Broken Glass Candy recipe

• confectioners sugar
  3 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  1 1/4 cups light Karo syrup
  1 cup water
  Food coloring
  1 teaspoon oil flavoring (available at pharmacy
      in flavors such as cinnamon, anise,
      wintergreen, spearmint, lime)

Sprinkle confectioners sugar on 2 (15 x 11-inch) cookie sheets.

Combine sugar, Karo syrup and water in heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup reaches 290 degrees F on candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and add food coloring to desired intensity and the desired oil flavoring. Pour onto cookie sheets, cool and break into small pieces.

Makes 2 1/4 pounds.

Butterscotch Candy recipe

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
  1/4 cup light corn syrup
  1 cup water
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/3 cup butter
  1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put sugar, corn syrup, water and salt into saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and cook until thermometer registers 250 degrees F, firm ball stage. Add butter; cook with occasional stirring until thermometer registers 300 degrees F (brittle stage). Remove from stove; add vanilla extract; pour into buttered shallow pan, making a layer 1/4 inch deep. While warm, crease into squares with a blunt knife. When cold, break into pieces.

Toy Candies recipe

• 2 cups granulated sugar
  2/3 cup light corn syrup
  1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  2/3 cup water
  Few drops food coloring
  1 teaspoon oil of peppermint or spearmint extract (optional)

Oil molds with olive or vegetable oil. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, and water together in a deep saucepan. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir the mixture during cooking. Place a candy thermometer in the syrup and boil until it reaches 290 degrees F.

Add the food coloring and any flavoring. Remove from heat and pour into molds. Do not scrape the sides of the pan or you will get sugar crystals in the candies. If you pour it into flat pans, score it before it cools or break into pieces after it is dry. Store in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.

Makes about 1 1/2 pounds.

Horehound Candy recipe

• 1 1/4 cups water
  2 cups fresh horehound leaves or 1 cup dried horehound
  4 cups packed brown sugar
  1/4 cup light corn syrup

Put the water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, add the horehound, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture stand for 1 hour to infuse. Strain the liquid and discard the horehound. Add the sugar and the corn syrup to the liquid, and boil it to the hard-crack stage — 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Pour the syrup into a buttered 12 x 8-inch pan. When the candy begins to set, mark it into squares with the tip of a sharp knife. Cut the candy into pieces when cold.

Old-Fashioned Hard Candy recipe

• 2 cups granulated sugar
  1 cup water
  2/3 cup light corn syrup
  1 teaspoon oil flavoring*
  Food coloring as desired
  Confectioners sugar

* Oil flavoring can be purchased at drugstore or baking supply shop.

Mix sugar, water and syrup until sugar is dissolved. Boil on medium heat to 300 degrees F or hard ball stage.

Remove from heat. Add flavoring and food coloring and mix well. Odor will be extremely strong at this time, so prepare in well-ventilated kitchen. Pour in streams onto cookie sheet which has been very generously covered with confectioners sugar. Make little ditches of confectioners sugar so the candy does not spread too much. Sift more confectioners sugar on top of candy streams. Cut with scissors into bite-size pieces as it begins to cool and outer edge will hold its shape. Do not wait until it is completely cooled, because it becomes hard and impossible to cut.

Yields 1 pound

Licorice Drops recipe

• 1 cup granulated sugar
  1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  1/4 cup water
  1/4 cup light corn syrup
  1 tablespoon black food coloring
  1/4 teaspoon anise extract

Put the sugars, water and corn syrup into a saucepan over medium heat; stir. When the batch has boiled for the first time, wash the sugar crystals down from the sides of the saucepan. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan, and cook without further stirring to soft-crack stage — 290 degrees F on candy thermometer.

Remove saucepan from heat, and add food coloring and anise flavoring; stir them in gently. With a teaspoon, drop round patties about the size of quarters onto a greased baking sheet. If the candy in the pot gets too firm for spooning, reheat it gently until it softens. Cool the drops completely by placing the sheet near an open window or in a cool room, but NOT in the refrigerator, or the pieces will stick. Soon the drops will be firm and will come off the sheet easily. Wrap drops individually in wax paper or cellophane.

Molasses Candy (Melcocha) recipe

• 1 cup panocha
  2 cups molasses
  2 1/2 tablespoons butter
  1 tablespoon vinegar
  1 teaspoon aniseed

Mix all ingredients except the aniseed; cook slowly until sugar is dissolved. Next, boil until it is brittle when dropped into cold water.

Pour onto a buttered platter, then sprinkle with aniseed. Cool and pull until stiff and light. Twist into sticks and flatten at each end.

Old-Fashioned Butterscotch recipe

• 2 cups granulated sugar
  2/3 cup heavy cream
  2/3 cup water
  Pinch of cream of tartar
  6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place sugar in a saucepan; add cream and water, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add a pinch of cream of tartar, place over medium heat and boil the mixture very slowly until it reaches the soft-ball stage — 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Add the butter and boil the mixture until it reaches the soft-crack stage — 280 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a deep, buttered 7-inch square pan. When the butterscotch is nearly cold, use the point of a buttered or oiled knife to mark it into bars or squares. When the butterscotch is quite cold and set. Break it up, wrap each piece in wax paper, and keep the candy in an airtight container.

Checking Your Candy Thermometer recipe

Most hard candies are made of sugar syrups and require the use of a candy thermometer. Before making the candy, check your candy thermometer for accuracy by placing it in water and bringing the water to a boil. The thermometer should register 212 degrees F (100 degrees C). If the reading is higher or lower, take the difference into account when testing the temperature of a syrup.