Email to Aunt Saunny      

Ribbon Candy

Source of Recipe

"Nana" to Bubbe & Alex

3 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
6 -8 drops peppermint oil or cinnamon oil
1/4 teaspoon red paste food coloring
1/4 teaspoon green paste food coloring

2 pairs white cotton work gloves

Butter 3 shallow baking pans; set aside. Butter sides of 3-qt saucepan.
In saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, & water. Cook over med.-high
heat to boiling, stirring constantly with wooden spoon to dissolve
sugar, about 5 min. Avoid splashing mixture on sides of pan. Carefully
clip candy thermometer to side of pan. Cook over med. heat, stirring
occasionally, until thermometer registers 2800, soft-crack stage, about
20 min. Remove from heat; stir in peppermint or cinnamon oil.

Pour about 2/3s of the mixture into a buttered pan. Pour half of the
remaining candy into a warm small saucepan. Add red coloring to this
portion and pour into another buttered pan. Add green coloring to the
remaining portion in the 3-qt saucepan. Pour in remaining buttered pan.

Let candy cool slightly, 3-5 min. for larger, uncolored portion, 1-2
min for smaller, red & green portions. As edges cool, lift & fold edges
to center with metal spatula. (If candy is too warm, it will stick to
spatula.) When red & green candy can be rolled into balls with spatula,
they are ready for shaping.

With gloved hands, pull and twist red candy until light in color, 2-3
min. Shape into 6: rope. Place in 1 of the buttered pans & keep warm in
2000 oven. Repeat with green portion. At the same time, have the 2nd
person pull uncolored portion until white. Shape into 6" rope.

Place white rope in center of 1 of the buttered baking sheets; place 1
colored rope on each side of white rope. Press all 3 ropes together to
form a single flat log. Working quickly, have 1 person stretch 1 end of
striped candy, log lengthwise, working to other end until ribbon
narrows to about 1" wide. Have 2nd person immediately follow 1st
person & turn ribbon onto 1 edge & fold accordion-style to make ribbon
shape; break off in 6" lengths. If candy hardens too much, return to
oven 3-5 min to soften.

Yield: 2 pounds.

NOTES : It takes 2 people to pull & shape this candy; it hardens very
quickly!