You know them and admit it, you love them, too! Tootsie Rolls Candy—hard to resist, especially out of the kiddie’s trick-or-treat stash while they’re away at school. ;)
Well, I’ve cloned them homemade and darn it all if these are just about the closest candy I’ve made that is so very close to the original Tootsie Rolls. And so super easy to make as well. No, I didn’t invent the idea or recipe, I knew it had most likely been done before. I’ve been hankering to give them a try and I’m glad I did. After Googling for recipes, I actually ended up trying two different ones that I’d found. One that I tried was from Paula Deen (thought I couldn’t go wrong). Her recipe is just melted chocolate chips and corn syrup with some added flavoring. Then that mixture just sits covered for 24 hours to set up. The taste was not right on with Tootsie Rolls and they never did set up the same. Strike one. But never fear—I wasn’t about to throw out all that chocolate—I put it in a saucepan with some cream and melted it back down. Then added the warm chocolate to more cream and some milk and made a fabulous base to some great chocolate ice cream. Nothing wasted and some great ice cream to boot!
I made some the regular size, but remembered the big thick sticks you can get in a package? I had to make some of those, too.
I was going to take the time to make some cute wrappers for them, but well, that’s just not me. Give me the ingredients to make the candy and I’ll be happy as can be. Tell me to be crafty—and not so much me. So they are just wrapped in waxed paper, which is fine because they are a hit around here and are getting eaten pretty fast! Like I said, they taste almost just like the Tootsie Rolls you all know and love. The texture is just every so slightly softer, which is actually fine since sometimes Tootsie Rolls can be just a little too chewy. These might “harden up” like that over a little time—if they last that long. Looking for a quick, easy treat to surprise someone with or to give away? These are great!
Homemade Tootsie Rolls, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Allrecipes
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (42 grams) cocoa powder
3 cups (330 grams) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (108 grams) dry milk powder (not instant powdered milk)
1/2 cup light corn syrup and an additional tablespoon or two
pinch of salt
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until well incorporated. If the dough isn’t coming together after 2 tablespoons of butter are added, add more until it starts to stick together, do the same with corn syrup, alternating the butter and syrup. It just might need a little extra. Knead into a firm dough and shape into ropes and cut to desired size. Wrap individually in waxed paper. Makes—a lot.
*Don’t use your stand mixer, it will have a hard time mixing the stiff dough. I also read that someone put all the ingredients in a gallon sized plastic bag and let kids take turns kneading it all together.
You’ve got to try these!
This post is being added to a blog hop, Sweets For A Saturday at Lisa’s blog, Sweet As Sugar Cookies.
