In between all the goodies I had to make for my dad's 50th birthday party, I ran out of time to get this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie recipe made. The granola grabbers caught my attention when I first got the book so I'll try to fit them in soon.
While I was making a batch of Christine's Absolutely Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies for the party, my youngest sister called and asked me to make some divinity as well. As a good Southern gal, I've always loved me some divinity. Divinity is a meringue type candy confection made of sugar, cor syrup, water, and egg whites. For as long as I can remember, I watched my memaw and my mom make divinity for holidays, especially Christmas. When I was old enough, I joined in the candy making.
Like all candy making, divinity is not without its pains. You have to continuously stir the sugar mixture until the sugar dissolves. It sets up quickly, so you have to move fast to get all of the little dollops out. And the biggest one...if it is humid...well you might as well forget it because its not going to set up without a fight. That's the one that nearly got me last week. It was almost too humid. But my sister begged (my mom too actually) so I made it anyway.
The recipe I used, is the one that has been in my family for generations. Its quite delicious and customizable. I love to eat it plain with just pecans mixed in but we've been known to add different flavors. It is particularly good with the addition of a few teaspoons of strawberry jello packet added in after the sugar is dissolved. You can also get creative with the dollops as you drop them out. I usually stick with the two spoon drop method but I've seen others manage a nice twirl. I'm usually too worried about getting them all out before it sets up in the bowl to get too creative!
Because my sister can't have nuts, I made half of the batch plain for her and the rest with pecans. Needless to say, she ate it up! The rest of us quite enjoyed our half and there was very little left over (just enough bites for me to take out and nibble)!
Divinity
2 2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water (use 1 Tbsp. less on humid days)
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 c. broken nuts (I always use pecans, this is Texas after all)
Heat sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved.
Cook without stirring to 260℉ on a candy thermometer or until a small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball. Remove from heat.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; continue beating while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites. Add vanilla; beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull (mixture may become too stiff for mixer). Fold in nuts. Drop mixture from the tip of a buttered spoon onto waxed paper.
Makes about 4 dozen candies.
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3 Treats for Charlie:
That looks simple, yet delicious. But is it chewy or crunchy? Or does that just depend upon humidity levels?
megan- it's pretty chewy at first. The longer it sets, the less chewy it becomes. It doesn't really get crunchy until it has been around for a few days. It never seems to last that long in my family!
The humidity seems to affect it mostly by keeping it sticky instead of firming up. Kind of like marshmellows before being rolled in cornstarch/powdered sugar.
I can kind of feel them melting in my mouth... mmmm
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