Christmas Hard Candy Canada Recipes

HARD CANDY

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, stir together the white sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Without stirring, heat to 300 to 310 degrees F (149 to 154 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads.
• Remove from heat and stir in flavored extract and food coloring, if desired. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet, and dust the top with confectioners' sugar. Let cool, and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

HARD CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. In a heavy (good quality) 2-quart saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
• 2. Insert candy thermometer if using, making certain it does not touch the bottom of the pan. Bring mixture to a boil without stirring.
• 3. Early in the cooking process, 'wash down' any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush.
• 4. Continue to cook the syrup, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 260F; add drops of coloring until desired hue is achieved. Do not stir; boiling action will incorporate color into syrup.
• 5. Remove from heat precisely at 300F (temperature will continue rising), or until drops of syrup form hard, brittle threads in cold water (hard crack stage). After boiling action has ceased, add flavor and stir. USE CAUTION WHEN ADDING FLAVORING TO AVOID RISING STEAM.
• 6. Carefully pour syrup into prepared molds or onto the prepared greased and foil lined cookie sheet. (As the sugar mixture begins to set up, you may want to score with a large knife to mark squares.) Do not refrigerate.
• 7. Cool completely. Break sheet candy into small pieces and dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Store in airtight containers between waxed paper. If making lollipops, do not dust with powdered sugar, but place in sucker bags and secure with twist ties. Store hard candy in a cool, dry place. Do not refrigerate.

OLD-FASHIONED HOMEMADE HARD CANDY

Steps:

• In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring, lowering the heat and cooking more slowly during the last few minutes, to the hard crack stage (300 degrees F), If sugar crystals form on sides of pan, wipe them off with a damp brush.
• Remove from heat, add oil flavoring and enough food coloring to color; stir only to mix. Pour into 2 well buttered 9 inch pans. Set one pan of candy over a sauce pan containing hot water (unless you have a helper to help cut the candy). As soon as the other pan of candy is cool enough to handle, cut it with scissors into 1-inch strips. Then snip the strips into pieces. Work fast. Drop the pieces onto a buttered baking sheet. If the candy cools too quickly, set it on a saucepan over hot water to soften it, but if it gets sticky, return at once to the work counter.
• Toss in a small amount of powdered sugar to keep from sticking together. Repeat with the second pan of candy.

CHRISTMAS HARD CANDY

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook on medium-high heat until candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage), stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; stir in oil and food coloring, keeping face away from mixture as the scent of the oil is very strong. , Immediately pour onto an oiled baking sheet. Cool; break into pieces. Store in airtight containers.

CHRISTMAS HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Put a couple of LIGHTLY oiled and then wiped out, 10" frying pan (metal--not cast iron) in the freezer for 20 minutes or so before starting the candy (one for each batch).
• Put the confectioners sugar in a bowl and put on the table where you will be working with the candy.
• Put the Karo syrup, sugar, and water in a large saucepan; bring it to a boil and cook over medium heat till thermometer reaches 300F to 305F (hard crack stage).
• Immediately take off the stove and add the flavoring and the food coloring.
• Pour into the cold pans and wait till it starts to set; it will cool around the edges first.
• When it does, start picking up and snipping with scissors to desired size.
• Put into the confectioners sugar and leave there, tossing every so often, till you are done.
• When that particular flavor is done, put the candy in a sifter and sift the confectioners sugar off and put into a clean bowl; save this sugar for the next batch.
• AMOUNT OF OIL FLAVORING THAT I USE:.
• cinnamon--scant 1/2 teaspoon (deep red); lemon--full 1/2 teaspoon (yellow); anise--full 1/2 teaspoon (blue); lime--full 1/2 teaspoon (light green); spearmint--exactly 1/2 teaspoon (dark green); orange--full 1/2 teaspoon (medium orange); clove--level 1/4 teaspoon (this flavor is very strong--no color).

HARD CANDY ORNAMENTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place desired shaped cookie cutters onto a cookie tray lined with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the cutters with a nonstick spray. Place 3 to 8 hard candies (it varies with cutter sizes) inside the cookie cutter. Place a small cake decorating tip inside the cutters. This will allow you to have a hole for your ribbon when decorating.
• Place in oven for 6 minutes. Allow to cool. When cooled, crack the overflowing candy around the cutter. Being very gentle, pop out the candy. Place ribbons in holes and decorate.