Vegan Christmas Candy
In Swedish we call it “knäck”.
It’s a common type of homemade candy consisting of syrup, sugar and cream cooked together, often flavored with chopped nuts. The closest equivalent thing to “knäck” would probably be butterscotch.
This is my absolute favorite Swedish Christmas candy! When the batter has been cooked together it is distributed into folded small paper molds where it can stiffen. The consistency can vary from soft almost like fudge, to very hard depending on the taste. Knäck is, possibly with a few other confectionery species, considered to be an important part of a Swedish Christmas celebration.
Coconut & hazelnut butterscotch candy
1 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup coconut cream (22% fat)
1/2 cup oat cream or soy cream (13% fat)
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the nuts in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about an hour. You should see small bubbles all the time. If it stops bubbling, the temperature has gone too low.
Stir from time to time.
After about an hour you can do a test: Drop a drop of the butterscotch in a glass of cold water. If the drop solidifies it’s ready. If it flows out and mixes with the water, it needs to boil a little bit more.
When the butterscotch is ready, add the nuts into the mix or sprinkle on top.
Pour the butterscotch onto small paper molds or a parchment paper and let it sit in the fridge for at least 60 minutes. If you don’t use molds, let the butterscotch sit in the freezer for an additional 30 minutes before you cut it. Use parchment paper to wrap the candies.
Saffron butterscotch candy
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy cream (26% fat)
1/2 cup agave syrup
0,5 g saffron
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the nuts in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 40 minutes. You should see small bubbles all the time. If it stops bubbling, the temperature has gone too low.
Stir from time to time.
After about an hour you can do a test: Drop a drop of the butterscotch in a glass of cold water. If the drop solidifies it’s ready. If it flows out and mixes with the water, it needs to boil a little bit more.
When the butterscotch is ready, add the nuts into the mix or sprinkle on top.
Pour the butterscotch onto small paper molds or a parchment paper and let it sit in the fridge for at least 60 minutes. If you don’t use molds, let the butterscotch sit in the freezer for an additional 30 minutes before you cut it. Use parchment paper to wrap the candies.
