Sharon Bowers - Candy Construction How to Build Race Cars, Castles, and Other Cool Stuff out of Store-Bought Candy

How to Build Edible Race Cars, Castles, and Other Cool Stuff Out of Store-Bought Candy!

Sharon Bowers

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Margaret Sutherland and Franny Shuker-Haines
Art direction and book design by Alethea Morrison
Text production by Liseann Karandisecky

Cover photography by Kevin Kennefick,
Interior photography by Kevin Kennfick, except by Mars Vilaubi:
Food styling by Norma Miller
Set styling by Ann Lewis
Illustrations by David Sheldon
Diagrams by Missy Shepler
Modeling by Madeline Art, Annabelle Art, and Grace Miller

2010 by Sharon Parrish Bowers

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

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Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com

Printed in China by R.R. Donnelley
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bowers, Sharon.
Candy construction / by Sharon Bowers.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60342-548-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Sugar art. 2. Candy. 3. Confectionery. 4. Cake decorating.
5. Garnishes (Cookery) I. Title.
TX799.B67 2010
641.86dc22
2010020753

For Hugh and Pearse,
the most enthusiastic workers ever to punch a clock at our Candy Construction Company

Sincere thanks to my editor, Margaret Sutherland, for her good advice and deep well of patience may I never plumb its bottom; to Franny Shuker-Haines for her careful and detailed work on the manuscript; to creative director Alethea Morrison, who continues to astonish me with her talent; to stylists Norma Miller and Ann Lewis and photographer Kevin Kennefick, who created and shot delightful scenes for each project; and to all the wonderful and dedicated team at Storey, including a big smacking kiss for the remarkable Amy Greeman.

Deepest thanks as always to my unflagging friends and colleagues, Jennifer Griffin and Angela Miller.

And most of all, thanks to my dear, funny, and most important, engineering-minded husband, David Bowers. Most of the niftier projects in this book exist thanks to you, and life is fun for the same reason.

Chapter 1
BLUEPRINTS AND CONSTRUCTION NOTES

Chapter 2
THINGS THAT GO VROOM

Chapter 3
FLIGHTS OF FANCY

Chapter 4
FUN AND GAMES

Chapter 5
(UN)NATURAL WONDERS

Chapter 6
HOLIDAY TREATS

BABIES ARE BORN LIKING SWEETNESS, and that natural taste predilection only seems to intensify throughout childhood (and doesnt always disappear in adulthood). No matter how much you may try to avoid giving your kids sugar, theres no way to avoid their passion for it. Like a lot of parents who try to be careful with their kids sugar intake, I hardly ever gave my first child a cookie till he was two, so eager was I to avoid a sweet tooth. Now, at six, he dreams of running a candy store and adores the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. With my second child, I simply shrugged and let him share in whatever loot came my childrens way, and hes no more or less obsessed with it than his brother. Whats the lesson here? That candy continues to be a big part of childhood. From birthday goodie bags, Valentine and Halloween parties, trips to the general store, and visits to the grand-parents, candy is the signal to kids of something festive and special.

And candy is fabulously fun. Most children would choose a candy ring or a chocolate bar or a pair of wax lips over a fresh, homemade cookie any day. Im not so old that I dont remember the thrill myself. As a child, I worshiped candy: the scent, the look, the wrappings, the endless fascinating color and variety taste was a secondary consideration at best. I spent my first dime ever at a candy store, buying a chewy bar of Bit-O-Honey, and that early transaction remains one of the most fully satisfying purchases Ive ever made.

But there has to be a better way to enjoy candy than unlimited consumption. How can a responsible parent let a kid enjoy candy without letting him stuff himself with the junk? The trick is not to eat it but to make something with it. Thats where the projects in this book come in! Kids eyes light up at a cool and stylish Chocolate Race Car. Their joy is unparalleled when they sport a sassy Arm Candy wristwatch or bracelet. And a whole pyramid, pirate ship, or castle built out of it will be met with oohs and ahs. With a candy construction project, kids can have their candy and eat a little bit of it, too.

The best part of candy construction is that the fun begins right away for both parent and child. When I was testing and refining the recipes for my first book, Ghoulish Goodies, my young sons wouldnt get out of the kitchen. What are we making next? they asked continually, which was very gratifying, of course and yet kind of annoying, too. Because, while I was happy to have them participate, and I wanted each recipe to be child-friendly, there were lots of times when I needed to make the cupcakes or the cookies or bake some component before we could start the fun part of building and decorating. Before long, I realized that the most consistently enjoyable projects for both parents and kids rarely involved turning on the oven at all. The goodies that were instantly satisfying had ready-made components that let us get straight down to business. And they were the goodies mostly based on store-bought candy.

So I decided to experiment a little. We made a trip to the store for assorted chocolates and candy shapes, mixed up some frosting, and a little bit later: Boom! We had a race car. The resulting confection, complete with a chocolate-bar spoiler, extra-wide cookie wheels that turned on pretzel-stick axels, and a tiny driver in a helmet, was a cross between a Formula One car and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.