Well Fed Buff: Love is in the Air Heart Candy
That bell-like sound? That sweet scent wafting through the air? Ah, that's love. Love is in the Air means it's time to slip that special someone a strategic Heart Candy. It's the thought the counts; nobody can deny that Heart Candies are probably not the tastiest treats in Azeroth. Good thing nobody actually eats them! (You don't, do you?!)
You can pop as many as you like in real life if you whip up a batch here on Earth instead of in Azeroth. Like love itself, the recipe for Love is in the Air Heart Candy is simple yet demanding; you'll knead your heart out for this one. We've also got two tastier and quite romantic treats to share with you today: the delectable Dark Desire and those irresistible Tauren Toenails. Mmmm, chocolate!
Heart Candy
Item Level 1
Use: A sweet (and chalky) treat.
"I LOVE YOU"
Max Stack: 200
We decided to feature Love is in the Air Heart Candies this year because they're so downright versatile: Give silly ones to buddies, give generic ones to random groupmates and guildmates you don't know well, give romantic ones to -- well, you don't need any help with that, do you?
Ingredients
2 teaspoons (1 packet, 1/4 oz.) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
2 pounds powdered sugar, with extra for dusting
Flavoring extracts of your choice (peppermint, vanilla, strawberry and banana are favorites)
Food colorings of your choice
Heart-shaped cutters (small is traditional; cookie-sized makes it easier to write messages)
Food coloring markers (like these)
Disposable plastic gloves
Rolling pin
Baking parchment or wax paper
Baking sheets
Because heart candies take a full day to harden, allow 24 hours between making them and inscribing your messages on them.
Combine the gelatin, water and corn syrup in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds -- just enough to dissolve the gelatin -- and mix thoroughly.
Pour the gelatin mixture into a large bowl. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until the sugar is completely moistened before adding the next cup. Use a stand or hand mixer or mix it by hand; the mixture will become quite stiff, so it will be hard work if you mix by hand! Scrape the sides of the bowl regularly during the mixing process. You're done when you've added all 2 pounds of the powdered sugar and the mixture has become a stiff dough.
Scoop out the dough onto a clean counter or work surface sprinkled with additional powdered sugar. Generously dust the top of the dough with powdered sugar. Knead the dough: Fold the dough in half onto itself, then smush it down onto the counter with the heel of your hand. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat. Re-dust the dough with powdered sugar as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands or the counter. The dough should feel satiny and smooth, not sticky.
Divide the dough into as many portions as there are colors/flavors you'd like to make. Put on the disposable plastic gloves to protect your skin from the dyes. Flatten the dough into one or more hand-sized circles. Add a few drops of flavoring and a few drops of coloring to the center of each, then knead and fold them until the color has been completely blended in, with no streaking or dots.
Dust the counter with powdered sugar once more and roll out each colored batch of dough to the desired thickness. Small, traditional candies are generally about a quarter-inch thick; you'll probably want to go thinner if you make larger hearts, but the final choice is up to personal preference.
Cut out the hearts with your heart-shaped cutters, then transfer them to a baking sheet or flat surface lined with baking parchment or wax paper -- something you can let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Don't forget to combine and re-roll the dough that remains after you've cut out the hearts to make use of all the dough!
Let the candies dry for at least 24 hours before you write messages on them with the food coloring markers.
The number of candies this recipe makes will vary according the size of the hearts you cut out. Store your Love is in the Air Heart Candies at room temperature in an air-tight container.
The romance of chocolate
If you'd like to woo the object of your affections with something a little more substantial (not to mention delicious), go with chocolate.
Dark Desire In honor of Love is in the Air, we're rebranding our recipe for Maiev's Grudge as everyone's favorite stamina/spirit food, Dark Desire. The best way I can describe Dark Desire to you would be to say it's something like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on steroids. You won't be disappointed.
Tauren Toenails Here's the ultimate romantic dessert, especially if you go all out and pop a bottle of champagne as well. We can practically guarantee you'll earn an achievement if you go in specced like this!
A happy and romantic Love is in the Air to one and all!
[Images: barbtrek, jronaldlee, somegeekintn]
