Homemade Lenten Candies Made from Dried Fruits and Nuts

Country kitchen

The selection of candies in stores is enormous, catering to every taste and occasion. So, why waste time on something you can buy? Buying it is no problem, but store-bought candies often taste synthetic, the filling is saturated with flavorings, and the chocolate tastes like putty. These candies aren't exactly tasty, let alone safe. Homemade candies are a different story. You know exactly what's in them, and you can adjust the proportions to suit your taste. But don't jump right into complicated recipes with dozens of ingredients, no matter how impressive the finished dessert looks. Let's start by making these Lenten candies from dried fruits and nuts. They're quick and easy to make using natural, readily available ingredients, following this step-by-step recipe with photos. They're delicious and mouthwatering.

You can treat your guests with these sweets or enjoy them with some tea yourself.

Ingredients:

dark or light raisins – 0.5 cups;
prunes – 150 g;
dried apricots - a handful;
walnut kernels (or any other nuts) – 0.5 cups;
coconut flakes – 4 tbsp. + for breading;
brown sugar – 2 tbsp. for breading the candies.

How to make dried fruit candies

Rinse the dried apricots and raisins thoroughly with warm water. Then soak them in boiling water for ten minutes, steaming until soft. Drain the water and dry the dried fruit on a towel.

Remove the pits from the prunes. If they're hard or too dry, pour boiling water over them, and once they're steamed, remove the pit.

Place the nuts in a hot, dry frying pan. Stir gently to dry them, releasing their flavor and removing any bitterness. Once cooled, peel off the brown skins.

Place raisins, dried apricots, prunes, shelled nuts, and coconut flakes in a blender or tall glass. Alternatively, use a meat grinder.

Grind the prunes into a thick paste with small pieces of fruit pulp and nuts. Taste. Sometimes prunes are very sour, with almost no sweetness. In this case, add sugar to the candy filling to taste.

Scoop a teaspoon of the resulting sweet filling and roll it into small balls with your palms. Roll them in coconut flakes (you can use either fresh or dried coconut) and brown sugar. Any other breading won't work for these candies: the cocoa will overpower the flavor, and the powdered sugar will melt. Refrigerate the candies for half an hour to an hour.

Serve these delicious homemade dried fruit candies with tea or simply as a dessert. Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Enjoy!