Upcoming Candy Buffet

This Wednesday CandyShopBuffets will be doing a super sweet candy buffet for something very special!  I will be making the finishing touches today and tomorrow and will be uploading pictures as soon as Thursday!  The theme will be silver and metallic and just all over sparkly.  Stay Tuned.... ;)

Halloween Candy Day #3

These are just too cute and pretty simple if you are good at making meringue!

Day #3- Meringue Ghosts :)

Yield: 24 ghosts

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp flavored extract, like vanilla or almond
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• toasted nuts, coconut, or sprinkles (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the room temperature egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (Alternately, you can use a large bowl and a hand mixer with whisk attachments.)
2. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until the egg whites are foamy. Turn the mixer off, add the cream of tartar, and continue beating on medium-high until the whites have turned an opaque white color and hold soft peaks.
3. At this point, start adding the powdered sugar a few spoonfuls at a time with the mixer running. Once all of the sugar has been added, add any extracts you are using and turn the mixer to high speed. Continue to beat the egg whites until they are very thick, glossy, and a shiny white color. When you stop the mixer and lift the whisk out of the whites, the whites should have a very stiff peak. This process will take about 7-12 minutes in a stand mixer.
4. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop your meringue mixture into a piping bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip, or if you don’t have this, into a large Ziploc bag with a ½ inch hole cut in the corner.
5. Pipe your meringue into ghost shapes about 1-1/2 inches wide and 2 inches tall. You can either do this by squeezing the bag and pulling up gradually, making one big “blobby” ghost, or by making a series of concentric circles spiraling upward. Pipe 12 ghosts onto each baking sheet, for a total of about 2 dozen meringue ghosts.
6. Bake the meringues in the preheated oven for an hour. After an hour, open the oven door and continue to cook for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off, close the door, and allow the meringues to sit until completely cool, about 1 hour.
7. Once the meringues are crisp and room temperature, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating. If you want to coat the bottoms in crushed nuts, sprinkles, or toasted coconut as well, place those toppings in small, shallow bowls nearby.
8. Dip the bottoms of the ghosts in the melted chocolate, and scrape the bottoms against the lip of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. If you’re dipping them in other toppings, immediately press the bottom of the ghost into the bowl of toppings so they adhere to the wet chocolate. Replace the dipped ghost back on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining ghosts and chocolate. Dip a toothpick in the remaining melted chocolate and give each ghost two dots for eyes and, if you desire, a mouth or other features.
9. Refrigerate the ghosts to set the chocolate, about 5-10 minutes. Do not refrigerate them any longer than absolutely necessary, as they will absorb moisture from the refrigerator and lose their crispness. Store Meringue Ghosts in an airtight container at room temperature.

Credit: About.com

Sweet Cherry Pie!

Fall is here in Cincinnati!  Leaves are turning and the weather is getting brisk, which means it is time to start sipping on some hot apple cider, and get to work baking your pies!  I am not a huge pie maker, however this little pie looks easy and fun to make. 




Taken from the wonderful "What you give away you keep" blog, these cherry pies would make a great centerpiece or accent to any dessert table, or even a more rustic candy buffet table!  They are the size of cupcakes and look delicious! 

Check out the full picture tutorial on how to make these sweet treats!

The Perfect Combo! Yum!

I came across this recipe in my never ending search for amazing new twist on cheesecake!  Featured by the blog "Southern Fried Gal", it is a recipe that combines two of my favorite cakes of all time; cheesecake and carrot cake.  No, I have not tried it yet...but it will be soon in the making!  In the meanwhile here is the link to the recipe and happy baking!  Feel free to drop me a note on how it turned out, I'd love to hear about it :)

Link to Recipe!

Fall Sweets!

Summer has ended, all the kiddo's are back in school, and you may be thinking to yourself that the party is over!  Not the case here :)  Lots of weddings to plan, and lots of gatherings to attend and put on...the fun is just beginning and it should be for you too!  I have a couple of new "sweet" ideas that I found from fellow bloggers and such online.  The first one is taking a marshmallow pop, almost a candy buffet staple now, and making it into a marshmallow candy corn!  It is really cute and sure to make any fall party a hit!  All you really need for this one is Marshmallows ( regular or camping size), pop sticks, and candy melts (you can buy from Michaels).  At Michaels they have a white and orange color.  You can also add food coloring to make it a desired shade if you wish! 
As always, Happy Planning!

Decorative Paper Globes

This is another great idea for all you event

planners out there, or those of you hiring 

event planners!  Such a cool 3-D decorative 

piece that will be sure to liven up your event.  

These paper hanging globes have a tutorial on MarthaStewart.com and are really easy to make.  Check it out here!

Paper Hanging Globes

DIY Centerpiece Ideas!

As most of you know, I design candy buffet tables for a living and have a great time doing it!  It is so much fun to come up with creative designs that match the bride and groom perfectly.  Well, with custom made candy buffets comes a need to search for creative ideas to incorporate into the event I am doing.  I found one such idea on MarthaStewart.com a few days ago!  It is a Doily centerpiece that can look cute at a bridal shower, wedding, engagement party, baby shower, or garden party.  Personally, I will use this idea for many candy buffets to come!   Check out how to make your chandeliers by following this link!

Martha Stewart Wedding Ideas

Our pictures!

Some of you have already seen these pictures on our Facebook page, but for those who haven't here they are!  These pictures were taken from our photo shoot with Hooligan's photography.  They showcase the simplistic design and nature that a candy buffet display can have.

Pictures are meant to inspire the imagination.  While these pictures are taken from complete candy buffet displays we had set up, Tony and Tamara captured individual pieces from our buffets to evoke creativity and imagination amongst our readers!

 Take a look at these pictures and just imagine what we could do with your candy buffet display!

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Copyright CandyShopBuffets

Candy Making and More! From Betterfly.com

This is for all you sweet lovers who want to learn how to make your own candy/ desserts OR if you already know how to make them and want to turn your skill into an income! 

Betterfly.com is a site designed for people from all different skill-sets to sign up to teach their skills to the local community.  It is a really neat site ranging from knitting classes to opera lessons with a little bit of candy in between! The other really cool thing about this site is that you can book and pay for any class you take right on their site.  Once you are done with your class or booking your class be sure to review your experience on their site for future consumers!

There are "tens of thousands of service providers are listed on Betterfly’s 300+ Category Pages where you can search by price, location, verified reviews, availability and more."--Betterfly.com

Here is a screen shot from their Confection Making page!

 

So go and click on their site at Betterfly.com and check out what they have to offer!

CandyShopBuffets article on WeddingVendor.com

Hey everyone!  Just letting you know that we had another article published today on the theweddingvendor.com.  It's an article detailing different ideas you can use at a reception!  We are all about cool, new, and unique at CandyShopBuffets, so we wanted to feature some ideas that will make your party stand out from the crowd!

Check it out!

Reception Ideas that will make your party pop!


As always thanks for reading and happy planning!

Did you know? : The Cost of Candy!

Candy Buffets can turn out to be quite expensive!  From the large containers to be filled to the types of candy chosen, it can be more costly than many brides would have thought at the beginning of their candy buffet venture.  If you have never purchased a large quantity of candy before, then the prices of them can seem astronomical, especially if you are paying it all at once.  Many brides go to after holiday clearance events for candy as well as some other super sales thinking that they are saving a great amount of money.  Sometimes this is true, but oftentimes it is not the case. 

Did you know? #1

The truth about candy is that the smaller the bag, the more you pay for it.  A small clearance bag of candy will most oftentimes cost just as much as buying in bulk.  So, save yourself the trouble of waking up at the crack of dawn and finding the post-holiday super sale.  Buying online is most likely the cheaper route!

Did you know? #2

The average bride does not realize how much she has spent on her candy buffet after everything is purchased. 
When calculated the average bride spends $100 on vases, $30-50 on decorations, $30-50 on favor bags, $10-15 on scoops and tongs, and upwards of $200 on candy for a wedding for 100 people. 

That can amount to around 400 dollars!  That is a lot of money and is time consuming if you go it alone.  However, candy buffet business owners are available to help design, and produce your candy buffet for not much more than you would do it yourself.

Did you know? #3

A candy buffet should not be an “afterthought” at a wedding.  It is likely to be the most talked about feature of your wedding, and you should invest in it as you would hors d'œuvre’s and other appetizers.  The average amount for an appetizer at a wedding is around 300-400 dollars per appetizer for 100 guests.

Did you know? #4

Candy buffets are not just a decoration.  They are a focal point, a talking point, and a wonderful favor for guests to take home with them.  Bride’s maximize the benefit of having a candy buffet by treating the candy buffet as a favor and a decorative piece!

Did you know? #5

Candy Buffet planners are more than happy to assist you in planning your candy buffet.  The first thing you need to do when planning your candy buffet is come up with a budget.  If you have a budget for it, a candy buffet planner will be able to better assist you in coming up with the correct style and candy types for your needs!  For a guest list of 100 people you can plan on spending anywhere between $350-600 on a candy buffet.  This may seem like a lot of money, but it is well worth it when you get the Wow factor you’ve been wanting at your wedding.

As Featured on WeddingVendor.com!

Hi everyone!

Check out WeddingVendor.com today for my published post on candy buffets!  The article highlights the Do's and Dont's of planning a spectacular candy buffet!   WeddingVendor.com is a great resource for brides looking for professionals to assist them in their wedding planning.  They feature multiple vendors with a variety of categories to make the selection process quick and easy!  So check out their website today and check out my article today at the following address

Candy Buffet Tips- WeddingVendor.com!

As always, feel free to contact me at candyshopbuffets@gmail.com or on our contact page with any questions, comments, or if you would like us to start planning your candy buffet!

Enjoy!

-Dani G.

Birthday Boy Treat Bags!

Here are a few treat bags for the young sweet lovers that have birthdays coming up!

Candy Favor Bags

Here are some more favor bags from CandyShopBuffets!  These are perfect to set out at an engagement party, bridal shower, or sweet 16!  We also use bags such as these as place cards for tables at weddings!