Orange Slice Candy Squares

By RoketJSquerl

Cutting the orange candy is a bit of a job, but in the end you’ll get a bar that is tooth-stickingly chewy and sweet like the candy they come from.

Ingredients

• 1 pound orange slice candy
• 4 eggs
• 1 pound brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the candy
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Details

Adapted from therunawayspoon.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9 by 13 inch brownie pan with parchment, or my preference, non-stick foil, leaving some overhang to lift out the bars later.

First you have to cut the orange candy into small pieces. There are two ways to do this – by hand or in the food processor. The food processor is easier, but may be a bit alarming at first. Dip the blade of the food processor in flour, the sprinkle 1 Tablespoon flour in the bottom. Dump in the candy, then sprinkle over another Tablespoon of flour. Start pulsing the processor in medium bursts. The machine is going to shake around, so hold on to it. At some point, it may slow down, but that’s okay. Stop the processor and take a pair of scissors dipped in flour and snip any large pieces into smaller ones. Give it a few more pulses, then snip the rest. To cut the candy by hand, fill a small glass with flour, dip the scissors into it and start snipping, dipping the scissors frequently to keep the candy from sticking. This will take quite awhile. But now you’ve done the hard part.

With a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs until well blended, then dump in the sugar. Beat on medium until the mixture is pale tan and the sugar is no longer looks granular. Add the vanilla and salt and beat, then slowly beat in the flour until completely mixed. Dump in the candy pieces and beat until they are well distributed. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until the top is crusty and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Loosely cover the top with foil halfway through baking to prevent over-browning.

Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then lift the bar onto a wire rack using the overhangin foil or parchment. When cool, cut off the edges as they will have become hard, then cut into small squares. Dust the squares with powdered sugar, doing your best to get some on the sticky sides. These will keep for several days in an airtight container. They get better with time.

Makes 30 small squares