OLD FASHIONED SWEET PICKLES RECIPES

Steps:

• You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.
• 1. Stir together the sugar, water and vinegar in a heavy saucepan. Clip on candy thermometer and don’t let it touch the bottom of the cooking pan.
• 2. Heat the sugar syrup until the candy thermometer reaches the hard ball stage or 260-265 degrees. Don’t stir while it is cooking.
• 3. Slowly pour the syrup onto a buttered surface like a large cutting board. Be very careful — this is a molten mass of hot syrup. DO NOT scrape bowl. Just let whatever candy comes out, come out. Allow candy to cool for a few minutes.
• 4. As soon as the syrup is slightly cooled, scrape it into a large ball. If you are going to add any flavorings like vanilla or peppermint, now is the time to do this. Flip the ball of candy over several times using some sort of scraper like a candy scraper.
• 5. When it is cool enough to handle, gather the ball of candy into your well-greased hands and pull the candy using both hands until you have reached as far as you can. Fold the pulled part over and repeat. Do this for about 4-5 minutes or until the candy is getting stiff and has turned a beautiful white color.
• 6. Once this happens, pull out a long rope of candy about 1/2" thick. You can twist this if you want a twisted look for your candy. Lay it out on waxed paper to cool.
• 7. When it has thoroughly cooled, break it into 1 1/2 ” pieces. Wrap each piece of candy in waxed paper and store in airtight container. If candy is sticky, store it in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high heat. Place cabbage in water, cored-side down; cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Steam 20 minutes, or until cabbage leaves pull apart easily. Drain and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes and their juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice; mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons tomato mixture; mix well.
• Place 1 cup tomato mixture in bottom of prepared baking dish. Peel a cabbage leaf off the head and cut off thick stem. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture in center of leaf. Starting at core end, make a roll, folding over sides and rolling loosely. Place seam-side down in baking dish; repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and meat mixture. Spoon remaining tomato mixture evenly over top of cabbage rolls and cover.
• Bake 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and cook 10 additional minutes, or until beef is no longer pink.