Staring at a terrifyingly empty holiday cookie tin at 11 PM last December while realizing I had promised my neighbors a homemade gift by morning is exactly what led to this martha washington candy. The oven was currently holding my collection of oversized baking sheets, and the idea of turning it on felt like a personal attack.
This vintage christmas candy recipe requires absolutely zero baking, meaning you can make it while actively avoiding real responsibilities. I ended up covered in powdered sugar and smelling vaguely of a 1950s soda fountain, but it saved me from being the neighborhood grinch. Here is exactly how I do it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No bake magic. It is a no bake coconut pecan candy, so your oven can stay completely off.
- Yields an army. This makes about 80 pieces, which is enough to buy the affection of your entire office.
- Foolproof coating. Adding shortening to the chocolate means it melts smoothly without you needing a culinary degree in tempering.
- Freezer friendly. You can hide half of them in the back of the freezer and pretend you ate them all.
Tools You’ll Need
Nothing fancy, I promise.
- melon baller Or a small cookie scoop to keep your hands from becoming permanently coated in coconut sugar paste.
- Large mixing bowl. Mixing four cups of powdered sugar requires the biggest one you own unless you want a snowstorm on your counter.
- Parchment paper. This stays absolutely non-negotiable unless you want to chisel chocolate off your baking sheets.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter – Make sure it is actually softened, not melted in a panic in the microwave.
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract – The real stuff if you have it, the fake stuff if you don’t.
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk – This is the glue holding our lives and this candy together.
- 4 cups powdered sugar – Yes, four whole cups, just accept it and move on.
- 14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut – Gives it that classic chewy texture.
- 10 ounces maraschino cherries – Drain them really well or your candy will turn a terrifying shade of pink.
- 3 cups pecans – Chopped up small so they don’t poke through the chocolate coating.
- 6 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips – You can use dark if you want to feel sophisticated.
- 4 tablespoons shortening – This is the secret to a smooth, dippable chocolate coating that doesn’t seize up immediately.
How To Make Martha Washington Candy
Turn on a podcast, grab a mixing bowl, and prepare to get your hands messy.
- Mix the wet base: In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened butter, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. If your butter wasn’t soft enough, you’ll get weird little lumps, which is just extra texture, honestly.
- Add the sugar: Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Do this slowly unless you want to breathe in a cloud of sugar dust.
- Fold in the mix-ins: Mix in the coconut, cherries, and pecans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the coconut-pecan filling for 1 to 2 hours to firm up the mixture. Do not skip the chilling, or you will be rolling sticky puddles instead of spheres.
- Prep the pans: Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper. Parchment is your best friend here.
- Roll the candy: Use a 1½ tablespoon scoop or a melon baller to form balls from the chilled mixture. You can roll the balls in the palms of your hands to make more even, uniform balls from the mixture. Dust your hands with powdered sugar if things get aggressively sticky.
- Chill again: Place the formed candy balls onto parchment paper and place the sheet pans back into the refrigerator. They need to be cold before they take a bath in warm chocolate.
- Prep the chocolate: Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a large, microwave-safe bowl. You can also divide the chocolate chips and shortening in half and work on dipping half of the candies at a time.
- Melt the chocolate: Heat the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring between each until the chips are mostly melted. Do not rush this or you will scorch the chocolate.
- Smooth it out: Stop heating and continue stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth. The residual heat does the rest of the work.
- Dip the candies: Use a fork to dip balls and roll each candy ball in the melted chocolate chips. Lift from the chocolate, tap to remove excess chocolate, and place back on the sheet of paper to set. If your fork leaves a little bald spot on the bottom, nobody cares.
- Set and store: Continue dipping and setting all of the balls. Dipped chocolate balls can be placed back into the refrigerator to set quicker.
♥ The Misfit Tips!
- Dry those cherries. Rushing the cherry draining process once let extra moisture seep into the filling, making the dough impossible to roll and turning the whole batch a weird, weeping pink color.
- Batch your chocolate. Melting all six cups of chocolate at once causes it to harden before you finish dipping 80 candies, so melting half and dipping half works better.
- The shortening trick If you are tempted to skip the shortening, don’t. It thins the chocolate so it coats evenly instead of clumping. You can learn more about how fat affects chocolate consistency on Wikipedia if you want to nerd out, but just trust me that it works.
Make it yours
- Almond extract version. You swap vanilla extract for almond extract for a different flavor twist on this easy holiday candy recipe with coconut and pecans.
- White chocolate version. You use white chocolate chips with shortening for the coating instead of semi-sweet for a sweeter finish.
Perfect Pairings
These go perfectly with your annual holiday movie marathon when you need an easy holiday candy recipe with coconut and pecans to snack on.
- A strong cup of black coffee balances out the intense sweetness.
- A slightly dry red wine satisfies the adult rule-making impulse.
How to Store
❤
- Fridge. Up to 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight container, though the chocolate gets a bit firm when cold.
- Freezer. Up to 3 months in a sealed container, thawed in the fridge overnight so condensation doesn’t ruin the chocolate shell.
- Reheat. Do not reheat these, since you want to avoid a sad puddle of hot coconut and melted chocolate.
- Storage note. Keeping these away from strong-smelling foods in the fridge prevents an onion-flavored cherry candy situation.
Martha Washington Candy
This martha washington candy proves that a genuinely impressive holiday treat can come together with nothing more than a mixing bowl, a microwave, and a few pantry staples. This vintage christmas candy recipe relies on sweetened condensed milk and shortening-thinned chocolate to avoid the seized coating and sticky filling that ruins so many other no-bake candy attempts. Whether served on a cookie tray or wrapped as an easy holiday candy recipe with coconut and pecans for gifting, this no bake coconut pecan candy earns a permanent spot in the regular rotation.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened butter, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Mix in the coconut, cherries, and pecans. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to firm up the mixture.
- Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Use a 1½ tablespoon scoop or a melon baller to form balls from the chilled mixture. You can roll the balls in the palms of your hands to make more even, uniform balls from the mixture.
- Place the formed balls onto parchment paper and place the sheet pans back into the refrigerator.
- Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a large, microwave-safe bowl. You can also divide the chocolate chips and shortening in half and work on dipping one half of the candies at a time.
- Heat chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring between each until chips are mostly melted.
- Stop heating and continue stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Use a fork to dip and roll each candy ball in the melted chocolate. Lift from the chocolate, tap to remove excess chocolate, and place back on the sheet of paper to set.
- Continue dipping and setting all of the balls. Dipped candies can be placed back into the refrigerator to set more quickly.