The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making: Simple and Sweet Recipes for Chocolates, Caramels, Lollypops, Gummies, and More
	Author:	Elizabeth LaBau
	Published:	April 19, 2022, New Shoe Press
	No. of Pages:	377
	Cover Price:	$14.99 Paperback, $11.49 Kindle

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Those who want to perfect their candy making skills will want to pick up an excellent cookbook, The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making: Simple and Sweet Recipes for Chocolates, Caramels, Lollypops, Gummies, and More by Elizabeth LaBau. The cookbook includes information on ingredients, which the author insists on the highest quality (I agree with her when she says, “Please, don’t even think about using margarine in place of butter. It has a higher water content than butter, which can affect the behavior and texture of your candy, and more importantly, the taste is far inferior.”) which tells me that she really knows her stuff. The step-by-step photographs make up another excellent chapter on how to check the temperature of the candy and how it should look when it’s cooked to each stage. There is also good information on the equipment needed. One of the most difficult aspects of candy making is tempering the chocolate, and LaBau has given explicit instructions; very helpful.

Not only are the first few chapters excellent, the variety of candy recipes included is amazing. There is something for everyone here. The recipes are written in the standard form which makes them easy to follow and leaves no doubt what to do for each step. The photographs of every recipe are beautiful and mouthwatering.

While the title says this is for beginners, it is a cookbook that should be on the shelf of every person who wants to make good candy, whether beginning or advanced. There are enough recipes to keep anyone busy making candy for holidays as well as anytime just for fun. This is one of those cookbooks that is a “must have” and is highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review sample copy of this cookbook.