A few weeks back I was surprised by a fellow blogger, Sabrina of eat. drink. and be merry. She bestowed upon me a One Lovely Blog Award.
I was quite flattered by the honor because Sabrina has a great blog herself…lovely pictures and some fun recipes. Thanks, Sabrina! (More on the award later in this entry.)
Sabrina’s sweet gesture inspired me to make some homemade candy in one of my favorite flavors…cinnamon. This recipe uses cinnamon oil, which is available in many health food stores, but I was able to order it from Amazon. Be sure to get cinnamon oil that is food-safe.
Cinnamon Rock Candy
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds
cooking spray or butter
1 cup water
3 ¾ cups sugar
1 ¼ cup light corn syrup
1 ½ tsp red food coloring
2 tsp cinnamon oil
confectioners’ sugar
Line a 15x10x1 inch baking dish with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray or coat with butter; set aside. I just used a glass casserole dish.
In a large heavy pot (that has a lid), combine water, sugar, corn syrup, and food coloring.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Then, cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve sugar crystals. The lid will help capture some condensation on the sides of the pan and can prevent re-crystallization of the sugar. Otherwise, your candy could be gritty.
Uncover; cook on medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F (hard crack stage). It took me about 20 minutes, but don’t wander too far from the stove, you need to keep an eye on the mixture. Also, keep in mind this is really hot and if the hot sugar mixture touches your skin it will burn you.
Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the hot burner. Then, stir in the cinnamon oil. It is a really strong odor so don’t put your face directly over the pot.
Immediately pour into the lined and greased dish.
Let the candy cool completely, about 45 minutes. Break into pieces using the edge of a metal mallet. I started to get nervous about breaking the glass dish, so I wrapped the candy in wax paper and moved it a cutting board to keep pounding it with the mallet. Next time, I might try to score the candy with a knife (grease blade first, though) while it is still slightly soft to make it easier to break in pieces.
I recommend you sprinkle the candy with confectioners’ sugar and make sure both sides are lightly coated so the pieces will not stick together. Store in airtight container.
If you can keep from eating it all, this candy should last about 6 months.
Now, more about the One Lovely Blog Award…
Part of the fun of the award is sharing it with other bloggers. There are a few instructions that come with accepting this One Lovely Blog Award:
1. Post the award on your blog with the name of the person who bestowed it and include their blog link.
2. Share the love. Nominate 15 other bloggers, whose blogs who admire to receive this award.
3. Contact the blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.
I select…drumroll, please….
NOTE: I think that the logo for the One Lovely Blog Award is a bit feminine. I nominated several male bloggers, but I believe their blogs are worthy of recognition so I hope they aren’t put off by the rose-festooned logo. If they are, I apologize.
