My Great Aunt Pauline Winkler died two weeks ago. Aunt Pauline had no children, and she often referred to herself as Aunt Pauline even in the community (as in "Would you like an Aunt Pauline thump on the head?"). She wrote me a few letters and usually signed as APW - which is what I'll refer to her as here. This recipe is the first on this blog in her honor.
Honey candy is a pioneer day recipe. APW taught me how to make honey candy and I still love to do it. She made it available for almost every family function. At her funeral every speaker mentioned her honey candy. Her sister Shannon mentioned that she'd make over a hundred pounds of it every Christmas.
I remember that at one point APW was talking about making and selling honey candy as a family business, and that several of our families (those in the Winkler Clan) would go help make it while that was the plan. The company title was Bar UB - named ranch style after my Great randfather Ulrich Bernard Winkler. We were making it in the house he built. Anyhow, this is one of my favorite foods to make and eat and it's a big part of my heritage. Besides that, if I can ever get this down the way APW had it, I'll be very very popular.
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2 cups Sugar
1 cup Honey
1 cup Cream (half & half)
Powdered Sugar - enough to immerse candy chunks in a bowl
Butter - a cube works well
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Also needed: marble slab or non stick cookie sheet, wax paper or plastic wrap (I like wax paper better), sieve, candy thermometer, pastry brush, glass of water, large pot
Notes:
CAUTION: Molten candy can is just like molten glass: It looks like it's cool enough to handle when it's still hot enough to destroy your hand. Molten candy will stick to you! If this happens to you run the candy coated body part under cold water - the candy will harden so you can pull it off. I tend to get blisters whenever I make honey candy. BE CAREFUL.
CAUTION: Many people who eat too much honey candy in a short period of time have a tendency to get gas!
The whole process will take 2 or 3 hours. This candy must be pulled and could be difficult for those with weak arms/hands or shoulder problems.
Be sure to use a big enough pot. As the candy boils it expands a great deal and will easily overflow. Also, be careful to not let the ball on bottom of your thermometer touch the bottom of the pan, as this will make the temperature shown on the thermometer higher than the actual temperature of the candy.
A marble slab or granite counter top works best for candy making, but I don't have one so I went and bought a cheep non-stick cookie sheet. I turn it upside down because if you use it right side up it can be difficult to access the edges of the candy. A full sized sheet is perfect for one batch. If you make more than that the candy will run off. If you aren't using non stick cookie sheets be sure to use a sheet that's not very beat up, as the candy will try to stick in scratches.
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Combine everything but the powdered sugar in a pot. Stir till it's pretty consistent while over high heat. Stop stirring and pull out the pastry brush. Dip it in the water and use it to go around the edges of the pot periodically as the candy boils. This keeps the candy on the edges from crystallizing. Allow the candy to boil until it reaches the hard ball stage (around 260 degrees - don't let it get much higher or lower than that or your candy will be too hard or too soft).
While the candy is boiling, grease your marble slab or cookie sheet with the butter (I find that it works best to turn the sheet upside down). When the candy reaches the hard ball stage quickly pour it onto the cookie sheet (if it's upside down you'll want to do this more carefully, if it's right side up try to keep the candy away from the edges).
Let the candy cool. This is tricky. If the candy cools too long it will be difficult to pull. If it doesn't cool enough it will still be lava hot when you try to touch it AND IT WILL STICK TO YOU! SEE CAUTION ABOVE! The best way to check your candy to see if it's cool enough to pull is to gingerly touch the edge with a butter greased finger after 3 - 5 minutes. If the edge is cool enough to touch try testing a few inches towards the center, continue in this fashion until you reach the center. The center cools last, so you shouldn't ever ever every test it first. Capishe? Nod your head.
When the candy is cool it's time to pull. Grease your hands with butter. Apply it like lotion. This will prevent the candy from sticking to your hands. Gather the candy from the edges to the center so you have a lump of candy pick it up and pull it. It should be hot to the point of just under your pain threshold. It's ok to make ooh and ahh noises and throw the ball back and forth between hands like a hot potato or put it back on the tray for a moment while you adjust to the heat. When you really ARE ready, grip the candy mass in your finger tips thus: If you are right handed turn your left hand so that your fingers are under the candy and your thumb is on top, do the opposite with your right hand so that the fingers are on top and the thumb is underneath. Try the opposite if you are left handed. Pull the candy apart while twisting your hands so that your left hand's thumb is on the bottom and your right hand's thumb is on top (or the opposite of that if you are left handed). When you reach this point you should have been pulling the candy at a consistent rate until your hands are at least shoulder width apart and preferably more than that.
Pulling can be difficult to master the first few batches, but the important thing is to keep the candy in motion so that it doesn't get hard. It might be easier to start with if you make half a batch or if you divide the candy in half and let somebody else pull with you. This is a great 2 - 4 person activity, if you pull for a while and then pass the candy off to somebody else while you rest for a minute.
The candy is well pulled when it is getting stiffer and harder to pull AND is close to a creamy white color. If you aren't pulling the candy quickly enough it will still get stiff and hard to pull, but won't be the right color. That's ok, your candy will still be edible. Just pull as best you can until you think your candy is as done as it's going to get.
When you're done pulling, string the candy out on your slab or another cookie sheet so that it's a long string about the width of a finger or thumb. Snip small bite sized pieces off the end of the string and put them in the powdered sugar. When you've got 3-5 pieces in the sugar move them around so they get coated all the way around. Put your coated candy in the sieve and shake the excess powdered sugar off into another bowl. The candy is now ready to eat and/or wrap.
To wrap honey candy make 2-3 inch high squares of waxed paper or plastic wrap. I like waxed paper. Plastic wrap can sometimes be difficult to work with or get your candy out of. Turn a square so that the points are at the top and botom instead of the edges. place a piece of candy just above the bottom tip. Curl the tip up to the candy and roll the candy so that your waxed paper is now a tube pinch the tube at each side of the candy and twist enough to keep it together.
When you've wrapped as much candy as you're going to put it all in a gallon or half gallon ziplock bag. Honey candy is best stored in the freezer. After a few weeks to a month honey candy that is not in the freezer will crystallize. Crystallized honey candy doesn't taste bad and it won't make you sick (I think... I've eaten it and I'm fine). It's just got a funny texture.
