Best Nanas Homemade Hard Candy Recipes

OLD FASHIONED HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Generously coat a cookie sheet with confectioners' sugar, and set aside.
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together the white sugar, water and corn syrup until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium-high and cook to a temperature of 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 the flavored oil and food coloring.
• Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet in a thin stream (this helps it cool). When the candy is cool enough for the outer edge to hold its shape, cut into bite size pieces with scissors. Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

NANA'S CREAM CANDY (PULLED TAFFY)

Steps:

• 1. Put all ingredients except the vanilla (or whatever flavor you use) and butter into a heavy sauce pan.
• 2. Bring your taffy to a boil over medium high heat. Let it keep on a boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees. This should take about 35-40 minutes. (if you put a bit of taffy on a spoon and run some cold water over the top it should look kind of stiff if it is ready to go..over cooking makes it hard to pull and under cooking makes it too sticky to pull)
• 3. Remove taffy from heat and add vanilla. Then add butter and stir until all the butter has melted.
• 4. Butter a cookie sheet and Pour the taffy onto the sheet (it should be a golden yellowish color)
• 5. Let taffy cool until it is cool enough to handle. Now pinch taffy on sheet into about 12 seperate sections. (little circlish shapes on the sheet)
• 6. When the candy is cool enough to pick up everyone gets a piece and it is time to start pulling and folding. Pull and stretch the taffy and then fold it into itself. pull and fold over and over until your taffy is a nice white color.
• 7. Now stretch these pieces into ropes and put on wax paper. Now break it into pieces and wrap in wax paper twisted at edges. (A grandma tip: hold rope in palm of your hand and tap it with the back end of a butter knife or similiar object. this should break the taffy easily.
• 8. Note: If adding food coloring to taffy add it at the same time you add the flavoring.

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.

OLD-FASHIONED MOLASSES CANDY

Steps:

• Grease a 15x10x1-in. pan with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium; cook until a candy thermometer reads 245° (firm-ball stage), stirring occasionally. , Add molasses and remaining butter. Cook, uncovered, until a candy thermometer reads 260° (hard-ball stage), stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Add baking soda; beat well., Pour into prepared pan. Let stand for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Butter fingers; quickly pull candy until firm by pliable (color will be light tan). When candy is ready for cutting, pull into a 1/2-in. rope. Cut into 1-in. pieces. Wrap each in waxed paper or colored candy wrappers.

HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Fill a 15x10x1-in. pan with confectioners' sugar to a depth of 1/2 in. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a continuous curved-line indentation in the sugar; set pan aside. , In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and continue cooking for 3 minutes to dissolve any sugar crystals., Uncover and cook on medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring if desired. , Carefully pour into a glass measuring cup. Working quickly, pour into prepared indentation in pan. Cover candy with confectioners' sugar. When candy is cool enough to handle, cut into pieces with a scissors. Store in a covered container.

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.