it closes at a slant! I first picked this book up at my library and have taken it out and renewed it so many times that I decided it was time to buy it! At this point, I think it's safe to say that I've made nearly every recipe in the book. I haven't had problems with any of the recipes--everything comes out well and with little to no stress. Some of my favorites? The Aztec Truffles, which are rich and creamy with a pleasant punch of spice. The Chocolate Salami--a stunner for Christmastime gift giving--is gorgeous wrapped in brown parchment and tied off with string. The Hot Chocolate Dunkers, and various marshmallow recipes, are great for both the kids and adults in your life. The Black Currant Pastilles are scrumptious and positively charming cut out into tiny hearts!Pick this book up. It's a lovely, lovely book!

Good book!

Good book with some interesting recipes.

I have never been into making sweets because I don’t eat them but when I saw this book for a very low price I decided to give it a try as it contains a lot of simple recipes for treats you can give as presents. There are recipes for marshmallows, Chocolate treats, Toffee, Fudge and Caramels, Nougat, Honey Comb, Nougat, etc. Everything seems to be very straightforward and the ingredients are easy to find as well. The book looks and feels slightly old-fashionable but I think that this was the goal. I find the design slightly uninspiring but as long as the recipes work out well I am happy. So far I have only read it from cover to cover but when I try out some recipes I will post an update and let you know what I think. There is a good index, something I find very important! It even brings a recipe for Candy Canes.

This genius little book is my go-to gift this holiday season. I have purchased many copies and will be giving them to friends along with some the tasty homemade treats from within its pages. If you love making homemade food for gifts, then you will love this book. I also did not know how easy making your own marshmallows really was until I read this book.

…As this is perhaps not a book for beginners. Some of the other reviews for this book point out the vagueness of the instructions and I can agree with them.The book is beautifully presented – but that comes with a cost. There are no photos to show you what your recipe should look like at various stages and if you don’t know what it should look like you may make a mistake that ruins all your work. For example I didn’t beat my fudge enough (I didn’t really know what a “grainy texture” looked like) and what I ended up with was a very sticky caramel-like mess. It seems they were more concerned with this book being pretty than helpful. Perhaps they could put the stage-by-stage images and what to avoid doing in the little introductions to each type of sweet.Other than that the book is delightful! The recipes sound delicious and the presentation is stunning.

I have searched for a good book which includes making a range of sweets - so many of the books stick to chocolates and toffee, with the token sweet - not this book - it has lots of lovely recipes for sweets that you wouldn't believe you could make at home. The recipes are easy to follow, the ingredients are easy to find, there are lovely pictures, and the results are so tasty. I bought this book as a gift for someone - but I can't give it - I want it too much myself! So I'm going to have to buy another! Highly recommended.

The recipes in this book are able to be attempted by anyone. The results are very satisfying. Recommend this book.

great we book

Bought this for a friend's birthday present, and had a quick look first, was tempted to keep it because it looked really good with lots of must do recipes, my friend loved it too.