When I was about nine years old, my dad gave me a bag of cinnamon hots for Valentine's Day. I decided I was going to savor them slowly for as long as I could. I had about one candy a day until ants came and invaded my room sometime in the middle of the summer, attracted by the sugary treasure trove on my bureau. Lesson learned: some things are meant to be enjoyed in the moment and not hung onto forever!
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND OF CANDY.
Ingredients
2¼ cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
¾ cups light corn syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon (cassia) oil
2 drops red food coloring
Directions
1. Line a cookie sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir with a metal spoon until sugar dissolves.
3. Stop stirring and insert the candy thermometer. Don’t stir the syrup again until it’s removed from the heat. Allow mixture to come to a boil. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, wipe them away with a damp pastry brush.
4. When the syrup reaches 260°F, add the food coloring. At 300°F, remove from heat. If you’re not using a candy thermometer, this is hard crack stage. Allow mixture to cool slightly until boiling has ceased. Keeping your face away from the steam rising from the syrup, add the cinnamon oil and stir. (Note: cinnamon oil is very strong and can burn your nostrils and eyes if you get your face too close to the steam.)
5. Pour the syrup onto the lined cookie sheet and use the back of a metal spoon to spread into a rectangle. Use a knife to score the candy into 1" squares. Allow to cool completely. When the candy is hard, use a sharp knife or scissors to cut the candy along the score lines.
If you’ve made candied orange peels (page 94), reserve the liquid and then follow the recipe below starting with step 3, except that you won’t need to add food coloring or fruit juice, since the syrup will already be citrusy and yellow. To make lollipops, place the lollipop sticks on your lined cookie sheet and drop spoonfuls of the syrup over one end of each stick.
MAKES ABOUT 1 POUND OF CANDY.
Ingredients
2¼ cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
¾ cup light corn syrup
3 teaspoons orange juice
2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
Directions
1. Line a cookie sheet with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir with a metal spoon until sugar dissolves.
3. Stop stirring and insert the candy thermometer. Don’t stir the syrup again until it’s removed from the heat. Allow mixture to come to a boil. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, wipe them away with a damp pastry brush.
4. When the syrup reaches 260°F, add the food coloring. At 300°F, remove from heat. If you’re not using a candy thermometer, this is hard crack stage. Allow mixture to cool slightly until boiling has ceased. Add the fruit juice and stir.
5. Pour the syrup onto the lined cookie sheet and use the back of a metal spoon to spread into a rectangle. Use a knife to score the candy into 1" squares. Allow to cool completely. When the candy is hard, use a sharp knife or scissors to cut the candy along the score lines.
Traditionally these buttery candies are hard, but melt in your mouth. If you prefer them a little chewy, add all the ingredients except the rum or vanilla extract at the beginning and remove from heat at 255°F. Continue with steps 3 and 4 below.
MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 POUNDS.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces
2 cups white granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup water
½ cup corn syrup or brown rice syrup
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon rum or vanilla extract
Directions
1. Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugars, water, and corn syrup or brown rice syrup. Stir until sugar melts, and then insert candy thermometer and heat without stirring until mixture reaches 270°F. Add the honey, salt, and butter. Stir until mixture reaches 300°F.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the rum or vanilla extract, and pour into the lined pan. Allow to cool for about 2 minutes and then use a sharp knife to score the candy in 1" squares.
4. After several minutes, once candy is fully set, use the edges of the paper to lift the candy out of the pan and turn it onto a clean surface. Peel off the paper, and break into squares. Store in an airtight container.
These little candies double as throat lozenges. Made with honey rather than processed sugar and spiked with vinegar and lemon juice, they are healthier than most store-bought lozenges, and as tasty as any candy you’ll try.
MAKES A LITTLE LESS THAN 1 POUND OF DROPS.
Ingredients
½ cup water
3" piece of ginger root, peeled and finely diced
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon slippery elm powder (optional)
Directions
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a small saucepan, simmer the water and ginger for about half an hour. Strain, reserving the liquid. (You can toss the ginger bits in sugar, let them dry on a cookie sheet, and enjoy them as chewy ginger candies.)
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the ginger water, honey, and vinegar. Stir with a metal spoon until honey liquefies.
4. Stop stirring and insert the candy thermometer. Don’t stir the syrup again until it’s removed from the heat. Allow mixture to come to a boil. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, wipe them away with a damp pastry brush.
5. When the syrup reaches 300°F, remove from heat. If you’re not using a candy thermometer, this is hard crack stage. Allow mixture to cool slightly until boiling has ceased. Add the lemon juice and stir.
6. Working quickly, use a ½ teaspoon measure to drop the syrup onto the lined cookie sheet, leaving a little space between each one. If desired, sprinkle with slippery elm powder. Let cool for at least ½ hour. Store for about a week at room temperature or refrigerate for longer storage.
This old-fashioned recipe is simple and delicious. Who knew vinegar could be so tasty?
MAKES ABOUT 40 PIECES.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
Directions
1. Grease a baking sheet (choose one with a lip).
2. Combine sugar, vinegar, and butter in a saucepan and heat while stirring until melted and combined. Insert thermometer and heat to 270°F.
3. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and stir. Pour mixture onto the baking sheet. When cool, break into pieces. Store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.
Nut brittles are easy to make, but have all your ingredients ready before you start because you can't waste any time between steps. If you find that your brittle isn't hardening, you can scoop it up, return it to the saucepan, and reheat it—chances are you didn't cook it quite long enough the first time.
MAKES ABOUT 2 POUNDS OF BRITTLE.
Ingredients
2 cups roasted and salted nuts (peanuts, pecans, or walnuts)
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions
1. Coat a rimmed cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, water, and maple syrup. Continue at a slow boil, stirring gently, until mixture reaches 245°F. Add the nuts and stir.
3. When the mixture reaches 300°F, add the baking soda, stir, and remove from heat. Mixture will foam, so be careful.
4. Pour onto the greased pan and use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread the mixture. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.
Homemade candy canes? How cool! I recommend wearing gloves for the pulling process. If there are two of you, one can pull the white dough while the other pulls the red.
MAKES ABOUT 1 DOZEN CANDY CANES.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
Red gel food coloring
Directions
1. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with oil or a Silipat matt. Preheat oven to 170°F.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar. Stir gently over medium heat until mixture dissolves. Insert candy thermometer, stop stirring, and heat until mixture reaches 260°F (hard ball stage).
3. Remove from heat and add peppermint extract. Pour half the mixture onto one cookie sheet and place in the oven. Add a few drops of food coloring to the remaining mixture and stir.
4. Pour red mixture onto the second cookie sheet. Allow to rest until a thin skin forms over the mixture. Lightly grease a metal spatula and use it to push and spread the dough around on the pan, helping it to cool.
5. When dough is cool enough to handle, pick it up in both hands and begin to stretch and pull it, forming a long string. Take the two ends, bring them together, and allow the dough to twist up. Then stretch again and repeat until the dough becomes opaque.
6. Before the dough hardens, form it into a rope that is about 2" thick and return the pan to the oven to stay warm.
7. Remove the white dough from the oven and repeat step 5 with it, ending with a 2" thick rope. Remove the first pan from the oven.
8. Cut equal lengths of both the red rope and the white rope. Twist them together, bend over one end to form the crook of the cane, and place on the cookie sheet to cool (you may want to re-grease the pan if the dough has absorbed the oil). Repeat until all the rope is used. Work as quickly as you can, and return pans to the oven to reheat slightly if the dough gets too hard to mold.
9. Candy canes will harden at room temperature but then will soften over time. Wrap candy canes individually in plastic wrap to keep from getting soft.
If you've never made rock candy, you're missing out. It's fascinating to watch the sugar crystals form along the skewers. To make these work, your sugar to water ratio needs to be two to one. It's a good idea to cover the glasses lightly with cheesecloth to keep dust out, but don’t use a heavy cloth or plastic since the mixture needs air to evaporate properly.
MAKES 2 SKEWERS.
Ingredients
2 cups water
4 cups granulated sugar
Food coloring
Wooden skewers with the sharp points cut off
Clothespins
Tall, skinny glasses or jars, or short vases (champagne flutes work well)
Directions
1. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, stir until all the sugar dissolves and the syrup begins to boil.
2. Remove from heat and divide syrup between glasses. Put a few drops of food coloring in each glass and stir. You can make each one a different color, if desired.
3. Clip a clothespin onto the end of each skewer and put one skewer in each glass, making sure the skewer doesn’t quite reach the bottom of the glass. Put the glasses in a safe place (where they won’t get knocked over!) and allow to sit for about a week, or until the crystals are well formed along the skewers.
4. To remove the skewers from the glasses, use a knife to gently break the crystals on the surface around the skewer and then carefully pull out the skewers. Empty any remaining liquid into the sink, and then return the skewers back to the glasses to drip dry.
5. Once dry, rock candy can be wrapped in cellophane to store.
TIP
Rock candy can be made on a wooden tea stirrer and then used to sweeten coffee or tea. You can also use 3 cups of sugar and 1 cup of honey in this recipe, rather than using all sugar.
