Easy, Homemade "Mounds" Candies

Easy, Homemade \"Mounds\" Candies
This is one of my family's recipes. I think its one of the greatest, but I'll let you decide when we're done. The recipe has been in our family for at least 40 years. My mom passed it down to me after learning it from my grandma. It's easy and tastes wonderful. On top of that, you may pick up some chocolate dipping tips.

Factoid: The first Mounds Bars were sold in 1920 for 5 cents a piece, then packages as 2 for still only 5 cents.

Gotta love Wikipedia!!

We all know that person in our neighborhood, apartment building or family who bakes and makes candies during the holidays. If that's you, then this will be a piece of cake... or candy in this case. If your the person who watches in amazement, well here's your chance to wow your friends and family.

Caution: This recipe contains nuts, pecans actually!
Another Caution: this recipe makes a gazillion!

P.S. This is my first Instructable so be constructive and nice.
 
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Step 1Our Ingredients and Tools

Our Ingredients and Tools
Here's what you need to make these wonderful little candies.

You'll need:
A blender or food processor to chop the pecans.
Double broiler or microwave safe dish to melt chocolate.
Wax Paper
Sharp knife, spatula, and a good strong spoon.
Cooling rack, helpful but optional.

For those who know a bit about cooking, I'll let you cheat. Here's the recipe.

(Don't worry if this is meaningless to you, I'm going to walk you through this.)

Recipe:
Mix in a large bowl:
3 cups finely chopped pecans
1 pound sweetened coconut
1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar (4x or 10x, doesn't matter)
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (has to be Eagle Brand!)
Mix well. Form into logs to cut or roll into ball to dip.
Melt 12 oz chocolate chips in a double broiler. Dip pieces and cool on wax paper.

Optional:
You can use different types of chocolate and add paraffin.
There's the basic recipe.

Now for anyone who's eyes glazed over at that part, on to the finer points...
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87 comments
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Jan 6, 2012. 8:18 AMDonna1949 says:
Won't crisco keep the chocolate from getting hard again?
Mar 21, 2011. 3:50 PMLaurieTX says:
My mother-in-law used to make this for us at Christmas. She gave me the recipe before she passed away and I make it for my family now.

I put the mixture into a jelly roll pan and let it get cold. Then I cut it into squares, dip it into the chocolate/wax mixture using wooden skewers, and place it on wax paper.

Thanks for posting this!
Nov 20, 2011. 3:15 PMnoraj says:
I'm sorry I don't know much about using the wax...In your candy you did not use the wax...Do you not use it with this kind of cho. This look great...I can't wait to make it.
Jul 1, 2011. 8:09 PMKittyF says:
I read somewhere, (online) that you don't want to heat the chocolate til it boils since it will not get hard again. only heat it gently til it is about 2/3 melted and turn it off and let it finish melting while you stir it so it won't overheat. then it should still harden as it cools.
May 15, 2009. 5:26 AMcammy1345 says:
Would you please tell me what "Sweetened Coconut " is (consists of ? ) as I'm in Australia and never heard of it. Thanks. They look very yummy :)
Jun 5, 2009. 7:40 AMChocomarshfrog says:
This stuff its just shredded coconut sweetened with sugar before drying.
bakers_angel_flake_coconut.jpg
Jul 1, 2011. 6:35 PMKittyF says:
I don't think they even dry it. they sweeten the grated coconut and bag it in plastic and it's very moist.
May 19, 2011. 4:56 PMdandrett says:
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for. AAANNNDDD when I saw the Bulldogs mug I knew it was the perfect recipe for me! Go Dawgs!
Apr 13, 2011. 12:32 PMdj63010 says:
I live in the Florida Keys and have a huge coconut palm in the yard. I've been trying to come up with a good use for all the coconuts I throw away. This might be a start. Mounds is my absolute favorite candy bar.
Mar 27, 2011. 8:58 AMturrilynn says:
Looks yummy-licious! Making me hungry...wonder if you can skip the nuts though?
Feb 20, 2011. 4:57 AMNoah972 says:
Mmm! So easy! If only everyone knew this... Thanks for the great 'ible. I'll have to make some and tell you how they turn out.
Feb 19, 2011. 11:40 AMClayton H. says:
As a note

From Wikipedia:
"Like Almond Joy, it consists of a coconut based center; however, it is enrobed with dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate and does not contain almonds."

So if you want to make actual mounds, skip the nuts and substitute the chocolate for dark chocolate. But you noted that this was a family recipe and so they are not mounds but "mound-esk"
Feb 19, 2011. 11:43 AMClayton H. says:
This Just In!

After two seconds on Wikipedia, what you have actually made were Bounty Bars sold by Mars (M&M people) yet still minus the nuts.
Feb 17, 2011. 7:05 PMsimonett says:
This will be fun to do, thank you.
Dec 8, 2009. 1:36 PMgiovannah says:
Mounds have no nuts. Almond Joy has almonds.
Feb 17, 2011. 6:56 PMJAGGIE says:
"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't!" ` from the commercial
Feb 16, 2011. 6:45 PMViaticus says:
Very awesome instructable! I tried to read through all the comments to find out why pecans...but why pecans? I didn't think the actual "Mounds" had nuts...otherwise it would be like an Almond Joy. Or in this case, a Pecan Joy.

Yes folks, parafin wax! It is not uncommon in confections that have a chocolate coating. Without it the morsel would be a mess to pick up and eat. It has no ill effect on the body...unless you ate a couple hundred of these. But by that point the was would be the least of your problems! Anyway, most grocery stores sell "Gulf Wax" that is used in canning...works great.

And yes, coconut....deal with it. This tropical foodstuff is either loved or hated but either way it is very underrated. I'm glad to see this recipe doing it justice.

Thanks for sharing your time, your talent and your recipe, SpinWard! I'm still pondering how the pecans fit in the picture...
Feb 13, 2011. 11:04 AMfishbait3 says:
If you use a slow cooker to melt the chocolate it keeps the temp. even.
Jan 11, 2011. 3:32 PMCardinal Fang says:
For those of us not in the US, Eagle Brand milk is condensed milk, and powdered sugar is icing sugar.
Dec 21, 2010. 5:55 AMsusie says:
As an old time Mounds' bar lover I have a few comments I hope will be interesting and helpful:

1) A recipe with more pecans than coconut really is a chocolate-covered pecan coconut ball. Mounds and Almond Joy bars have no nuts so honestly while I can't wait to make this, calling it a Mounds just doesn't seem right.

2) Mounds is a brand in the US hence the confusion with the person wanting to swap out coconut. Bounty is a similar bar sold elsewhere in the world (with better chocolate I might add) :)

3) In Maine they make bars called Needhams where they use potato starch and coconut and cover it with chocolate. Doh...after I typed that I realized I said coconut. If you can't eat coconut this really isn't the best recipe - although I wonder if you made a bar using potato starch and pecans how it would come out. You can google this candy to learn more. I'd never heard of it and thought it was kind of cool since Maine is a big potato growing state.

4) The chocolate sans paraffin should be just fine. If you don't have a "gourmet" covering chocolate on hand like Callebaut I'd use a Symphony bar (in the US made by hershey) or Lindt or something like that.

5) In the old days recipes often referenced specific brands like my mom's rice recipe always said "use uncle ben's rice" which is because well..the Uncle Ben box said to! I'm sure any brand of condensed milk would do.

I'm soooo jealous that you live on a pecan farm! I love nuts and pecans and want to come to a harvest sometime. This was a great detailed instructable and now I want to make some homemade Mounds' (well really almond joys which I think are yummier, perhaps pecan joys!)
Dec 2, 2010. 9:23 AMconicuts says:
I've made these many times and they are very easy and taste great! I spread my coconut mixture out flat in a large cookie sheet lined with wax paper and then I pop it in the freezer for about an hour. Remove from freezer and then using a sharp knife I cut out squares before dipping. Very easy and quick.
Dec 8, 2007. 6:47 AMcheezstake says:
This looks like a nice recipe. While I love Mounds, my wife is allergic to coconut. Is there an alternative filler for this?
Sep 16, 2010. 7:31 AMdupontsalter says:
I often buy generic Eagle Brand sweetened and condensed milk - much cheaper. Did you get bad results with other brands than Eagle Brand?
Sep 7, 2008. 12:09 PMhammer9876 says:
Don't get me wrong. This is a great instructable. It is just the coconut that I hate. The first Mounds I ever got, I spit it out and never bought one again. I love that image (coconut = toe nails.) Chew, chew, chew, nothing happens. It's like eating those old wax lips candies. Chew until all the sugar is gone and spit it out.

Makes a lot of sense to add Gulf Wax to the coconut because one is indigestible and the other is, indigestible. It makes for a pretty, shiny coating, right?

Now, for those coconut-less recipes....
Jul 16, 2009. 9:47 AMbebo1998 says:
why would (any of) you read a coconut recipe and then complain because it contains coconut??? why not just skip the recipe??? I am trying to be nice here but................................
May 1, 2011. 11:20 AMkattywompas1 says:
Just what I was thinking. Thank you.
Jul 16, 2009. 11:07 AMhammer9876 says:
Oops. Apparently even though I started out with "Don't get me wrong...." you took it wrong.

Why would I write a reply? Because where I come from, it is a free country, with the right of free speech.

I read the recipe because it was entitled 'Easy, Homemade "Mounds" Candies.' The word coconut is not in the title or I wouldn't have looked at it at all. Forgive me for forgetting that "Mounds" is one of the few candies that I absolutely detest. Once here, the directions for dipping in chocolate were of interest, even if it did contain Gulf Wax (which is what I used to use to wax my surf board 30 years ago.) Then of course there was the image of coconuts = toe nails.) That was just too fabulous to resist.

And I repeat, now onward to those coconut-less recipes....
Jan 25, 2010. 2:46 PMlovesicles says:
by seeing "mounds" in the title, you should've already realized that it would contain coconuts. that's... basically, the main ingredient to a mound candy.
Oct 23, 2010. 1:16 PMthescroll says:
agreed.
Dec 9, 2007. 7:59 AMcheezstake says:
Thanks. Dried coconut definitely is a lot like toenails.
Jul 16, 2009. 11:10 AMhammer9876 says:
Thanks cheezstake. See bebo1998? I am not the only one who makes the comparison of coconut = toe nails.
Sep 7, 2008. 11:59 PMRaNDoMLeiGH says:
Is your wife allergic to socks? That way you can have the coconut experience with the toe taste. Mounds are my absolute favorite candy bar evaaaaaaaar
Aug 17, 2010. 9:39 PMShort One says:
Haha, great ible! Thanks so much! BTW, I love your little side comments. :D They spice it up.
Aug 5, 2010. 6:18 PMLance Mt. says:
Wax aye?
Dec 8, 2009. 11:42 AMRexanvil76 says:
Love it but what is wrong with being a lefty ??
Jul 23, 2010. 9:31 AMjuniorgong says:
In my grandmother's catholic school the nun hit her and told her to write with her right hand because the devil is left handed... So if you cut these lefty they will be devil candy!
Apr 30, 2010. 1:44 PMDarksun010 says:
My wife and I just put the rolls in the freezer, waiting 30 minutes. My wife likes Mounds I like Almond Joy. So we are going to drop a few almonds on some. The stuff in the bowl tasted like Mounds.
We may share some with our neighbors. when done.  Also, this may be good around Christmas time to take to our neighbors. 
Thanks, good job
Dec 9, 2007. 7:48 PMWhaleman says:
Paraffin? You mean paraffin wax, right? Because it can also mean kerosene or some alkaline metals.
May 5, 2010. 4:22 PMjackofalltrades says:
I'm pretty sure she means the alkane hydrocarbons. I mean, why would one assume she means the only edible meaning of that word in a recipe?
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Author:SpinWard
I'm a 34 year old browncoat, living in the Southern parts of the outer rings, (USA). I'm married and have an energetic 3 year old who LOVES to help with everything! I have 2 dogs, a corgi/chow and la...
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