Easy Candy Recipes

These super-simple jelly candies only require four ingredients and take less than half an hour to prepare. They get their color and flavor from fruit juices and preserves; feel free to experiment with different combinations, like pomegranate juice and raspberry preserves.

With just three ingredients -- white chocolate, peppermint oil, and candy canes -- you can create easy, colorful Christmas bark that's great for gift-giving. Once made, the peppermint bark can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Condensed milk gives this fudge its smooth richness, while pretzels add crunch and a touch of salt. Feel free to use trail mix, your favorite chopped candy, or crushed cookies in place of pretzels.

This classic is a favorite among kids and adults alike and is great for holiday gift-giving. Package in cellophane bags or decorative tins for a pretty presentation.

These salty-sweet candies are a snap to prepare. Simply form balls out of peanut butter, sugar, butter, and crushed pretzels, then dip them in melted chocolate for a decadent treat.

Dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate are easy to make and provide a sophisticated alternative to store-bought chocolate coins for Hanukkah. Purchase the foil candy wrappers at cake decorating supply stores.

The secret to the perfectly smooth, light texture of this easy chocolate fudge is melted marshmallows. Decorate the fudge as you wish, with chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, or crushed peppermints.

This honey-sweetened brittle gets its airy texture from the addition of baking soda at the end of cooking.

Package the sweet treat in a cellophane bag sealed with this adorable fold-over "Season's Eatings" gift label.

Melted white chocolate is whipped with creamy peanut butter to make the filling for these easy chocolate-peanut butter cups. Choose semisweet or bittersweet chocolate to surround the peanut butter filling, and top the candies with chopped peanuts.

Create these easy candy clusters by arranging dried fruit and toasted nuts atop small puddles of melted white chocolate. Use a combination of dried cherries, cranberries, pineapple, apricots, or raisins, and pecans, pistachios, cashews, macadamia nuts, or walnuts.

It only takes 15 minutes to make this easy chocolate bark, which is filled with chopped hazelnuts and orange zest, and sprinkled with coarse salt. Vary the types of nuts to suit your tastes, and double or triple the recipe to make gifts for all your friends and neighbors.

Dried cranberries and a drop or two of red food coloring bring the Christmas spirit to these popcorn balls. Add other types of dried fruit or miniature chocolate candies if you wish.

Orange, lemon, and grapefruit peels are candied in sugar syrup and coated in sugar to add sparkle and crunch. The candied peels can be dipped partway in melted chocolate, or enjoyed as-is with after-dinner coffee.

A syrup of brown sugar and butter is drizzled over graham crackers, which are then baked until bubbly. Shredded coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips go on top to create an easy, irresistible Christmas treat.

Bittersweet chocolate is melted in warm cream to create the ganache center of these easy truffles. Roll them in a variety of coatings, such as cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, toasted coconut, crushed peppermints, red and green candy sprinkles, or finely chopped toasted nuts.

Crushed peppermint candies are mixed with melted chocolate chips, cream, and mini marshmallows to make this easy fudge. Each square of fudge is topped with a peppermint candy, making this recipe perfect for Christmas gift-giving.

Tiny colored candy sprinkles decorate the tops of melted chocolate drops. Use all-white sprinkles or a variety of Christmas colors -- red, green, and gold.

White and bittersweet chocolate are swirled together to make beautiful bark perfect for gift-giving. In this recipe, salted peanuts are mixed into the chocolate, but you may enjoy cashews, pistachios, almonds, or dried cranberries as well.

Popcorn, peanuts, and raisins are bound together with melted marshmallows to make these easy popcorn balls. Try different combinations of nuts and dried fruit in these, such as pistachios and dried cranberries, or diced apricots and slivered almonds.