Devine Divinity

 

4 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup water

3 eggwhites

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

1 cup nuts or

1 cup crushed mint candy canes or

1 cup chopped marachino cherries

 

 

Stir sugar, corn syrup and water over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  (Use 1 tablespoon less water on a real humid day)

Cook, without stirring to 260 degree's on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball-hard like a candy sucker.

 

In Mixer bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Continue beating the egg whites while pouring the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites.  Add the vanilla and continue beating until the mixture holds it's shape and becomes slightly dull.  Mixture will be shiney when first mixed.  FYI.  Use a heavy duty mixer or a professional grade mixer.  Keep tabs that the motor does not overheat.  Patience is the key.  It takes a long time to cool the mixture so that the sugars recrystalize in a creamy state.  Over beating will cause the divinity to be too hard.  Fold in the nuts, or crushed candy canes, or marachino cherries.  Drop the mixture from the tip of a buttered spoon onto waxed paper or put in a 9 by 13 buttered pan.  Press down with another piece of waxed paper.  Cut in squares and take out of the pan while still barely warm.  Otherwise it may get too firm to cut.

 

Makes about 6 dozen candies.

 

Seems like a lot of work, but the success is worth it.  The key is finding the right time that the candy goes from shiney to dull.  Have an "assistant" with you so that you can spoon the candy quickly or the last of it, may get too hard and not look pretty.