Special Sweets: Sugarplums

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: What is more synonymous with Christmas than sugarplums? (Thanks, C.C. Moore and Tchaikovsky!) For some of you, Celia Wakefield's delicious recipe is going to send you hurrying to your local market to collect the ingredients. Others will bookmark it for next November. I hope all of you will enjoy sinking into the pleasant dream of mixing and making that is so much a part of the holiday celebrations.

“While Visions of Sugarplums danced in their heads”

Right now I want you to close your eyes and go back to when you first saw the Nutcracker Ballet. If you didn’t live in a big city maybe it was the local dance school production using records for the music. Or maybe your first experience was the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center with a cast and audience of children, and the NCYB Star dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy - of course with the full orchestra. And away you went into the land of large dangerous mice, dancing snow flakes with cups of coffee or tea, the tallest tree ever, and divine music to feed your soul.

I was twelve when I first saw the Nutcracker ballet. My father took us to the Royal Festival Hall in London to a production which fulfilled all my dreams. I had always wanted to be a ballerina. I had books on the ballerinas of the day, adored Margot Fonteyn, I even had an old pair of toe shoes kindly given to me by a friend of my mother who recognized my hunger for dance. 

 

Well, I couldn’t pursue ballet, but I have danced all my life and would still be happy for a night on the town to go out and shake it (anyone for Zumba?). Still, while we may all need to add some dance to combat Christmas food, I am writing about about sugarplums. Julia, my dear friend, who got me writing and then presented me to you all, wants a recipe for the night before Christmas. Grabbing a cookery book from my pile for inspiration, I noticed a card below it with the heading “Sugarplums”, Courtesy of Eleanor Watson.

 

Goodness, Eleanor Watson one of the best loved and remembered people in Limerick, Maine. We were invited to her Christmas gathering the first year we moved here. She lived in a beautiful old house, pre Victorian I think. Would that make it Empire, Revolutionary or Federal? I’m not much good on the history of architecture. 

 

However there were open fire places with burning logs to warm us, a colonial kitchen and rooms filled with antique furniture which she showed off to me seeing my interest. She is another person I miss and wish I had asked her for stories. But on the kitchen table, along with her delicious food, was this gift of a recipe card for the taking. 

 

Now I have never made Sugarplums, but with a food processor anything is possible. Eleanor said her recipe made a hundred pieces of delicious, so I may half it. I also did a little research online and adding or omitting ingredients seems to be par for the course. I plan to measure the total liquid which will give me an idea of how much liquid is needed for the amount of dry ingredients. I plan to add some dried cranberries and cherries too. This recipe doesn’t have any spices in it so I will add a little of my favorite spices as well. 

SUGARPLUMS - Courtesy of Eleanor Watson

1 lb. chopped figs

1 lb. chopped dates

1 lb. chopped raisins - I am using golden raisins or sultanas (their English name)

1 lb. currents - I am omitting as couldn’t find them but will add cranberries and cherries here

Chop all finely in the Food Processor - set aside

1 lb. chopped blanched almonds

1 lb. chopped unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts (I will not use pistachios but make the weight up with other nuts.)

1/2 lb. chopped walnuts

1/2 lb. chopped pecans

Chop nuts in Food Processor - set aside

1/2 lb. shredded coconut

1/2 lb. crystallized ginger

Juice & grated rind of 1 orange

Juice & grated rind of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp - good sherry***

1 oz.    - orange or peach brandy

Granulated sugar for rolling - let the deliciousness commence

MY CHANGED RECIPE WITH ALL THE WEIGHTS THAT I USED

I am weighing my dried fruit based on the total amount in Eleanor’s recipe which is 4 pounds of fruit. My measurements are not exactly halved as I changed them while I was prepping.

My ingredients are:

2 3/4 lb. mixed dried fruit -approximate

1/4 lb. figs

1/4 lb. dates

1 1/2 lb. Mixed raisins and golden raisins (sultanas)

1/2 lb. cranberries

1 oz + dried orange slices (optional)

1/4 lb. cherries

1 1/2 lb. Mixed nuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans - I used what I had. Just check none are rancid

8 oz shredded coconut 

4 oz.    crystallized ginger

1 tsp. cardamom 

1/2 tsp. each nutmeg and mace

Juice and grated rind of one orange and one lemon = about 1/3 cup, just enough to moisten

1/4 Cup Cointreau or other liquor

I shall make some with extra fruit juice as not everyone likes alcohol but I shall do some with Grand Marnier or Cointreau added in place of the sherry and fruit brandies. 

 

I have simplified Eleanor’s process by adding the spices, coconut and ginger to the nuts, and grating the rind onto the pile of dried fruit. 

METHOD:

Measure all the ingredients but keep the fruit and nuts separate, see below. If you don’t have a scale I suggest you buy the fruits and use the measurements on the bag to approximate the amounts. I don’t think an extra oz or so will hurt the recipe

Put the nuts, coconut and crystallized ginger together with any spices you like in the Food Processor and pulse several times to chop finely

Scrape into a bowl

Add and pulse the dried fruits and grated orange and lemon rind in the FP. 

Add the chopped nuts and pulse to mix

Even though I have a 12 cup bowel on my FP and my Ninja cup is a little smaller, I had to half the quantities again before being able to mix the fruit, nuts mix and liquid together. This is where a digital scale comes in handy as you can place an empty bowl on the scale, adjust the weight back to zero then add ingredients. To finish I had two bowls weighing about one and a half pounds each to role into the sugarplums.

Depending on your quantity, now is the time to divide in half before mixing together and adding in the liquid through the funnel. I added a little at a time until the mix gathered on the blade. I don’t think it should be too wet.

Now for the fun part. Set up a plate with sugar on it and a plate with waxed paper to place the candies. Wet your hands and take a melon sized amount or slightly larger and roll into a ball, then roll in the sugar for that sparkle and set on a plate. If giving as gifts pack into a wax paper lined box with wax paper between the layers of sugarplums.

The final note: allow to sit in the fridge or a cold place for several days for the flavors to blend and add to the joy of eating a sugarplum. Plus, it’s Gluten Free!