Christmas time! I have said this already in another article, but Christmas is my favorite holiday! And what is Christmas without some delicious snacks. Back at Thanksgiving I posted a few recipes. Of course the recipes are delicious year-round and you can check them out here. Some of those got a little tricky and were very in-depth. For Christmas, I have decided to share some quick and easy candy recipes that require no baking and very little cooking!
Hard Candy Christmas
When I was in high school, I had a friend who would bring cinnamon hard candy to school around Christmas. It was delicious, but she informed us that it was an old family secret recipe that couldn’t be shared. Well, 10 years later and with the help of Google, I have found the recipe. I will share this amazing candy because no one should miss out on this! I have to say, I don’t have a clue what to call it! Leave us a comment on our Facebook page and give it a name!
This will be the most difficult of the recipes I post. It requires the cooking of sugar which can be very dangerous. Children should be kept under close supervision while making this. There will also be some pretty intense clean up involved.
Recipe
3 3/4 c. Sugar
1 1/4 c. Light Cairo syrup.
1 c. Water
Various flavor extracts. I used peppermint and cinnamon
Food coloring to coordinate with flavor choices. I used red and green
Confectioners (powdered) sugar. In other countries this may be known as icing sugar.
Directions
Add sugar, water and syrup to a large sauce pan. Cool on medium heat, stirring continuously until sugar is dissolved. The mixture will look milky.
Continue to cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer reaches 290 degrees Fahrenheit. It will turn clear and be thick and bubbly.
This step will take anywhere from 30-45 minutes. While you are waiting sprinkle confectioners sugar on to a cookie sheet. You may use as much as you’d like, but be sure to use enough to coat pan very well. If you do not use enough sugar, I cannot guarantee that you will ever get it off. This is what my pan looked like, and it was very easily cleaned.
Put this baking sheet to the side until sugar mixture is complete.
Once your thermometer reaches 290 degrees, remove from heat and add food coloring and flavoring. I do not have pictures of this step because you must move very quickly to prevent the sugar from gardening in your pot. Pour the mixture onto your prepared cookie sheet. This is what my peppermint candy looked like.
My main notes on this recipe are to be very careful when cooking sugar as it may cause severe burns if it comes in contact with your skin, and be careful with your flavorings. A very small amount of peppermint flavoring goes a long way; the more cinnamon extract you add, the hotter (spicier) it will be.
Next: Crock Pot Candy
