Martha Washington Candies

Definitely a winner! My family says it is their favorite sugary food they’ve ever had! I didn’t cover them completely with chocolate because I didn’t want the chocolate to be too overpowering and am glad I didn’t. Amazing recipe!

Daughter tried to make these candies and many wouldn’t hold their shape or very soft. She didn’t freeze first few batches, but did a latter batch. Even those that she froze were still a little soft.

You DO NOT need extra powdered sugar if you just take the time to chill the filling. After chilling in the fridge I used a cookie scoop to make the balls and then put them on a pan in the freezer. I left them overnight and then took out 5 or 6 at a time to dip. The cold center makes the chocolate harden faster and leaves a wonderful creamy center. If you add more powdered sugar, you get a drier center.

I followed instructions left the mix in the icebox all day even spread it out on a cookie sheet and took a 2-hour nap still wasn’t firm enough to even make a pile much less a ball

My mother-in-law taught me how to make these, and they truly are fantastic!

Don’t skimp on the chill time for the nougat! I froze it for 24 hours. Made it easier to cut into 1″ squares, about 3/4″ thick. Made almost 100! The frozen nougat also helped them hold together better while dipping in melted chocolate. Turned-out picture perfect. Will make again!

I make these every year for the holidays and they are a huge hit. However, the first time I made them I had the same problem with them being runny. So, with a little tweaking and help from other reviews I was able to solve the runniness issue. I pretty much follow the directions of this recipe with the exception of using salted butter for the margarine and decreasing the amount to 1/2 cup. Also, I do not melt the butter but soften it in the microwave until it is almost to the point of melting. I mix all the ingredients and then put the mixture in the freezer in an airtight container at least overnight. Within the next day or two I roll them into balls and put those back into the freezer for an additional day or two. When you are ready to coat them in chocolate take only a dozen or so out at a time to work with and leave the rest in the freezer. It is much easier to dip them when they are firm. Also, I use shaved Gulf wax in the melted chocolate. It just gives an overall nice glossy appearance. These are definitely labor intensive but well worth the effort!

I compared this recipe to my Mom’s old recipe and decided to tweek both. I did use the 7 1/2 C confectioners sugar and used only 1/2 sheet of paraffin. My stand mixer did just great, but when it got to the last few cups of sugar, I changed from mixer attachments and put on the kneading attachment. Worked Great!!! I also used someone else’s suggestion and used a small cookie scooper. Went much faster and easier. I roughly scooped out the mixture and put it in the fridge till it got nice and cold. Then I made them pretty by rolling into a ball with my hands. Will definitely do this again next year!

Made this candy for years!Always great!

I made these tonight because a friend of mine made them last year, although I was eager and did not read the reviews first and so… everything was ok, except after taking them out of the freezer (they’d been in there under an hour) they do melt so quickly in the dipping process, the chocolate melted the small ones into puddles. :o( so, yes, read the reviews, up the sugar a bit, cut the butter a bit. and also, I had no idea i should add paraffin, so it didn’t take long before my chocolate got clumpy and very thick, too thick to dip the balls into and have them also look attractive. i abandoned ship after about 20, cooled the chocolate and decided to use it for something else. I have a bunch of the undipped balls in my freezer now, and need to decide if I want to get some food grade paraffin to avoid the previous mess. While these are delish, I gave the recipe only 3 stars because really, it doesn’t work without some substantial alterations.

Ok Love this Christmas goody! Been making this for 20+ yrs, got the recipe from a wonderful friend of mine, Thanks Connie! 🙂 My recipe doesn’t use butter: 14oz coconut, 1 1/2 cps chopped & roasted almonds, 1 box powdered sugar, 1 can condensed milk, 12oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips & 1/4 – 1/2 paraffin wax (which I agree with others you really should use this makes the balls very shiny and easier to handle. Not sure what the butter does for it. My recipe always gets great raves…I’m rating this 5, not because I used this recipe, but bec. it’s a great Xmas candy anyway you make it!!! 🙂 Happy Holidaze!! 🙂

After reading the many comments I decided to go with half the margarine. It was perfect. refrigerated for an hour before I started dipping them in chocolate but found it more efficient to drizzle the chocolate on top. Absolutely delicious. So easy to make.

I started making these delicious candies after I spent Thanksgiving with my friend in North Carolina. Its their family tradition and now its ours. I would warn anyone who isn’t normally a candy or sweet person that these are extremely sweet. I would suggest a double boiler pot to melt the chocolate. Also add an extra 1/4-1/2 cup of coconut for extra bite.

delicious. made them for Christmas. went over well. but they are time consuming to make. had to freeze the mix before dipping in chocolate. could only take 10-15 out of freezer at a time to dip.

I have made a very similar recipe for years…it’s called Goof Balls and it doesn’t include the margarine or vanilla, all else is the same. IT is wonderful!!! My husband requests this every Christmas. We love it.

My grandmother made these for us every Christmas and then my mother made them too. Now, that I have my own children, I make them every Christmas and I always gift them to the kids’ teachers. My whole family loves them. The kids like to make the filling and since you don’t have to cook it it is easy for them do. I do the dipping using two forks. I will try the suggestions of one reviewer and add the peanut butter next year. Our recipe only has one stick of butter.

I have made these also before and they did not turn out at all, very sticky and did not roll into balls. So this week-end I am going to experiment with all these tips and try my hand at making a batch, after reading the reviews here, I think I know what I have been doing wrong. I want to be able to enjoy this wonderful candy over the holiday season. My mom used to make these and if made right, it is a wonderful candy.

This recipe made as is, is a joke. It is a frosting recipe. It doesn’t set up near firm enough to make actual candy. After refridgerating it for a week, I opted to put it on the stovetop and cook it. I let it boil until it turned a nice caramel color, then I scooped it with a melon baller onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. The flavor reminded me of a vanilla haystack but not as creamy.

My mom used to make these when i was a kid. And also Divinity. They are the best. I always asked her to make them even when i got older. I haven’t tried making them myself yet, but i think i will give it a try soon. I don’t think she put the coconut in them, since i hate coconut. I read some of the reviews and will probably use the hints.

I grew up making these every Christmas with my mom and sister. They are fun to make and everyone goes nuts over them. My mom’s recipe is a little different and since they always came out perfectly I want to share how we did it. We used 1 stick of butter instead of margarine, 2 boxes confectioners sugar, 1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup chopped pecans, 1 teas. vanilla, 6-8 squares unsweetened chocolate, 1/2 cake parafin and we didn’t put coconut in ours. After dipping the balls into the chocolate using a toothpick, we would remove the toothpick while slightly pressing a half pecan over the whole. The parafin gives a beautiful sheen to the candy!

I made this without the sweetened condensed milk by accident and it worked great and tasted wonderful. Very easy this way.