We were invited by some friends to see their Christmas lights in the country, so I thought I would bake them each a little individual "Crazy Good Bananna Bread", as listed in an earlier post. While it was baking, I decided I would make some hard candy on the stovetop, and while digging through my pots and pans, bam! A pot lid fell out of the cupboard and landed on my ceramic cooktop. Not only was there a starburst, but there was also a huge deep fault line making my largest burner sink in. It was devastating. What am I going to do? I guess that is where our Christmas bonus will go. Anyway, the light at the end of the tunnel popped out of the candy flavoring. There was a recipe for microwave candy. Whatttt!!! I don't have to stir over a hot oven while doing squats and taking the candy's temp? What do I have to lose by giving it a try? (just some cooking supplies) So, I went for it. I made a batch of green watermelon and a batch of red cinnamon. They turned out beautifully and they were fun to break (unlike my stove top). The cinnamon was crazy hot, so if you like it a little less intense, use less cinnamon flavoring. Here is the recipe if you want to try it.
Microwave Hard Candy.....
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 dram or 1/2 tsp LorAnn Gourmet Flavoring Oil (or as desired)
Liquid food coloring (as desired)
Powdered Sugar (optional)
Thoroughly mix granulated sugar and corn syrup. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Take out carefully remove plastic wrap (watch out for steam), and stir the sugar mixture. Cover with a new sheet of plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 more minutes. Remove from microwave and carefully remove the plastic wrap again (STEAM). Stir in 3 or 4 drops of desired food coloring, and then stir in your flavoring oil. Pour it onto a greased cookie sheet(score at once to mark squares). Let candy cool on counter (not fridge) until hardened then break apart like glass. Dust with powdered sugar to keep from sticking. The directions said cook on high for 3 min 10 sec each time, but I didn't want to burn it so I only did 3 minutes each time and it turned out lovely.
The real life product is pictured at the top of this post.
My real life stove top is pictured underneath. Yes, it looks dirty, but don't judge, I don't want to cut myself cleaning it.
How long does it take to set up
ReplyDeleteIt only takes about 5-10 minutes. Make sure you score it while it is still soft because it hardens fast. You can tell when it is ready to break by starting with the outer edges and trying to break a piece off. The middle usually takes a couple minutes longer to set. Try it though Dottie. It is so easy, and it will be wonderful.
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