To make maple syrup snow candy (also known as snow taffy or maple syrup taffy) all you need are two things: pure maple syrup and clean, fresh snow! Using PURE maple syrup is really important – no fake stuff!
Maple syrup snow candy is candy in its simplest form. It’s made by pouring boiling maple syrup on a clean bed of snow. The cold snow instantly stops the syrup from cooking, and cools it to the consistency of taffy in seconds.
Ingredients & Supplies
- bed of clean snow
- Lincoln County Reserve 100% Pure Maple Syrup (see note below for amount)
- wooden popsicle sticks
- clean, fresh snow
- sauce pan or a small pot
- candy thermometer
- baking sheet (if making your candy indoors)
How much 100% Pure Maple Syrup do you need to make Maple Syrup Candy?
Many recipes call for 2 cups of maple syrup, but that is a LOT of syrup. If you only want to make a few pieces of candy, use 1/4 cup, which yields about 2 maple syrup candy pops and a couple of individual pieces of maple candy.
Preparing snow to make snow candy
If you’ll be making your candy outdoors, pack down an area of snow. You want this area to be very firm so it holds the hot syrup. Alternatively, you could fill a platter or a baking sheet with a layer of packed down snow. If you’re working inside, you’ll need to use the platter or baking sheet.
Directions
- Pour your syrup into a small pot and heat until boiling. Once boiling, the syrup will start to bubble. Using a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature, continue to boil the syrup until it reaches the “soft ball” stage (235-240° F). If you pass the soft ball stage, don’t worry. Your candy will just be more crunchy than chewy.
- Remove the pot from the heat and pour your syrup in lines on the snow. BE CAREFUL. The syrup is VERY hot!
- Press a craft/popsicle stick into the syrup and then as the syrup is cooling, roll it up around the stick.
You can also pour small puddles of syrup on the snow to make individual pieces of candy.
Source: Happy Hooligans