A very Turkish Delight with Rose Anderson

Today I am 'delighted' to welcome bestselling romance author Rose Anderson (who also writes as Madeline Archer) for my weekly recipe post. Rose is one of the nine authors of LETTERBOX LOVE STORIES, an anthology of romantic short stories. Each story is set in a different European country – from northern England, through France, Spain, Austria, Italy, Sardinia and Turkey – but they all have one thing in common: they all begin with a letter which changes the life of the heroine.

 

Rose's romantic fantasy More than Wishes is mostly set in Turkey. Here is the blurb for Rose's story... Raised on a sailor’s tales of adventure and eager for her own, Stella Cunningham answers an advertisement for a traveling companion to the Orient. There she purchases an ancient bronze lamp with a secret. In the land of flying carpets and genies, Stella is about to have the adventure of a lifetime.

It would never have occurred to me to actually make Turkish Delights. I thought they would be far too tricky for my modest cooking or baking skills. However, thanks to Rose's recipe I am now determined to try...I hope you will too!

Turkish Delight
Known in Turkey as Lokum

Ingredients~

1 ½ cups water
3 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

½ cup orange juice

3 tablespoons orange zest

3 (.25 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin  

¾ cup cornstarch

½ cup cold water

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¾ cup chopped pistachio nuts

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

In a large saucepan, combine: water, granulated sugar and light corn syrup

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stirring frequently, cook until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Set syrup aside, but keep the mixture hot.

Stir together: orange juice, orange zest and unflavored gelatin

Set aside.

In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in ½ cup cold water. Stir into the hot syrup. Place over medium-low heat. Stirring gently, simmer until very thick.

Remove thickened syrup from heat, stir in orange juice mixture, vanilla extract, and chopped pistachios.

Generously powder an 8x8-inch pan with confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar). Pour mixture into the pan, and let cool in a cool, dry place until set (3 to 4 hours). Do not refrigerate.

When cool, sprinkle the top with a thick layer of powdered sugar. Cut into 1-inch squares. Dredge each with more powdered sugar to coat. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Thank you for this delicious recipe, Rose.

LETTERBOX LOVE STORIES is available from

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