Nougat: The Sequel

After the Nougat Failure of last weekend, I rolled up my sleeves and tried another nougat recipe this weekend.  I thought this one was going to be complicated, but it was really easy.  But be forewarned – you have to use the Candy Thermometer.  TWICE! 

Now really, is that so scary?  It’s kind of like using a calculator to help you do math, in that the Candy Thermometer is just there to help you be more accurate. 

Anyway, back to the Nougat . . .

This is a two-part recipe.  First you make something called Mazetta:  sugar, corn syrup, water, egg whites.  That’s it. 

You beat the egg whites until stiff.  Then you cook the sugar, syrup, and water to the “soft ball” stage,

and then pour the hot sugar mixture into the egg whites and mix for a few minutes:

(It got really fluffy and glossy, but I forgot to take a picture!) Then you put that in a large bowl and set it aside.  (OR you can refrigerate it overnight if you want to do the next part tomorrow.)

While that’s mixing, you put more sugar and corn syrup into a large saucepan, and heat to the hardball stage. 

You’re not supposed to stir it while it’s cooking, so that leaves you with just enough time to clean up the kitchen AND reorganize your spice rack inside the pantry door:

(The fabric on the left is an apron I made to wear while making Strawberry Rhubarb jam.)

So where was I .  .  . oh yeah . . .

When the 2nd sugar mixture reaches the hard ball stage, you let it cool for 2 minutes. Then you pour it over the mazetta and blend it, and then add  butter, vanilla, and salt.  It took a while to get the butter to incorporate, but it finally did.

Then you add the nuts. The recipe calls for almonds, but I used pecans, because it just seemed like pecans would be better.

And pour it into an 8×8 pan sprayed with Pam for Baking:

You’re supposed to let it sit for 4 hours.  Four hours??  What torture!  So I tasted what was left in the bowl:

And OH MY GOSH it was soooooooooooo good! 

Here’s the finished product.  Oops!  There’s a piece missing! Wonder where it is?

Oh, HERE it is – in my other hand.  I just took a big bite of it and OH!  It’s like a piece of heaven!  At last I have found the Nougat Of My Dreams!   (If you make this, definitely use pecans i/o almonds.)

Good night, Candy Thermometer.  Thank you for your assistance.