Discover how to make licorice at home with this simple, enjoyable recipe, including vegan and gluten-free options! Licorice has always been one of my favorites due to its unique texture and bold flavor. While traditional licorice is black, you can find it in a variety of fun colors like red, orange, and even pink. Making licorice from scratch hadn’t crossed my mind until I stumbled upon an old recipe. I’ve since adapted it to fit today’s needs, adding vegan and gluten-free variations. Let’s dive into the recipe!
INGREDIENTS
½ cup flour
Pinch of Himalayan pink salt or kosher salt
½ cup butter or coconut oil
¼ cup honey, brown rice syrup, or blackstrap molasses
1 cup cane sugar
½ cup sweetened condensed milk (homemade if you prefer)
1 teaspoon licorice extract (instructions to make your own below)
1 teaspoon beetroot juice (optional, for color)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Set aside.
Cook the Syrup: In a saucepan, add the sugar, honey (or alternative syrup), sweetened condensed milk, and butter (or coconut oil). Stir occasionally as the mixture heats, bringing it to a boil. Continue stirring and heating until the mixture reaches 240°F, known as the “softball stage.” You can check the temperature with a candy thermometer or by dropping a small spoonful into cold water. If you can form it into a soft ball with your fingers that holds shape briefly, it’s ready.
Combine Mixtures: Remove the saucepan from heat immediately and pour the syrup over the flour mixture. Stir until well combined.
Add Flavor and Color: Mix in the beetroot juice (if using) for color, and the licorice extract for flavor until fully incorporated.
Set and Chill: Pour the licorice mixture into a greased pan and refrigerate for about an hour, or until firm and well-chilled.
Shape the Licorice: Once chilled, turn the licorice onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into ⅓- to ½-inch wide strips. Twist each strip if desired.
Finish and Store: Dust the licorice with arrowroot powder to prevent sticking and store in an airtight container.
NOTES
Coloring is optional for homemade licorice, as it may naturally appear grayish. Beetroot juice adds a rosy hue, but any natural juice or concentrate can be used for a touch of color.
Choose unsalted butter or coconut oil based on preference.
While corn syrup is commonly used, this recipe opts for more natural sweeteners. Feel free to substitute if you prefer.
12 SIMPLE FALL PLANTER IDEAS TO ELEVATE YOUR SEASONAL DECOR
Fall isn’t just about pumpkin carving and warm apple pie; it’s also the perfect time to refresh your seasonal decor as the major holidays approach. For many, creating a stunning fall container display filled with vibrant plants and planters can feel overwhelming. With the rich textures, colorful contrasts, and cozy hues of green, purple, blue, red, and brown that define autumn, it’s easy to feel daunted!
To help you avoid endless scrolling on Pinterest and the stress of where to begin, we’ve curated 12 fall container garden ideas that will elevate the front of your home and leave your neighbors in awe!
Herb Gardening During Fall
This rustic hanging arrangement can also serve as a mini herb garden. Instead of opting for typical green foliage, consider using herbs to add edible elements to your container garden. Imagine the delightful aroma of fresh cilantro, golden lemon thyme, and Italian oregano flourishing in your hanging planters.
Most of these herb plants grow tall in the fall and will die back during winter, so be sure to harvest them before the cold truly sets in.
One Drop of Pumpkin Spice
Nothing enhances a front porch in the fall quite like golden pumpkins. Whether they’re short and bumpy or smooth and tall, we love arranging pumpkins of all colors and shapes to bring a touch of excitement to the annual pumpkin patch right at your front steps.
FAUX PUMPKINS
A budget-friendly design trick for your fall container garden is to incorporate older or even broken faux pumpkins. These can be nestled among your foliage for added charm. To create a fuller and more vibrant display, consider spraying them with colorful acrylic paint. This will not only enhance their appearance but also ensure they last throughout the season and even into winter, providing festive decor for years to come.
Hanging Container Gardens
Blooming with vibrant annual flowers, perennials, or lush succulents, hanging baskets provide the perfect finishing touch to your home’s exterior. You can also enjoy your fall container baskets from inside, as the stunning tops of flowers and plants peek just below the window frame.
Add cheerful yellow garden pansies and radiant marigolds for a vibrant burst of color in your planter, along with baby kale to introduce a touch of purple.
The key to achieving a rustic aesthetic is to avoid overplanting the basket. Giving your flowers space to breathe will enhance the overall look of the arrangement. Since hanging baskets can become quite heavy, consider filling the bottom with empty plastic bottles before topping them off with potting soil. This will help keep the basket light and manageable.
Container Garden with Spotlight Purple
Bring the glorious colors of fall right to your door by combining vibrant tones of orange and yellow with cool shades of purple and blue in a single pot.
This ceramic pot, featuring a subtle shade of turquoise, showcases a variety of beautiful plants that create a stunning seasonal display.
A CHARMING SECRET GARDEN
When container gardening, it’s always best to work from back to front. Start by adding tall plants at the rear, such as purple ruby grass and Hameln fountain grass, to create texture. In the front, place chrysanthemums and marigolds to trail gracefully over the edge. For a striking touch, include a bold, single-note purple kale—one of our favorite vegetables—at the bottom. Finally, tuck in some greens to fill in any gaps, achieving a balanced look for this contrasting color palette.
A Fall Planter with a Blaze of Orange
A fantastic tip for fall planters is to leverage the height of ornamental grasses to create balance in a large planter box.
Start by filling your planter with tall, dramatic grasses such as fountain grass, ruby grass, maiden grass, or Indian grass. For an extra pop of color at the bottom, add flowering kale or cabbage. The rich gold, orange, and purple hues will beautifully complement a farmhouse-style planter, brightening up your shaded front porch. This stunning fall display will last until your first frost.
Ornamental kale and its cousin, ornamental cabbage, are the stars of the season. Requiring minimal maintenance while delivering a striking visual impact, this vibrant combination features fall favorites and a blaze of orange that’s sure to turn heads.
A Dose of Green
Looking to enhance the beauty and interest of your home’s exterior while boosting your curb appeal? Window boxes are the perfect landscaping solution to showcase your style.
This stunning fall container features a harmonious palette of greens and whites. At the center, white caladium plants create a focal point, with greens evenly spaced around them. Fill any empty spaces with white violas nestled between the grey-leafed Lamium and variegated English ivy, finishing the box with a ring of white sweet alyssum. The graceful Creeping Jenny spilling over the sides adds the final touch of elegance.
What’s truly unexpected is how effortlessly this window box maintains a palette of greens, relying on tone and variation to create a harmonious blend of color and shape. While it may be a window box, it’s anything but confined. With regular watering, these plants will thrive in a partially shady spot throughout the season and into winter.
Perennials Make Good Fall Plant Partners
Evergreen perennial plants are an excellent addition to your fall containers, as they can withstand light frost and help protect other plants from freezing temperatures.
Creeping Jenny, a trailing evergreen perennial with small, waxy round leaves on slender stems, is particularly effective for container gardening alongside more delicate plants and flowers. When frost threatens, simply use the trailing leaves to cover the soil around the vulnerable plants. This will act as a natural mulch, helping to keep them warm and insulated.
Additionally, perennials add a stunning touch to your front porch, with plants like Bloody Geraniums transforming into vibrant shades of red and brown in the fall.
Dress Up Your Front Porch Fall Container Garden
Layer your entrance or walkway with a cascading arrangement of the season’s most popular gourds, flowers, and fall-themed plants. This beautiful display will greet you warmly every day as you come home.
CREATE A CONTRAST OF FALL COLORS
Incorporate a handful of fall hues—yellow, orange, and red—to create that iconic seasonal display. Fill your front porch with an assortment of faux pumpkins, straw bales, and dried fall foliage at the base for a look that remains beautiful all season long. This combination results in a cozy porch that beckons you to sit and enjoy a sunset with a warm mug of apple cider!
Cheeky Hideaway
Picture this stunning paper flower gracing a dreamy garden or a light-filled screened porch. The lanterns are adorned with classic patterns and faux-flame candles, adding a romantic touch, but it’s the overall arrangement that truly evokes a sense of magic.
The secret to achieving this dreamy look lies in incorporating signature decor items. Beautiful lanterns, candles, and vibrant spires of both white and pink Bougainvillea glabra come together in a cascade of bright colors, creating a festive atmosphere. Set in an ornamental shape, the simple monochrome tone of the lantern invites you to imagine stepping into a wonderland.
Fall Favorites
Infuse your front porch with a touch of farmhouse style by filling oversized, rustic wicker containers with delightful fall blooms. If you find a single pot a bit dull, we recommend using two fall planters to showcase the fresh bounty of autumn.
Select containers that resonate with you; metal laundry pots are especially durable and can withstand strong winds. The left fall container garden features Helichrysum Icicles at the back, accompanied by Creeping Jenny, pansies, flowering kale, black-eyed Susans, and Sedum Autumn Joy. While yellow pansies and kale are excellent choices for a vibrant fall display, the silvery foliage of the Icicles licorice plant adds a perfect accent to round out the season.
The wire basket on the right showcases Swiss chard, ornamental peppers, pansies, black-eyed Susans, and golden sage. The annual pansies provide vibrant late-season color, while the peppers add a touch of summer red, creating a striking contrast. This fragrant combination of purple and red continues to thrive through winter, ensuring a blooming display all season long.
Polish Off Fall Planters with Succulent Glory
You won’t find any plants better suited for growing in pots than succulents. Native primarily to arid regions, these resilient plants store water in their fleshy leaves, stems, and roots, allowing them to withstand drought conditions. With a wide variety of colors, shapes, and patterns, succulents offer endless possibilities for creating beautiful combinations.
It’s ideal to use a wide, extra-large planter to accommodate the spreading nature of each succulent. Modernize your fall accents with a playful mix of these plants, allowing their dense foliage to cover the entire surface of the soil. With their incredible variety and elegant architectural forms, succulents are irresistibly drawing us to the “green” side.
Cottage Charmer
Who needs fall flowers when you can turn to colorful foliage and leafy perennials to create a fall-worthy symphony? Add pops of purple, mini pumpkins, and hearty cabbage and purple kale to an old wooden dough bowl for a stunning display. Sugar Plum Heuchera, Red Giant mustard, and ornamental kale and cabbage are arranged directly in the bowl, forming a cool purple foundation that enhances the seasonal aesthetic.
Next, add various greens like Creeping Jenny, Lemon Ball sedum, and Ogon sedum (keeping them in their containers) to brighten the deep purple color palette. Fill in any empty areas with moss to conceal the containers, and tuck in some white mini pumpkins for a delightful seasonal touch.
conclusion
Incorporating these elements into your seasonal decor not only enhances the beauty of your space but also invites a sense of warmth and wonder. By thoughtfully selecting plants, lanterns, and signature decor items, you can create a stunning display that reflects the vibrant spirit of fall. Whether you’re setting the scene for a cozy evening at home or preparing for festive gatherings, these design ideas will help you cultivate an inviting atmosphere that captures the essence of the season.
