Sweet success

Readers shared recipes for their favorite seasonal treats in our third annual Holiday Best competition

Southeast Missourian

Making fudges, candies and treats is just as much a holiday tradition for area cooks as is decorating a tree. And many of our readers shared their favorite recipes in our third annual Holiday Best contest. Judges selected three winners and an honorable mention in the 2004 contest.

The contest focused on treats -- candy in particular -- because there's a little more skill involved than in baking.

Because there is some work to making candy, many people saved it for something special, says Susan McClanahan, a food columnist for the Southeast Missourian. The holiday season became time to share.

"Many of the candies can't be made in moist weather, so they became a wintertime treat," says Dr. Georgeanne Syler, a dietitian and instructor at Southeast Missouri State University.

There is a trick to making candy -- the weather needs to be right, the ingredients of high quality, and the cook focused.

Tom Harte, another Southeast Missourian food columnist, suggests cooks invest in a good candy thermometer and limit their distractions when they're trying to make candy. A heavy pan or stainless-steel pan with a copper bottom also is necessary, Harte says.

When judging the entries in this year's Holiday Best contest, judges looked for treats that required some skill, had an unusual list or mix of ingredients or used a different method for preparation.

Winners were Beverly Wink's Brown Sugar Fudge, first place; Mary Ann Cruse's Cranberry Date Bars, second place; and Victoria Scherer's New Orleans Pralines, third place. An honorable mention went to Tillie Boswell for her Hungarian Butterhorns.

First-, second- and third-place winners received gift certificates to Save-A-Lot grocery stores.