Recipe - Santas Candy Canes

Candy thermometer
2 cup Sugar
One half cup Light corn syrup
One half cup Water
One fourth teaspoon Cream of tartar
Three fourths teaspoon Peppermint extract
1 teaspoon Red food coloring

This recipe makes about half a dozen mediumsized canes. Mix the sugar,
corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar in a large, heavybottomed saucepan.
Stir until the sugar dissolves. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture,
and cook "without stirring" until the thermometer reaches 265 deg. Turn off
the heat and add the peppermint extract. Divide the mixture in half by
carefully pouring part of it into another pan. Add the red food coloring to
one of the pans. While waiting for the candy to cool, grease three cookie
sheets (two as working space, and the third to provide a nonstick surface
for the canes to cool). Butter your hands, and use a buttered spatula to
cut off a portion of one of the clear taffy. Have a helper do the same with
the red taffy. Pull and fold the pieces repeatedly on your cookie sheet
until they appear glossy, then roll them into an 8inch long coil. Give the
head of the cane a twist before setting it aside to cool on the third
greased cookie sheet. NOTE: Most candy thermometers have a clip. Clip your
thermometer to the side of the saucepan so that it dips into your candy
without touching the bottom of the pan. If it does touch the bottom, then
it will register a temperature higher than the actual temperature of the
candy. (Of course, your thermometer may be different; read the instructions
carefully. ) If your taffy isn't heated to 265 deg, then it won't solidify
when it cools. Be creative! Substitute green food coloring for red and make
green and white canes. Of course, be "very careful" when handling the hot
taffy.

busted by sooz
Posted to recipeludigest Volume 01 Number 229 by James and Susan Kirkland
kirkland@gj.net on Nov 09, 1997