Sugar plums are small candies that feature the warm winter flavors of allspice, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, as well as dried fruits and toasted nuts.
Thanks to Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker Suite, sugar plums are a well-known holiday treat. Made with tangy dried fruits and mellow toasted nuts, these small, round, mildly sweet candies are filled with seasonal spices and flavors. They make an easy, elegant confection to serve during the holidays.
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Sugar Plums
Sugar plums are small candies that feature the warm winter flavors of allspice, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, as well as dried fruits and toasted nuts.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup dried figs, stems removed and chopped
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of cloves
- Pinch of allspice
- Pinch of cardamom
- 2 teaspoons brandy, optional
- 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- Coarse sugar for decorating
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Instructions
- Place the almonds, figs, apricots and crystallized ginger in the work bowl of a food processor and chop to a fine consistency on the pulse function.
- Add the remaining ingredients and continue to pulse until well mixed but still crumbly; do not puree or make a paste of the ingredients.
- Transfer the mixture to a sheet of wax paper. Using a spatula, gently smooth the mixture into a rectangle and cut it into 18 even pieces.
- Spread a thin layer of coarse decorating sugar on a plate. Lightly coat your hands with powdered sugar and roll each piece into a ball. Roll the balls in the decorating sugar to coat and place in small paper baking cups or in a single layer on a serving plate.
Notes
We used dried Mission figlets and had good results. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking, and you can omit the brandy for a non-alcoholic version.
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I chose these as a last minute choice to add to the Christmas Baskets that I handed out this year. I felt the baskets needed one more item, and I had the ingredients, so I mixed, shaped and rolled and tossed them in. These Sugar Plums were a huge hit! I did not expect the across the board love for these at all! Thank you for a recipe so different from the usual holiday treats!