Real Candy Canes Recipes

HOMEMADE CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Grease two baking sheets with butter; set aside. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 280° (soft-crack stage)., Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring. Immediately pour onto prepared pans in eight 8-in. strips. Let stand just until cool enough to handle, about 1-2 minutes., Working quickly, roll each strip into a 10-in. log. Cut each into two 5-in. lengths. Curve the top of each to form the handle of a cane. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Before you begin this recipe, please take a class from a professional on working with sugar. This is a skill that professional pastry chefs develop after years of experience. Working with sugar will burn your fingers so know before you start that your fingers will develop burn blisters. Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until the sugar reaches 320 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks or the sugar may recrystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean. Pour the cooked sugar onto 3 or 4 silicone baking mats. If you want to color and/or flavor the sugar with food colors and/or flavored oils, this is the time to do so. Add a few drops of color to the sugar. Mix with a wooden skewer. To get started, push the sugar from the sides toward the center. This process takes a little while. Try to keep the sugar divided by color. Use the mat to push the firm sugar around the edges toward the center. Use a folding motion to accomplish that task. The next step is to pick up the sugar with your hands. Place each color under the heat of the sugar lamp. Pull the sugar until it becomes glossy and the color is evenly distributed. You will need to pull the colors simultaneously. Keep them under the sugar lamp but keep an eye on them. The lamp can melt the sugar so it is important keep rotating it and folding it onto itself.
• Start with 2 pieces of colored sugar. I used red and green. Pull them into a rectangular shape that is about 1 1/2-inches wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick. Place the pieces side-to-side and let them stick together on the long side. Place a piece of white sugar that is about 1/2-inch wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick in the middle. Close the red and green around it. Roll it and twist it while pulling it. When it gets to the desired thickness, use a scissor to cut the length and shape into a cane. Allow to cool completely. The white is inside and will become apparent when eaten.
• Jacques? tips: Vinegar keeps the sugar from crystallizing. You will not taste the flavor. It serves as an acid in this recipe. Sometimes candy cane recipes contain corn syrup, which makes the sugar very dry and very hot. Adding corn syrup makes it more difficult to work with the sugar at home. Remember, the sugar is at 320 degrees F, and that will burn you. The ideal work surface is a silpat placed over cool marble or granite. If you do not have marble or stone, use wood. It is a good idea to use gloves to help protect your hands from the heat and to prevent burning.
• I use a special sugar box that includes a special heat source, If you don?t have one, you can work in front of the oven. Set the oven to 300 degrees F. Open the oven door and place the silpat on the oven door. It provides a similar effect to the sugar box heater.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

Steps:

• Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Stir together peppermint candy and 2 tablespoon sugar; set aside.
• For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.
• Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

REAL CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place a cookie sheet with a small silpat on the top rack inside the oven.
• For two or more colors, stagger the cookery by 15 or 20 minutes to make the process of forming the sugar syrup into a workable mass easier.
• In a two-quart non-reactive saucepan, stir together the sugar, water, and vinegar.
• Place the saucepan over medium high heat and insert a candy thermometer.
• Bring the sugar syrup to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
• It will be necessary to keep the inside of the saucepan clean while the sugar melts and cooks.
• To do this, dip a clean pastry brush in cold water, then brush the inside of the pot just over the syrup line to keep crystals from forming.
• When the syrup is a couple of degrees from the desired temperature, carefully add the flavoring.
• Immediately transfer the syrup to a silpat pastry mat by pouring slowly onto the surface.
• Add the food color to the syrup and swirl with a wooden skewer to blend it into the sugar syrup.
• Do this very carefully and do not touch the syrup.
• It will remain VERY hot for quite some time.
• To keep the syrup from running off the mat as it begins to cool, gently lift the mat from the sides to keep the syrup contained.
• As the syrup cools, it will become malleable along the sides.
• As it does this and using the silpat mat as a tool, fold the syrup onto itself toward the center of the pool.
• Continue to do this until a soft mound results.
• When the hardened syrup can be handled, gently knead and pull the sugar until it becomes glossy.
• This will also incorporate the color throughout the mass.
• Transfer the soft candy to the oven to keep it warm.
• Keep an eye on it and keep rotating the sugar and the tray to keep the temperature consistent.
• For the second color, repeat the process as above after the first 15 minutes of cookery.
• Place the two or more colors enough apart so they do not touch each other.
• To make a candy cane, carefully pull a small amount from each color, about an ounce, and cut with a scissors.
• Form each color into a one-inch by three-inch rectangle.
• Place each piece on top of each other.
• Working on another silpat mat on another sheet tray placed over the open oven door, roll the sugar until it is round and apply a small amount of pressure while doing this.
• It is important to keep the sugar warm and slightly soft while you do this.
• Gently twist and pull the sugar to begin the candy cane then continue to roll in the same manner.
• Repeat this process until the candy "rope" is eight to ten inches long.
• Carefully transfer the rope to another silpat on a work surface.
• Shape one end of the rope to finish the candy cane.
• Let cool up to 30 minutes.
• This can also be done on a lightly butter smooth marble or stone surface.
• Repeat procedure for each candy cane.
• It is important to maintain the warm and soft texture of the sugar at all times when making the candy canes.
• This will take some practice both with the process of making the candy canes and finding the best way to keep the heat consistent.
• When the candy canes are hardened, they can be held up to three days if kept in an airtight container.
• Parchment or wax paper works well once cooled and ready for storage in the containers.