Old Fashioned Hard Candy
Years ago, while making our Christmas gift lists for others, my eldest daughter suggested a great gift for her grandmother who loved creating stained glass artwork--a gigantic jar of jaggedy, colorful pieces of old fashioned hard candy. Back then, it was kind of difficult to find flavoring oils, but now it's easier. It comes in so many flavors, from almond to wintergreen (though I've never been brave enough to try pomengranate or guava flavor) that we can make a couple of batches every day, right up through Christmas eve, and never repeat flavors. They're so gorgeous as a centerpiece during the holiday season. I keep a basket of cellophane treat bags nearby to fill for friends and neighbors who stop by during the season. Every day, the house is alive with a delicious new flavor. Right now, it's cinnamon.
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
¾ cup water
1 dram LorAnn super-strength flavoring (1tsp.*)
Food coloring
Powdered sugar
Make sure everything is prepared ahead of time, because once you start, you don't want to stop!
Line a cookie sheet or pan with heavy foil and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a 2-quart saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium to medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to bubble.
Once the mixture starts bubbling, stop stirring. Insert candy thermometer. Make sure it doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.
Boil the mixture, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 260º F
Add food coloring, whatever color(s) you want to match the flavor of the candy. Do not stir; the boiling action will do the mixing.
As soon as the thermometer hits 300° F, take it off of the heat immediately. Wait until the bubbling stops, and then add the flavoring oil. BE CAREFUL! Some of the flavors, especially the oils like cinnamon, wintergreen, peppermint, etc., will burn your skin if the steam hits your face. They're very strong! Make sure the boiling has completely stopped, put the oil in, then stand back for a few seconds before you stir it.
After you have stirred the flavoring in, pour the very, very hot candy onto the prepared cookie sheets. Do NOT drip any on your skin! This stuff is like napalm and will keep burning through!
Don't refrigerate it. Leave it sit to cool until hard.
Then comes the fun part! Using the heavy end of a butter knife or other clean, sturdy tool, crack the candy into bite-sized pieces. It helps if you life the foil off of the cookie sheet a bit. Use caution. The pieces can be quite sharp, and, if you have too much fun breaking them, they can fly into your face. No one wants that.
Once the pieces are broken up, put a little bit of powdered sugar (about a teaspoon or two per batch) in a sturdy (not glass) container, like a clean, dry pot or storage container, and add the candy pieces, shaking or stirring to coat them with the powdered sugar. Then, put them in a clear glass jar for holiday display and yumminess.