An enterprising mother also found success as a candy maker in Chicago in the early twentieth century. Ora Snyder began selling candy in 1909 to make ends meet after her husband became ill and had to leave his job. According to the Newberry Library's Source Material blog, Snyder had learned to make chocolate confections as a child. Her own mother had passed away when Snyder was only 3 years old and the family wasn’t allowed to have store-bought candy, so Ora learned to improvise. As an adult, Snyder first started making candy professionally at her home and sold her chocolates at a local school. In 1910, she rented a small store in the Loop. By 1925, she owned eight chocolate shops; in 1931, she was the first woman elected president of the Associated Retail Confectioners of the United States.
Snyder set
up a shop at the Century of Progress International Exposition in 1933-1934. Her
shop featured a fully operational candy kitchen and an ice cream-making machine. The shop was also air-conditioned, which was cutting edge for the
time. After seeing how it kept the chocolate from melting and kept her staff comfortable at the fair, Snyder made headlines when she decided to use air
conditioning at all of her shops.
When she
passed away at age 72 in 1948, Ora Snyder owned 16 shops, one of which was
seven stories tall, and employed hundreds of employees. The business remained in the
family until 1967, when it became part of Fannie May.
I dedicate
this Chocolate-Coconut Bonbon recipe to Ora Snyder and to all enterprising
mothers--and daughters. While they don’t look as fancy as store-bought chocolates, these bonbons still
taste just as good. I adapted this recipe from one found on the Petite Allergy Treats blog, so it only has three ingredients. This is good for people who want
to be careful about food allergies and those who just want to keep things
simple. The only supplies you need are a microwave for melting the chocolate
and an ice cube tray for setting the bonbons. You can make these bonbons to
impress your mom, yourself, or both. And even if they don’t turn out perfect,
your mom will probably still act impressed, because that’s what moms do.
Chocolate-Coconut Bonbons
*Makes one ice-cube tray’s worth of bonbons
Ingredients:
1 12-oz.
bag of chocolate chips
½ c.
shredded coconut, plus more to sprinkle on top
2 tbsp.
coconut oil
Note: To
balance out the sweetness, I suggest using either dark chocolate with sweetened
coconut or milk chocolate with unsweetened coconut.
Directions:
Microwave
half of the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a microwave-save bowl for 1
minute. Stir and microwave for 1 more minute. Add the remaining chocolate chips
and stir until smooth.
Pour the
chocolate into the ice cub tray, filling each ice cube holder only ¼ of the way. Use a spoon
to fully coat the “walls” of each individual ice cube holder, reaching all the way
to the top. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Re-heat
the remaining chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add in
the coconut. Dole out the coconut-chocolate mixture to now fill the ice cube holders all the way to the top. (There will be some chocolate left over.) Place back in the freezer for 10 minutes.
When the bonbons are set, use a knife to remove each bonbon from the ice cube tray. Sprinkle coconut on top. Keep in refrigerator until serving, and eat within a couple of days.
Sources:
Catherine
Grandgeorge, “Confectionately Yours: The Story of Ora Snyder, Chicago’s Candy Queen” The Newberry’s Source Material blog (March 8, 2022).
Shannon
Perich, “Chocolate Dipped: The Popularity of Custom Candy in 1940s Chicago,” The Atlantic (January 29, 2012).
Brittany
Tepper, “Sweet Home Chicago: Celebrating Chicago’s Candy History,” Chicago Loop
Alliance (2015).
Tom
Schaffer, “13 Iconic Candy Makers in Chicago” L Stop Tours blog (October 2, 2019).
“History of Chocolate and Candy Making in Chicago,” University of Chicago Library website (December 20, 2017).
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