Hard candy isn't hard

You know what we don't talk about enough on this blog? Candy! Would you like to make some festive hard candy to share with everyone you bump into? (Why do you keep bumping into people?) Have you ever seen these little bottles at your local craft store?

These are the oils you are looking for!

Right now our house has the incredible smell of cinnamon. I wasn't even trying to hide any other odor! What do you say? Are you in for a candy making adventure? Sure you are! Gather up your supplies:
1 cup water
3 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp food coloring (if desired)
one dram (aka, those little bottles) of flavor oil confectioner's sugar for dusting

Here is what you do:
Line a 15x10 pan with lightly buttered foil.

Bring water, sugar, corn syrup and food coloring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. 

(no comment)

Once it boils, cover and cook for three minutes to dissolve sugar. Uncover and cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees (fahrenheit).

The last fifty degrees or so seem to take a long time.

You'd probably like to know about how long you can expect this to take. I would as well, but unfortunately have yet to actually pay attention/remember and/or write such a thing down.

When the magical 300 degrees have been reached, remove pan from heat and carefully stir in the oil. Avoid the steam, and do not to inhale the vapors or get them in your eyes. Really, use a long spoon and keep your distance. Pour the hot mixture into the prepared pan-with the pan facing away from you. Hot, hot, hot!

So smooth and shiny!

Let the pan of candy sit for at least an hour. The pan you cooked in will look like a frightful mess, but with really cool sugar threads from the spoon.

No magic color change, this is not a cinnamon photo.

The cleanup is not scary at all and just water does the trick to dissolve all of the candy bits. Now before you get out the day's frustrations, sprinkle the surface of the candy with confectioner's sugar. Then get crackin'! I use a butter knife because I am not fancy.

Sprinkle some more confectioner's sugar around to keep the candy from sticking to itself. You don't want pieces that are too big, as they are unruly to try to eat.

I like to make green wintergreen and clear peppermint to go with the red cinnamon. I think they look really pretty packaged together in either plastic treat bags or small mason jars. Just red looks nice too, (especially when it is the only kind made).I mean they are tasty as well, but sometimes there are a lot of points for presentation. 

Here are the other colors from some other year...

This went a LONG way! I tied up over forty little bags that year.

Any questions? They will be attributed to poor explaining on my part, as opposed to any deficit on your part!