I love nestling down at night and being able to watch a bit of TV and nibble on some of my favorite flavors. To be honest the TV doesn't excite me too much but if I means an excuse to satisfy the sweet tooth so be it. The other TV watchers in the family don't seem to mind because they also get the benefit from my having a sweet tooth.

If I am feeling guilty I make honeycomb because by comparison it has so little sugar. But if I am feeling only a little bit guilty I stick with the fudge.

One of my favorites is peanut brittle because you can change the flavor just by changing the type of nut you put in, or you can make it into a fruit and nut brittle which is just lovely.

If you have to take a little something to a party or a gathering of some sort there is absolutely nothing like a platter of homemade chocolates, candies and fudges. They are so popular with nearly everybody.

Homemade candy and fudge is also the most fantastic gift for Christmas, but throughout the year it is a really touching gift to give to older folk, because often they can't get out to shop or their money is so limited that they don't allow themselves these sorts of treats.

Another benefit of perfecting candy and fudge is that you don't have to keep many items in the cupboard. I find with cookie making you always seem to have to keep so many different ingredients that I tend to fall back into making the same old ones all the time so that I know I have the ingredients available.

MAKING CANDY AND FUDGE CAN BE A GREAT FAMILY PROJECT TOO. Getting the family involved is a great idea and what really is a benefit is that most of these can be made a week or so before. You really only need to make sure that you choose the particular recipes that will last well. There is a good chance that you will have to hide them, but I am sure you could find a 'safe' place!!

Often when we are entertaining we get a bit hung up about the fact that we should provide a dessert but if you have a nice selection of candies and fudges on hand then you wont need to bother with fussing about with a dessert and your guests will love it just the same. They are just the answer to have with a coffee. Obviously if you have a selection of these available you can offer different taste sensations and this often pleases guests because not everybody likes the same types of dessert.

If you are looking to find something to occupy the kids during school holidays, candy and fudge projects can just be the answer!

So, get out those pots and pans and start sharpening up your cooking skills.

Copyright (c) 2008 Kaye Dennan