Sugar Plums
One of the most classic holiday treats, so beloved that “sugarplum” came to be used as a term for ANY candy.
Makes
Around 4 dozen
Active time:
1 hour
Total Time:
13 hours
Good For:
Dessert, Snack
Inroduction
About this Recipe
We all know phrases like “visions of sugarplums danced in their heads”…but how many of us have ever actually had a sugar plum these days?
Traditional sugar plums are simply sugared prunes, repeatedly baked until they’re a dense, chewy, sugary treat–and they are delicious! So delicious that they were an incredibly common, well-loved holiday candy that became so ubiquitous that “sugarplum” came to be used for any candy or confection, especially around Christmas.
This recipe, however, is all about the original. Dense, chewy, sugary dried plums that are sure to make a few visions of deliciousness dance in your head too!
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1 16 oz tub of prunes (dried plums)
- Around 1 pound sugar
1. Preheat your oven to 175º or its lowest setting.
2. Soak the prunes in hot water for 5 minutes to soften them, then drain them.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. In a low bowl (like a cereal or soup bowl), pour some of the sugar.
5. Using one hand, pick up a prune and drop it into the sugar, rolling it around to coat evenly. Using your other hand, pick up the sugared prune and put it on the baking sheet. Repeat with all the prunes.
6. Bake for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.
7. Re-roll the plums in sugar as in step 5.
8. Bake again, then re-roll in sugar, refilling your bowl as necessary.
9. Repeat for a total of 4-5 bakes, depending on how chew you like your sugar plums and how dry they were to begin with. At any point in the baking, if you run out of time, you can pause and leave them sit out at room temperature overnight, then continue the process the next day. After the final bake, the sugar should be crisp and the plums chewy. Feel free to bake more or less to taste.
10. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.
From the Books
Sugar plums are a favorite treat in Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor–so very dear to our heroine that at Christmas time, when they make the treats, she renames the entire estate to reflect them, and Plumford Manor becomes Sugar Plum Manor. =)
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