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Aunt
Bill's Brown Sugar Candy
Ingredients
- 3 pints white sugar
- 1 pint whole milk or
cream
- 1/4 pound butter
- 1/4 teaspoon soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pound nutmeats (I
use pecans, but you can use your favorite nutmeat)
Method
You will find it much
easier to manage if two of you are able to make it together.
First:
Pour one pint of sugar into a heavy aluminum iron skillet and place it
over low heat. Begin stirring with a wooden spoon and keep the sugar
moving so that it will not scorch. It will take approximately thirty
minutes to completely melt this sugar, and at no time let it smoke or cook
so fast that it turns dark. It should be about the color of light brown
sugar syrup. As soon as you have the sugar started to heat in the skillet,
pour the remaining two pints of sugar together with the pint of milk or
cream into a deep heavy kettle and set it over a low heat to cook along
slowly while you are melting the sugar in the skillet. As soon as all the
sugar is melted, begin pouring it into the kettle of boiling milk and
sugar, keeping it on very low heat and stirring constantly. Now the real
secret of mixing these ingredients is to pour a very fine stream from the
skillet. Aunt Bill always said to pour a stream no larger than a knitting
needle and to stir across the bottom of the kettle all the time. Continue
cooking and stirring until the mixture forms a firm ball when dropped into
cold water. After this test is made, turn off the heat and immediately add
the soda, stirring vigorously as it foams up. As soon as the soda is mixed
in, then add the butter, allowing it to melt as you stir. Now set off the
stove, but not outdoors or in a cold place, for about 20 minutes, then add
the vanilla and begin beating. Use a wooden spoon and beat until the
mixture is thick and heavy, having a dull appearance instead of a glossy
sheen. Add the broken or coarsely chopped nuts and mix thoroughly. Turn
into buttered square pans where it may be cut into squares when cooled
slightly. This creamy confection is delicious and stays moist
indefinitely. Very attractive when decorated with a sprig of holly,
candied cherries and pecan halves.
Submitted by: Lora
McHenry
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