Christmas Cinnamon Candy Recipes

CINNAMON ROCK CANDY

Steps:

• Line a 15x10x1-in. pan with foil; butter the foil and set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine water, sugar, corn syrup and food coloring. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve sugar crystals. , Uncover; cook on medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage), about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in cinnamon oil (keep face away from mixture as oil is very strong). Immediately pour onto prepared pan. Cool completely, about 45 minutes. , Break the candy into pieces using the edge of a metal mallet. Sprinkle both sides of candy with confectioners' sugar. Store in airtight container.

CINNAMON HARD CANDY

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 310° (hard-crack stage). Remove from the heat; stir in oil and food coloring, keeping face away from the mixture as the odor with be very strong. , Immediately pour onto a greased baking sheet. Quickly spread into a 13-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Using a sharp knife, score into 1-in. squares. Re-cut rectangle along scored lines until candy is cut into squares. Let stand at room temperature until dry. Separate into squares, using a knife if necessary.

CINNAMON HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Line a large cookie sheet with a 1 inch lip with foil.
• Butter the foil and set pan aside.
• Add water, sugar, corn syrup and food coloring to large heavy pan and stir until well mixed.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring occasionally.
• Cover pan with lid and cook for 3 minutes (very important, this will dissolve the sugar crystals that may form on the sides of the pan)
• Take lid off pan and cook on medium-high heat, without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 300°F (hard crack stage), about 25 minutes. (Be patient, don't turn up heat to speed this up as it can go from cooking to burning in a second and the whole batch would be ruined).
• Remove candy from heat stir in cinnamon oil (house will spell like cinnamon for days unless you open windows before you do this step, also be careful not to have your face right over the the pot).
• Quickly pour into prepared pan.
• Cool completely (about 45 minutes).
• Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and use a hammer to get pieces small enough to get into a large zip top bag, then smash inside the bag until they are bite sized.
• Add powdered sugar to bag and shake to coat all sides (note, check for holes in bag first, sometimes the candy punctures the bag).
• Enjoy.