Delicious Hungarian retro candies – DIY recipes

In one of our recent articles, we collected 10 delicious Hungarian retro candies that brought joy to generations of Hungarians. However, we know that not all of you can get them. Some of them need refrigeration, or you can only find these things in specialised stores at a premium price. Today, we collected recipes for some of these delicacies so you can try them anywhere you live.

Dunakavics – Danube rocks

Dunakavics are roasted peanuts coated in coloured sugar, very similar to peanut M&Ms; however, these are authentic Hungarian products.

Ingredients:

• 100 g peanuts
• 140 g granulated sugar
• 70 ml water
• food colouring of your choice
• another bowl of water with a heat-resistant brush

Instructions:

Pour the water and sugar into a pot and wait for the sugar to dissolve on high heat. Once it is dissolved, turn down the heat a bit and cook until the water almost fully evaporates. If the sugar crystalised onto the side of the pot, use a heat-resistant brush and a bit of water to wet the sides of the pot. Be careful not to burn the sugar or turn it into caramel. It needs about 10 minutes to be ready, so it is best to wet the sides of the pot every 2-3 minutes.

You can check the consistency of the sugar syrup by dropping a bit into a bowl of water. It is ready when the syrup forms a hard droplet once it hits the water.

While the syrup is heating, prepare bowls for as many colours as you would like. Put some food colouring into the bowls, and when the syrup is ready, mix it thoroughly with the colouring. Once this is done, add the peanuts, divided equally. Stir the peanuts with the syrup until it starts to cool down and the peanuts start to separate. Finally, put them onto a non-stick tray and let them fully cool. Enjoy!

Pilóta keksz – Pilot cookies

These cookies are similar to Oreos, but one of the sides is a vanilla-flavoured cookie, while the other is cocoa-flavoured. You can find the Hungarian original recipe HERE.

Ingredients:

Vanilla cookies:

• 200 g flour
• 125 g margarine
• 70 g powdered sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• a pinch of salt
• yolk of a large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Chocolate cookies:

• 200 g flour
• 125 g margarine
• 70 g powdered sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• a pinch of salt
• yolk of a large egg
• 1.5 tablespoons of cocoa powder

Cream filling:

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 150 g margarine
• 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 100 ml whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons of rum essence

Instructions:

Make the cream first as it needs to cool down. Put the ingredients into a bowl and melt them over steam until they become homogenous. Put the bowl in the fridge.

For the cookies, first, mix the flour with the margarine. Then, add the other ingredients to the bowl and knead a homogenous dough. Let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour or so. Preheat your oven to 180 °C and bake the cookies in the oven for about 12 minutes. Let the baked cookies cool down. Spread some of the filling onto the cookies and assemble the two sides. Enjoy!

Sport szelet – Sports bar

It is an iconic Hungarian rum-flavoured chocolate bar coated in dark chocolate.

Ingredients for the bar:

• 500 g plain biscuits
• 250 g butter
• 200 ml milk
• 200 g brown sugar
• 3 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 20 ml rum essence
• 1 stick of vanilla

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

Instructions:

Grind the biscuits, then add the cocoa powder and the pulverised vanilla. Heat and stir the butter, brown sugar, and milk until the sugar is melted. Add this mixture to the ground biscuits, along with the rum essence. Work these thoroughly together. Spread it in a lined tin and let it set in a cool place for about 1-2 hours. Now prepare the chocolate glaze. Melt the chocolate (in a microwave or on the stove) and add a little oil. Spread it on top of the biscuity mixture once it has fully cooled down.