Add a little holiday “cheers” to your confections this season. Perfect for holiday parties and gifts, we’ve curated three ideas from RCI members that incorporate beer, wine and spirits into their confections.

 

Joy Lyn's Candiesmakes Beer Brittle andJalapeno Beer Brittle

Beer Brittle

Joy Lyn’s Candies of Paradise, California partners with a local brewery to create a peanut brittle made with Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale. Coined as “Beer Brittle,” this popular confection is made in small batches and offers a subtle hint of hops and malt. Given the popularity of the product, Sierra Nevada has allowed Joy Lyn’s to display their logo prominently on the front of the brittle packaging. Joy Lyn’s continues to expand their line of Sierra Nevada flavored products, including a jalapeno beer brittle and a Hop Salt Sout Caramel, as its name suggests, the caramels are sprinkled with salt infused with hops.

Irish Whiskey Truffle Shots

KakaoChocolatepresented their Irish whiskey truffle shots toRCI members during Candy Clinic at the 2016 Annual Convention in Indianapolis.

Kakao Chocolate of St. Louis, Missouri has developed an indulgent Irish Whiskey Truffle Shot, by piping Irish whiskey ganache into recyclable sample cups and topped with cocoa nibs. When making the ganache, they add the whiskey at the end so the alcohol doesn’t cook out. If your store hosts a holiday open house, this would be a fun and unexpected treat for adult guests.

 

Elevated Candy Co.sharedtheir black currant brandy-infused truffles withRCI members during Candy Clinic at the 2016 Fall Conference in Vancouver, BC.

Black Currant Brandy-Infused Truffles

Elevated Candy Co. of Port Townsend, Washington took the popular pairing of wine and chocolate to create the Black Currant Truffle. This popular confection is made by incorporating a local black currant-infused brandywine into their ganache and finishing the piece with a dash of red Hawaiian alea sea salt.

There are countless ways to incorporate beer, wine and spirits into your confections. Here’s some more ideas (plus, recipes), sure to warm the belly during the cold-weather months ahead; cinnamon whiskey-infused marshmallows coated in chocolate, Beer and Pretzel Caramels or uber-trendy red wine hot chocolate.

If you decide to incorporate beer, wine or spirits into your confections, know that regulations vary from state to state. Check with your local liquor control commission and familiarize yourself with regulations put in place by your state, as many prohibit the sale of confections that contain alcohol.

Stay connected with RCI through Facebook for more tips and inspiration dedicated to the retail candy maker. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tags:  Beer  Candy Making  Caramels  Chocolate  Christmas  Creative Flavors  Flavors  gifts  Idea Sharing  Liquor  Marshmallow  Peanut Brittle  Recipe  Thanksgiving  Truffles  Wine 

Photo credit: Stever's Candies, Inc.

Looking for a new idea for your fall product lineup? How about a Smash Pumpkin?

Smash Pumpkins are simple hollow pumpkin or jack o’lantern moulds that are filled with goodies of your choice. Hence the name, customers get to “smash” the pumpkin open after purchase to see what’s inside.

Package your pumpkins in cellophane with beautiful bows and, perhaps, a small wooden mallet tied with a coordinating ribbon. Smash pumpkins can be a fun activity for parties or a welcome holiday gift.

At a glance, it may not be obvious that the pumpkins are filled with candy. For this reason, it is important to clearly communicate what’s inside the pumpkins, so the customer understands what they’re purchasing. Consider displaying packaged smash pumpkins around an over-sized, pre-smashed pumpkin with candy flowing out of the cracks and onto the table along. A small to mid-sized chalkboard with a brief product description should get the message across and create a fun display leading up to Halloween.

Tags:  Candy Holidays  Candy Making  Chocolate  Fall  gifts  Halloween  Holidays  Moulds 

Pictured clockwise from the top:MidwestLiving,Faribault Woolen Mill Co.,Free People

DIY Flameless Fire Pit by Free People

Strategic merchandising is an important to component to increasing sales. Thoughtful merchandising can grab attention, stimulate emotions and give buyers a reason to make a purchase and feel good about doing so. Fall is the perfect time to create a warm and cozy environment in your store. A fun, bonfire themed display could be seen as a welcome shelter from the cold.

 

Spark buyers’ interest with a bundle of fire wood, cozy flannel fabrics and an old tin thermos overflowing with goodies. This makes for a great space to sell DIY s’more kits, luscious caramel apples, various barks featuring cozy fall flavors and chocolate-covered pretzel rods. Candy House Gourmet of Joplin, Missouri makes “Walking Sticks” out of large pretzel rods dipped in caramel and pecans, then drizzled with milk, dark and white chocolate for a decadent snack on-the-go.

 

Interested in creating a darling flameless fire pit? Click here to view a step-by-step tutorial by Free People.

Tags:  Displays  Fall  gifts  Merchandising  Tutorial 

 

As the temperature outside starts to cool, heat things up by adding sweet and spicy treats to your product lineup. Not only are spicy flavors incredibly trendy right now, a little heat from red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper can produce a more dynamic flavor in any confection. As a general rule, spice balances sweet and vice versa. If you have a product that has been described as “too sweet,” try adding a hint of spice to the recipe to better balance the sweetness.

 

Javier Sanchez, with Savage Bros. Co., took a traditional confection to the next level during his demonstration at last week’s Philadelphia Candy Show. Red Pepper Peanut Brittle is perfect for chilly tailgate parties and bonfires, or as a gift for the heat-seekers among us.

Red Pepper Peanut Brittle

Recipe by Savage Bros. Co.

Ingredients:

4.5 lbs sugar

3 lbs corn syrup

1.5 lbs water

4.5 lbs raw peanuts

1 lb butter

.38 oz vanilla

1.13 oz baking soda

.5 oz salt

2.5 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions:

Prepare cooling table with warm water flow. Set kettle temperature to 400 degrees. Place sugar, corn syrup and water in kettle and bring to a boil. At 250 degrees, slowly add peanuts so not to decrease temperature. At 280 degrees, add butter.

At 290 degrees, turn off heat and start the water flush for 45 seconds. Add red pepper flakes and mix. Add salt, baking soda and vanilla. This will allow brittle temperature to reach 300 degrees by the time it’s finished mixing.

When ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, pour onto warm table or tray and either shake pan or use a spatula to spread brittle to desired thickness. Slowly start to cool table down.

Tags:  Candy Making  Creative Flavors  Fall  gifts  Peanut Brittle  Peanuts  Recipe  Red Pepper  Spicy  Sweet and Spicy  Trends