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For Nancy Siler’s children, making homemade candy was as integral to the holidays as tearing open the presents on Christmas morning.

“We loved the kitchen experience and the creativity of deciding whether we were going to make easy and quick clusters or mold some special iconic shapes in candy molds,” said Siler, vice president of consumer affairs for Illinois-based Wilton, a popular food-crafting company. “It was fun to share the creations with family and friends, especially the grandparents.”

Creativity is also the allure for Anita Chu, author of “Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable” (Quirk Books, 2009).

“As with all other homemade goods, you can control what goes into your homemade candy, which makes it that much more unique and special,” she said. “You can come up with your own flavors and your own presentation for your candies. You can also avoid many of the preservatives and additives that go into mass-produced candy. There is a world of difference between fresh chocolate and butter and mass produced, prepackaged items.”

Both Chu and Siler said people tend to be unnecessarily intimidated by the candy-making process, which can be easy and rewarding if you start small and carry a big thermometer.

“Start small and practice. Many candies are surprisingly simple to make at home and require no more skill than mixing ingredients together or melting chocolate,” Chu said. “Candies that require skill, like cooking sugar or tempering chocolate, can also be mastered with a little patience and practice.”

Siler said that many of the tools needed for basic candy-making are already in your home.

“You can melt large amounts of chocolate or confectionery coating in the microwave, which is perfect for molding and dipping candies, cookies or pretzels,” she said. “Or mix in half a cup of rice cereal, nuts, coconut or chocolate-covered candies with one cup of candy melts and drop onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet for clusters.”

The essential tools to get started are a candy thermometer that goes up to 400 degrees (if you want to cook sugar), aluminum baking sheets for lining up candies to cool and inexpensive plastic molds, if the agenda includes making molded chocolates or candies.

Chu also recommends using thin latex or cotton gloves, which allow candy makers to handle finished candies without leaving prints.

In these cash-strapped times, Siler said, candy is an inexpensive, scrumptious present to share with loved ones.

“The holidays inspire gift-giving and sharing with family and friends. What better gift is there than to craft something with your own two hands?” she said. “Everyone loves to receive delicious homemade treats that come from the heart. It’s a personal touch that shows you took the time to create something special from your kitchen.”

One of this year’s emerging trends for candy making is the addition of sea salt to sweets.

“Sweet and salty is a nice combination,” Siler said. “Think about making chocolate-dipped potato chips and pretzels. If making truffles, a very small amount of a good quality, larger particle salt could be placed on top.”

Chu finds that sea salt pairs well with caramel. Its distinct tang contrasts with the rich sweetness of the caramel, giving more dimension to the buttery caramel flavor.

“Sea salt should be used as a highlight though, not simply substituted for regular salt in a recipe,” she said.

Another big trend is homemade marshmallows, in all sorts of flavors, as well as old classics jazzed up with modern ingredients. These include peanut brittle with sea salt or chocolate bark with roasted cacao nibs and pumpkin seeds, Chu said.

To give candy as a gift, Siler suggests making the effort to select the right flavors, targeted to the person who is receiving the goodies. Since most people can’t resist the allure of candy, she said don’t worry about how long it will stay fresh.

“Most candies don’t last that long to worry about freshness, especially at the holidays,” she said.

Chu agreed.

“Anything with chocolate is always welcome,” she said. “Candy is almost always made for gift-giving, so most candies are suitable as long as you give it away soon after making it, and let the recipient know to keep them cool, dry and covered.”

Chu’s favorite gift candies are chocolate covered nut clusters, caramel corn, chocolate bark and English toffee.

Cookie exchanges have long been a popular activity around the holidays, but making candy can be a great way to bond with family and friends, and to get a nice array of sweets without spending the entire month cooking.

“Candy clubs are a great way to experiment with candy-making, especially as most recipes yield quite a few pieces, so it’s easy to divide them up,” Chu said. “Dipping chocolates or forming nut clusters is a fun group activity. Taffy-pulling parties used to be a popular activity in Colonial days.”

While candy-making isn’t kids stuff, many recipes are fun and easy for younger candy enthusiasts. Chu recommends caramel corn, chocolate-dipped pretzels, coconut haystacks, no-fail fudge and peanut butter balls, which all have just a few ingredients. These are all relatively simple to assemble and provide children the satisfaction of creating their own candy.

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

 1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with a piece of parchment paper long enough to hang over the edges. Butter the parchment well.

Combine the sugar and cream in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the corn syrup and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 230 degrees. Add the butter and stir carefully to combine. Continue cooking mixture until it reaches 245 degrees.

Remove from heat and stir in salt and vanilla. Pour mixture into pan to cool and harden. Remove the caramel block from the pan and cut into squares using a sharp, well-oiled knife. Sprinkle a few grains of fleur de sel on top of the caramels before wrapping.

Yield: About 60 caramels

Nougat Candy with Almonds and Cashews

From “Dulce: Desserts in the Latin-American Tradition” (Rizzoli, 2010)

Ingredients

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup honey

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped out and reserved (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

1 egg white

1 pinch cream of tartar

1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped almonds

1 cup toasted and coarsely chopped cashews

About 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium heat bring the granulated sugar, honey and vanilla bean and seeds (or extract) to a boil. Continue cooking, without stirring, until the temperature on a candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees (the “soft ball” stage). If you don’t have a candy thermometer, scoop a bit of the sugar mixture onto a spoon and submerge it in a bowl of ice water for a few seconds. Grab the sugar with your fingertips. You should be able to form it into a small, soft ball. Remove the vanilla bean.

While the syrup is cooking, soak the bowl and the whisk attachment of an electric mixer in warm water and dry thoroughly. This will ensure that the egg whites gain enough volume during beating. Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Turn the mixer to high speed and slowly and carefully add the hot syrup to the egg-white mixture. Continue beating at high speed until the meringue becomes nice and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bowl no longer feels hot to the touch. Fold in the nuts.

Dust a work surface generously with confectioners’ sugar. Pour the warm nougat on top and cover it with more confectioners’ sugar. Knead it until it is fully coated with the sugar and no longer sticking to the surface of your hands, about 1 minute. Form the nougat into a large rectangle and, using a rolling pin dusted with more sugar, flatten it to  1/2-inch thick. Cut the nougat into 2-by-1-inch rectangles and transfer them to a container dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Once the candy has cooled completely, cover the container and store in a cool, dry spot.

Candy Corn

From “Field Guide to Candy” by Anita Chu © 2009 Quirk Productions. Used with the permission of Quirk Books.

Vary the colors of this traditional Halloween candy for other holidays. You can make Indian corn (brown, orange and white), reindeer corn (red, green and white), and cupid corn (red, pink and white). Candy corn traditionalists eat each stripe of color one nibble at a time.

Candy-making notes: When forming the ropes of dough into one piece, lightly running a rolling pin over the top will help press the colors together.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

 1/4 cup dry powdered milk

 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Food coloring, if desired

Directions

Combine confectioners’ sugar, powdered milk and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Combine sugar, corn syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Add the dry milk mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Let mixture rest for a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle.

Divide dough into 3 equal parts and place each portion in a bowl. Add coloring as desired.

Knead each portion of dough until the coloring is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth and stiff.

Roll each portion into a rope about  1/2-inch thick.

Place the 3 ropes of dough next to each other to form a long rectangle. Use a rolling pin to gently press them together.

Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into triangles and place on a baking sheet. Let set for about 1 hour.

Yield: About 80 pieces

Storage: Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 months.