The term "hard and crunchy candies" is reserved for candies whose predominant ingredient is cooked sugar. The best example of hard and crunchy candy is the rock candy, and people who want to start crafting candies usually begin making this sort first. This candy is also in the same category as mint twists, cinnamon heart pops, toffee, candy apples, glazed strawberries and lollipops.
For those of you who would like to know how to make one of these delicious candies I have put together a fairly simple recipe for mint twists, which is the most popular of the hard candies. Stock up on your sugar and let's get ready to make these delectable and sugary hard candies!
Making rock candy at home always begins with making the sugar syrup, and to make it, you need a candy thermometer because the sugar syrup needs to be heated to a specific temperature.
Mint twists are refreshing chewy candies with fun and cute striped appearance. To make these, we need 2 cups of granulated sugar, 1.5 cups of light corn syrup, 1 cup water, ? tsp peppermint extract and 3-4 drops of green food coloring.
Prepare two cookie trays by coating them with a nonstick cooking spray. Then, preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
Mix the sugar, corn syrup and water altogether in a large saucepan. Bring it to boil, while stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves.
Continue heating without stirring until candy reaches 260 degrees. At this moment, the mixture has reached the "hard-ball" stage.
Remove the mixture from heat immediately, and stir in the mint extract. Pour half of the mixture onto your cookie tray and place it in the preheated oven to keep it warm.
Add the green food coloring to the other half of the mixture. Pour onto a heat-safe cutting board and allow it to sit there for a few minutes until the color forms.
Using a heat-safe spatula, spread the candy out and then mix it back together. Finally work it across the board and allow it to cool.
When the candy has cooled enough, pull it in long thin strands, bring the strands together and then repeat it again. Twist and pull it until it has a satin-like finish and its color turns opaque. Pull it into a long rope about one inch thick. Place it back on the cookie tray and put it in the oven, having reduced the temperature to low.
Remove the uncolored candy from the oven and repeat the stretching and twisting process. Bring back the colored candy and twist the green and white strands together, barber-shop style, until they do not separate. (If the green is too hard that you cannot twist it together with the white strand, you may need to re-warm it but be carefully not to melt it.)
Finally, pull the twisted candy into long strips, about half inch in diameter, and cut it into pieces about 4 inches long. Allow them to cool completely before wrapping them individually!
This is a great treat for your kids and you can be sure they'll keep tagging at your skirt for more. I hope you enjoy making these candies as much as I do. They are great fun to make and your kids will love watching you produce these colorful and mouth-watering candy sensations.
Janine Rose Lumanag lives in the Philippines. She is a college graduate, and is passionate about researching and writing articles regarding a wide range of topics which are close to her heart. Janine has a unique talent for research and physical investigation, which results in articles that offer her readers a very honest, entertaining and personal view of the subject. Her love of candy and how to make it has always been a passion of hers, and she is currently writing a series of articles on this topic. If you want to more about making rock candy, visit our website at http://www.bestcandymakingsecrets.com/ for helpful tips and information about all aspects of candy making.
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