The candy clan can: Dipping chocolates is a family affair

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

BOUNTIFUL — Sugarplums can dance in someone else's head this month.

Vivian Stapley of Bountiful and her small army of children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and various in-laws have already made their confections for the year — about 6,500 in all.

Vivian Stapley talks with granddaughter Brooke Stapley and great-grandnephew Nick Sterling. Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News

Working together for two Saturdays in November, they made 40 double-batches of candy centers such as caramel, mint, cherry nut, vanilla almond, penuche, pecan and coconut almond — then dipped them in milk chocolate.

It's a 50-year-old family tradition that endures in a time when real homemade candy is a rarity. Microwaving chocolate chips with a can of sweetened condensed milk is about as "from scratch" as most people get. And working 12-hour days with a dozen or so family members — without someone getting mad and slinging hot syrup at someone else — is a feat in and of itself. After all, just an hour of tree-trimming is enough to spur arguments in many families.

"It's a lot of work, and sometimes you think, 'Why am I doing this?' But you don't want to give it up," said Stapley. "There's a lot of Christmas that comes out of this."

"A couple years ago, we said we weren't going to do it again, but by October there we were, ready to go," said Stacey Nordell, Vivian Stapley's great-niece. "We just keep doing it for the tradition of it all, and because it's around the holidays and the candy becomes a gift for people. What's made it fun is that it used to be just the women doing it, but with this generation, our husbands come and are part of it."

In fact, the men are now in charge of the candy centers and peanut clusters.

At 8:30 on a Saturday morning, the neighborhood smells like something out of Willie Wonka. The sweet aroma of chocolate wafts from Stapley's condominium, where the living room carpet is covered in black plastic and the sofas are protected with sheets. Fred Moesinger stirs chunks of melting chocolate in a huge electric roaster, while Cindi Barraclough and Jessica Stapley put bottoms on rows of candy centers. Once the bottoms set up, Val Smith and Terri Stapley hand-dip them in the velvety chocolate.

Workers might laugh and talk, but they stay focused. Valerie Phillips, Deseret Morning News

In the kitchen, a half-dozen or so helpers cut up the fondant and caramels made two weeks earlier and prepare them for dipping. The garage is lined with tables where the chocolates set up after dipping. A couple of runners keep the candy moving in between each work station.

Except for Val Smith, a professional chocolate dipper for 40 years, the rest are related in one way or another. Most are descendants of three sisters who started making chocolates together more than 50 years ago — Vivian Stapley, Marian Nordfors and Marjorie Jaynes.

"One of them had a sister-in-law that dipped them for us back then," said Vivian Stapley. "We tried it by ourselves and it was disastrous."
Marian and Marjorie have since passed away. "And I'm mad at them both for leaving us, but we keep going," adds Vivian Stapley.

Some, like Fred Moesinger and Terri Stapley, married into the family tradition.

"I always liked cooking and was intrigued by this, with all these recipes stored in Viv's head," said Moesinger, who owns Cafe Molise. He started helping out several years ago after his marriage to Aimee (Sterling), one of Vivian's nieces. Now he's in charge of cooking the fondant.

"And Fred got us some digital thermometers, so now we're really uptown," commented Vivian.

Terri Stapley taught herself how to dip chocolates after her marrying Vivian's son, Chad.

"We've all tried to dip because we think it looks easy, and we're all flops," said Vivian. "But Terri somehow caught on to it."

Four-year-old Elizabeth Sterling gets help dicing cherries from her mother, Jennifer. They and their extended family worked together for two full days to make 6,500 chocolates. Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News

For years, the family hired Smith. When Terri helped with the prep work one year, Smith commented on how well she controlled the chocolate. The following year, Smith left on an LDS mission. "And that's the year I learned, because there was nobody else to dip," said Terri Stapley. "It took us two days."

Now both Smith and Terri Stapley dip, which speeds up the process. It's not as easy as it looks, paddling liquid chocolate back and forth, or "tempering" it to keep the cocoa butter from forming in little globs. (If you don't keep the chocolate moving, the chocolate will go crumbly after it's set up.) She puts the candy in the palm of her chocolate-filled hand to coat it, and lightly smacks her hand on the surface to get off the excess chocolate. Then, each chocolate is finished off with a signature swirl to identify what type it is.

"You have to have cold hands, because if you've got hot hands, the chocolate melts," said Smith.

Now Terri brings her three daughters to help, in hopes that they will pick up the skill for yet another generation. Her 15-year-old son, Bryan, often helps out in the kitchen with his cousin, Jace Barraclough.

"They say they hate it, but every year they're here," said Vivian Stapley.

If they come to sneak a few bites of candy, they keep that fact well-hidden, because you don't see a lot of taste-testing and sampling among the work crew. They might laugh and talk, but they stay focused on the results.

Tradition is so ingrained that the family keeps cranking out cherry nut, their least-favorite flavor.

"We hate cherry nut, but we have to do it because it makes a variety on the plate when we give them to our friends and family," said Stacey Nordell.

The candy is divided among the workers, who can then box or plate it and give it to away — usually to lucky neighbors, friends or co-workers. Discriminating palates will revel in the smooth chocolate coating as it turns to liquid on the tongue. There's no waxy bargain-basement taste, and the centers are creamy, not grainy. Still, recipients may not realize the time and effort involved.

Four generations of the Stapley family converge in the garage of Vivian Stapley's home in Bountiful last month to make chocolates. Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News

"How many people give a gift that literally takes two-and-a-half days during the holidays to make?" asked Cindi Barraclough, adding that she spends a half-day at home dipping pretzels and other sweets to add to her treat plates.

Vivian buys ingredients throughout the year — such as 100 pounds of sugar when it goes on sale — and divides the costs. Helpers then pay for full- or half-shares. A full share, about 25 pounds, costs around $60.

"A lot of people have said, 'Why don't you sell these?' But you do it for love, not for money," said Vivian Stapley. She uses fine Guittard chocolate ("because that's what my sister always bought,"), real whipping cream and butter.

So what do they do with slackers? "We tease them into activity," said Vivian Stapley.

So what about no-shows? "We only talk about the people that aren't here," joked Nordell.

Hard feelings? "We have a lot of diversity here, and our parents taught us to love everybody," said Vivian Stapley. "We have words sometimes, but we get over it and survive. We have a lot of fun working together."

Here are some recipes the Stapley family uses in their 50-year candymaking tradition:

FONDANT

3 cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons white corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Mix sugar and whipping cream together. Wash down sides of pan with warm water and a pastry brush or your hand before putting mixture on medium heat to cook. Cook slowly to boiling point. Add white corn syrup. Continue cooking to soft ball stage, or 229 degrees. (For chocolate, cook to 226 degrees.)
Pour on marble slab that has been greased with mineral oil (not Squibbs). Do not scrape candy from the sides or bottom of pan. Let cool. Beat with spatula until candy loses gloss. Knead with hands. Form into rolls. Cut in slices when serving. Stores in airtight container or tightly closed plastic bag. When ready to dip, cut into small slices and roll in ball the size of hazel nuts. Add nuts, coconut, cherries, dates or other flavoring before rolling into balls. Dip in melted chocolate. — Stapley family

CARAMELS

2 cups sugar
2 cups white corn syrup
2 cups cream
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, optional
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nuts

Combine sugar and corn syrup, bring to boil. Wash down sides of pan with warm water and pastry brush before putting on range. Cook until mixture changes color, 10-15 minutes or to soft-ball stage, 224 degrees. Meanwhile, combine cream and condensed milk and scald in top of double boiler. Add cream mixture slowly so the candy doesn't stop boiling. (Takes a long time.) Continue cooking until mixture reaches firm ball stage, 235 degrees. Pour in pan to cool, after adding vanilla, salt and nuts. Or use for pecan roll or turtles. — Stapley family

ENGLISH TOFFEE

2 sticks (1 cup) butter (may use Imperial margarine, but not other type)
1 tablespoon white corn syrup
2 tablespoon water
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 7-ounce bar of chocolate

Mix all ingredients except almonds and chocolate in electric frying pan. Cook on high heat. Stir all the time you cook, 8-10 minutes. Candy will get very thick and will turn golden brown in color. It will also follow spoon around the pan. Add almonds, stirring constantly. Pour on buttered cookie sheet. While hot, break chocolate bar on top of candy. When it's melted, spread over the surface of the toffee and sprinkle chopped nuts on top. If you want to coat the candy with chocolate on both sides, wait until the chocolate sets on one side. Then turn pan upside down on a clean surface, and frost bottom of the candy with chocolate and nuts as before. Break into serving pieces. — Stapley family