Salted Licorice Recipes

HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE LICORICE RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine the dry licorice recipe ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, milk, and coconut oil (or butter). Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to heat and stir until the temperature reaches 240°F. This is the softball stage. You can check the temperature with a candy thermometer or by dropping a small spoonful into a glass of cold water. Reach into the water and try to form a ball from the syrup with your fingers. It if stays together for a few seconds, it's ready.
• Remove from the heat right away and pour over the flour mixture. Mix well.
• Add the beetroot juice for color and the licorice extract for flavor. Mix these in well too.
• Pour the mixture in a greased pan and set in the refrigerator for about an hour, or until set and well chilled.
• When chilled, turn out onto a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper and cut into strips with a pizza cutter, keeping the strips about ⅓ to ½-inch wide. Twist them if you like.
• Dust with arrowroot powder to keep from sticking and store in an airtight container.

SALTED BLACK LICORICE CARAMELS

Steps:

• Lightly coat an 8 1/2x4 1/2" loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on long sides. Lightly coat parchment with nonstick spray. Cook sugar, sweetened condensed milk, molasses, butter, salt, and 3 Tbsp. water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula, until sugar is dissolved, butter is melted, and mixture is smooth. Fit saucepan with thermometer and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly and scraping bottom with spatula to keep mixture from burning, until thermometer registers 246°F. Remove pan from heat and stir in anise extract and food coloring, if using, then immediately pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Loosely cover pan with plastic wrap and let sit until caramel is cool and set, at least 2 hours.
• Lift caramel out of pan using parchment overhang. Peel away parchment and cut caramel into a 6x4 grid to make 24 pieces total. Wrap individually in waxed paper or parchment paper.
• Do Ahead
• Caramels can be made 2 days ahead. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

SALTED LICORICE

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl or pan with ice and water. Place a large, clean bowl in the ice bath and fit the bowl with a fine-mesh strainer.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, milk, licorice, and salt and cook, whisking occasionally, until much of the licorice has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well blended.
• Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Slowly pour about half of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the yolk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture and return it to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula and being sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan so it doesn't scorch, until the liquid begins to steam and you can feel the spatula scrape against the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the custard from the heat and immediately pour it through the strainer into the clean bowl you set up in the ice bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
• When the custard has totally cooled, cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight. When you are ready to freeze the custard, transfer it to an ice cream maker and spin according to the manufacturer's instructions. Eat immediately, or transfer to an airtight container, cover, and freeze for up to 1 week.

SALTED LICORICE BRIGADEIROS

Steps:

• In a food processor, grind licorice until finely chopped, about 30 seconds (it will be noisy).
• Transfer to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add 1/4 cup water. Cook gently over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until licorice is shiny and almost melted (a few remaining licorice nibs are O.K.), 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add condensed milk and bring to a simmer, stirring. Scrape mixture back into food processor and add chocolate. Process until as smooth as possible (you will still have a few lumps but that's O.K.), about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Scrape mixture into a bowl and chill until very cold, at least 3 hours.
• Pour sprinkles into a bowl. Roll teaspoons of licorice mixture into balls (you may want to lightly coat your hands with butter or oil) and drop them into sprinkles, turning to coat. Place balls into paper candy cups and sprinkle tops with coarse sea salt.

BLACK LICORICE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the licorice in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of water and place over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the licorice has melted.
• While the licorice is breaking down, pour the milk and cream into a large saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to steam. Do not let it boil - just steam!
• Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until pale and slightly fluffy. Gradually and very slowly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Return the mixture to the saucepan, place over low heat, stir in the melted licorice, and heat until the custard thinly coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let it boil. Add the black food coloring, if desired.
• Pour back into the bowl and set aside for about 30 minutes to cool, stirring occasionally.
• (NOTE: For more rapid chilling, fill a sink halfway with cold water and ice and place the bowl of mixture in it for 20 minutes. Never put the hot mixture into the refrigerator.)
• Once cooled, cover the mixture and refrigerate, ideally overnight, but at least for 6 hours, until thoroughly chilled (at least 40°F). Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• When the churning is complete, use a spoon or spatula to scrape the ice cream into a freezer-proof container with a lid. Freeze until it reaches the correct scooping texture (at least 2 hours).

HOMEMADE SALTY BLACK LICORICE

Steps:

• Line an 9 x by 5 x by 3-inch bread loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing parchment to line sides as well as the bottom.
• Cut out 36 parchment wrappers, about 3½ inches wide and 2 inches long.
• Sift the whole wheat flour into a small bowl and set aside.
• In a narrow, heavy saucepan bring the first 6 ingredients heavy cream through salt) to boil and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, for 20-25 minutes, until the mixture reaches 255°F. (Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature)
• When the licorice reaches 255°F, remove from heat, stir in whole wheat flour and anise extract. Continue stirring until smooth.
• Carefully pour licorice over parchment in pan.
• When the licorice is nearly cool, sprinkle with Maldon or other flaky salt.
• Cover and refrigerate until cooled completely. Then transfer, with parchment, onto a cutting board.
• With a lightly oiled, sharp knife cut licorice lengthwise into 6, ½-inch strips. Then cut crosswise into 6, 1 ½-inch strips.
• Place one strip of licorice on the edge of a parchment wrapper and roll up. Twist ends to seal. Repeat with remaining strips. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

LIQUORICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the water and liquorice pellets in your smallest pan and bring to the boil, stirring or whisking frequently to help the liquorice melt. Once it starts bubbling, turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes, stirring or whisking every now and again. Turn the heat back on and whisk in the sugar, then the cream, and bring to a bubble. Remove from the heat. Spoon the cornflour into a little bowl, cup or ramekin and slake it with the milk: which is to say, whisk in the milk until you have a smooth paste. Pour this, whisking as you go, into the mixture in the saucepan. Still whisking, put the pan back on the heat and bring back to a bubble, whisking all the while, for 20-30 seconds, or until thickened. Divide between 2 heatproof glasses or cups and - unless you want to eat this hot - cover, touching the surface of the puddings, with clingfilm or baking parchment that you've wet with cold water then wrung out (this is to prevent a skin forming, a thing I cannot tolerate), and put them in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Let the puddings come to room temperature before serving, and remove the clingfilm or baking parchment and smooth the tops with the back of a teaspoon. Put the soft sea salt on the table to sprinkle over as you eat, if wished. For those of us who love liquorice, this pudding is a sheer, spine-tingling joy.