Do you know anyone that could use a little sunshine in their life? Perhaps you know someone that is a little under the weather or blue, or is going through some difficult times.
If you do, I have the perfect gift idea for you to brighten up their day!
Today’s candy is a very old recipe that I remember my mom making for Christmas. I have not made it for years, but ran across the recipe the other day and decided in honor of my mother that I would make this! It is a hard tack candy that you could actually use to make suckers with, but I just made it the way my mom used to. For those of you who do not know what Anise is, it is a black licorice type flavor.
So let’s make some Anise Candy! First you are going to put 3 cups sugar, 1 cup corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a large kettle. Bring to a boil.
You will let it boil to the hard crack stage. To test if it is at the hard crack stage, drizzle a small amount of the candy into a bowl of cold water, like this.
When the candy come out hard and brittle, it is at the crack stage, if it is soft and pliable you need to keep boiling it until you reach the crack stage. I tested my about 3 times, until I got it to where I wanted it. If you have a candy thermometer, you could also use that, you need to reach 300-310 degrees F, but I am showing you the good old fashioned way to test it! :)
When it gets to crack stage, add 1/2 tsp red food coloring and 1/2 tsp anise oil.
Pour out onto a buttered cookie sheet and let cool just a bit. (sorry about the flash spots in this picture, but the candy is so shiny that it just kept reflecting)
When slightly set, mark off in squares. (I actually do not remember my mother doing this, I remember her just using the handle of a butter knife and breaking it into pieces, but I have this step written in my recipe, so I tried it!)
After it has cooled off, break into pieces. Maybe this is why my mom just broke it with the handle of the knife, because it just kind of breaks into pieces! But it looks so pretty!
Put all those pieces into a bowl and look at how festive they are. They are also fun to add to plates of cookies or fudge etc to just add some bright color!
Here is the recipe:
Anise Candy
3 cups sugar
1 cup white syrup
1/2 cup water
Put in kettle and bring to a boil. Cook to crack stage.
add: 1/2 tsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp anise oil
Mix and pour into buttered cookie sheet. When slightly set, mark off in squares. Cool and then break into pieces.
I have a sweet friend, Deea, who started her blog, Sprinkle Some Sunshine, about the same time that I started mine. It is a cooking blog and she has some really great recipes! I got both of these recipes from her! These would be great for gifts, party treats, dinner place settings, or just as a snack! This first one is called Snowball Truffles. It is white chocolate and coconut and they are so delicious…like Heaven…I’m in Heaven! Go here for the recipe and a great tutorial on how to make them!
These next ones are Peanut Butter Balls. They are just as good as a peanut butter cup! These are two of my favorite flavors…peanut butter and chocolate. I think I have made some variations of these every year for Christmas. But these are so good and they are really easy to make and they look so festive with the sprinkles on top!
Go here for the recipe and tutorial on how to make them. Leave Deea a comment and tell her how much you love these recipes. She will love it!
I am still busy this week, cooking, shopping, wrapping, and trying to get everything ready for this weekend, so we can celebrate with our married kids. But I did spend the morning crafting and then lunch with friends. I have so much to be thankful for when it comes to great friends! I think that I have the best!
Are you ready for Christmas? It is going to be here before we know it!