Modjeskas
Published: January 16, 2016 · Modified January 3, 2024 by Cindy Gibbs
Modjeskas candies start with the most delicious rich, buttery homemade caramel. Once the caramel is made, it’s cut into strips and wrapped around marshmallows. This is the most divine candy ever!
If you love marshmallows and caramel, you are gonna love, I mean LOVE this recipe. What in the world is a Modjeska? Well, you’re about to find out. A Modjeska is a marshmallow that is covered with a buttery delicious homemade caramel candy. It’s that simple.
The origin of the Modjeska
This recipe originated years ago in my own birthplace, Kentucky. Many years ago, we’re talking 1883, a Kentucky candy maker, Anton Busath was inspired to make this candy. Also in 1883, a well-known European actress, Helen Modjeska, made her American debut in Kentucky. Anton Busath was so touched by her performance in “A Doll’s House”, that he asked her permission to name his newest confection after her. That, my friends, is how the Modjeska candy got its name. Unfortunately, in 1947, the Busath candy company was destroyed in a fire.
Today, there are still a couple of candy companies in Kentucky, Bauers Candy, and Muth Candies that make a version of the Modjeska, and I see the candy in some Cracker Barrel stores, but none of them compare to the homemade version.
The first time I was lucky enough to eat this candy I was 12 years old. We had our church Christmas progaram, and my mother received a present from another Sunday school teacher. When she brought it home and opened it, my eyes lit up. A box full of these delightful looking little wrapped candies. The rest is history!!
Decades later, my daughter Christin makes sure that a Christmas doesn’t go by without me making these, and I have to hide them from her and my husband every time I make them.
Prepping to make the candy
You need to butter a marble slab or a heatproof counter top. If using the marble slab, it doesn’t need to be cold. I actually recommend it not being cold for this candy. If you pour this candy on a cold surface, it will begin to get too cold around the edges before you can work with it.
Now, open up a bag of large marshmallows. Using scissors, cut each marshmallow in half lengthwise, and throw them in a large bowl and set them aside for now. Now, I almost forgot, but you also need to cut several squares of wax paper for wrapping the candy pieces.
Cooking the candy
Next, you want to use a nice big heavy pot. Now place the sugar, syrup, butter, and one cup of the whipping cream in the pot. Oh my goodness! Butter and whipping cream…..this should tell you where we’re headed.
Now bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture reaches a soft ball stage, 234 to 240 degrees, on a candy thermometer. Now notice, in this picture I’m not using a candy thermometer. I prefer to test my candy using the cold water method. See how to test candy in cold water.
Now slowly add the second cup of cream, while making sure that you don’t let the mixture stop boiling. Continue to cook and stir slowly but constantly, until the mixture reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer or a hard ball when tested in cold water. If you use a candy thermometer, make sure your thermometer is accurate. See how to calibrate a candy thermometer.
Hardball test in cold water
A hardball is when you can drop a little bit of the mixture in cold water and then form it into a hard but pliable ball when you roll it between two fingers. Simply put…once the mixture has been cooled in the cold water, it should be the exact same consistency as it will be when you wrap it around a marshmallow. If it doesn’t look like it is hard enough to keep its shape when you wrap it around a marshmallow, then it’s not ready yet. When the caramel has cooked long enough, it will also be a nice caramel color, not too light.
Pour, cut, and wrap the caramel
Now pour the caramel onto a buttered marble slab or countertop. Note: If using a marble slab, the slab does not need to be chilled first.
Now, as soon as it cools enough that you can handle it in your hands, either tear off pieces with your hands or use a knife or sharp spatula to cut off small pieces. You want the pieces to be just big enough to wrap around one of the marshmallow halves. As you keep removing pieces of caramel, keep removing it from the outside edges as you go. The edges get cold the quickest.
Now wrap a piece of caramel around a marshmallow half…eat a piece….wrap a piece. Now at this point, you can feel free to cover both ends of the marshmallow with the caramel, but I choose not to. Why? Well honestly, for years I covered the whole marshmallow half. However, the reason I leave the ends of the marshmallows exposed these days is that there are believe it or not…those who don’t like marshmallows. I would hate to see one of those marshmallow haters bite into one of these wonderful caramel confections, only to realize after the fact, that there is a marshmallow hidden inside. Then what happens….toss it…..ooh…what a waste of a delicious piece of candy!
Allow the caramel wrapped marshmallows to totally cool before wrapping or they will stick to the wax paper. Wrap each piece in a square of wax paper and twist the ends. These don’t have to be stored in an airtight container, but I highly suggest it, in case some pieces aren’t wrapped securely. I toss them in a large bowl with a lid, then hide the bowl. Over the years, my daughter Christin has always found my hiding place….lol.
These are best when eaten within a couple of weeks. After that point, the sugar tends to start breaking down in them, and caramel begins to get grainy. Trust me….don’t worry…..they won’t last that long!
Update: You can also wrap these candies in cellophane candy papers, but make sure they are cool before doing so. I’ve actually found these to be better. The ends stay securely twisted, whereas the waxed paper ends tend to come untwisted. I believe they stay fresher in these. You can find these on Amazon.
More yummy candy recipes you might like…
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge
Hershey’s Old Fashioned Cocoa Fudge
There are more candy recipes under my “candy” category!
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Modjeskas
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: candy
- Method: cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
This delicious candy is made of rich, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth bites of caramel bliss wrapped around marshmallows. It’s absolutely divine!
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) real unsalted butter
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 bag large marshmallows
- squares of wax paper for wrapping
Instructions
- Cut the marshmallows in half lengthwise and place in a bowl. Cut squares of wax paper, large enough to wrap around a caramel coated marshmallow half, approximately 40. Butter a marble slab or counter top.
- Place the sugar, syrup, butter and one cup of the cream in a heavy pot over medium low heat.
- Bring mixture to a boil while stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer or forms a soft ball in cold water.
- Slowly add in the second cup of cream while stirring constantly, but not allowing the mixture to stop bubbling.
- Cook until the mixture reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer or forms a hard but pliable ball when a small amount is dropped into cold water.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the hot caramel mixture onto a buttered marble slab or countertop. Working around the edges of the caramel, cut or pull off small pieces of caramel that are big enough to wrap around a marshmallow half. Keep working from the outside edges of the caramel as you go, (it cools and sets up the quickest), until you’re finished using all of the caramel.
- Allow the caramel wrapped marshmallows to completely cool before wrapping or they will stick to the wax paper. Wrap each Modjeska in a wax paper square, twisting the ends.
- Store the Modjeskas in a large bowl, until ready to eat. You might want to hide them as well. They don’t need to be refrigerated.
Notes
- Modjeskas are best eaten within two weeks of making. After two weeks, the sugar begins to break down in them and they start to taste grainy. Don’t worry, they won’t stick around that long anyway!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 4114
- Sugar: 637.5 g
- Sodium: 282.3 mg
- Fat: 179.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 112.7 g
- Trans Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 660.4 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 515.2 mg
I love caramellows. I’ve made them before but it’s been a while and I can’t seem to find the recipe. Thank you for posting this. I love finding out the origin of what I make and I just love your story for Modjeskas. I plan to make homemade marshmallows and try these out. My mouth is already watering just thinking about them. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Marti,
You’re so welcome! Your family will love these at Christmas! I hide them in a large bowl and my husband and daughter search until they find them every year. 🙂 Happy Holidays!!
Hi! Where would I find a marble slab to use for this recipe?
Hi Micjelle, I would go to any store that sells countertops and ask them if they have remnants.
Hi Cindy, thanks so much for this recipe! Making candy is a daunting ambition (you outlined the cold water method to make making Modjeskas practically Julianne-proof!) My 84-year old (but 39-year young) Mom grew up in Louisville, and Bauer’s Candies was a truly special Louisville-born secret! Mom left Louisville to become a stewardess (what they were called then) with Eastern Airlines, Met my Dadsy, fell in love, settled in Florida and made 3 kids (me in the middle of two brothers). But my Grammie (her mom) would bring a big box of treats from Bauer’s every time she’d come visit us. And Mom would pluck out the two Modjeskas from the variety od chocolates and if we were VERY good, she would cut one up into 4ths and share it with us kids. We now live in S. Alabama, and finding authentic Modjeskas is akin to finding the Holy Grail! Finding your recipe is like finding the treasure map!
So, here’s a question or two before I don my apron and butter my marble slab:
1. No salt and no vanilla in the recipe?
2. What would happen to the hardball mixture of caramel if I improvised and added a dash of each? (Without the vanilla I could be ok with. But the dash of salt might make a more buttery flavor of the sugary caramel, yes?
3. Same question, but regarding salted or unsalted butter. Not being an accomplished baker but love to cook, I understand that baking is more chemistry than cooking, and salt affects textures as much as the final taste, reacting to other ingredients and impacting so much more than our taste buds. With that, the “salted caramel” rage is real, and delicious! Without changing what a Modjeska is, would salted butter and/or a dash of salt in the recipe enhance the flavor, or ruin the flavor and the texture and important hardball form required to envelop the marshmallows with that perfectly snug and velvety blanket?
Thank you again, Cindy! I may try two different batches, one following your recipe to the letter and the other with salted butter, 1/2 tsp. Vanilla and a dash (1/8th tsp) of salt. (But a “salted Modjeska” just doesn’t stay true to the original confection perfection!)
Blessings,
Julianne
Hi Julianne, It’s totally fine to add both. I’ve always stuck to the the original vintage recipe, or I would add vanilla myself.I’m sure a salted caramel version would be great. I’m also sure you will like the flavor of these more than the ones from Bauers. I’ve had both. Have a great holiday! 🙂
I have never heard of these candies. Look intriguing and will give this recipe a try. Thanks for introducing me to something new!
Hi Jim, It sounds like the caramel was over cooked. Regardless, of the recipe you end up using, you might want to calibrate your candy thermometer to make sure it’s accurate. Many are not. Good luck!
I grew up in Bardstown, Ky. Outside of Louisville and when we were kids it was always a treat to ride with my mom and grandma to Muths Candies for a modjeska. This recipe is so close to Muths it brings the best of memories out! Thank you so much!
Hi Betsy, You’re welcome! I just made a batch of these for Christmas. They’re one of my favorites. Merry Christmas!