How to Make Peppermint Candy Baskets
In addition to being a deliciously fun way to present other candies or foods, peppermint candy baskets are also easy to customize with regards to color and shape. However, you must remember to work quickly since there is a small window between the time when the candy is cool enough to handle and so cool that it cannot be shaped any further. Additionally, remember to store finished peppermint candy baskets in a cool, dry place to avoid melting and stickiness. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 3 cups granulated white sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- Peppermint flavoring
- Food coloring
- Butter
- Waxed paper
- Sauce pans (one per color of candy)
- Plastic or silicone spoons
- Candy thermometer (optional)
Instructions
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1
Combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar in one saucepan, and heat until the sugar has dissolved finely.
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2
Divide the heated mixture into separate sauce pans, one for each color. For example, if you want to make traditional red and white striped peppermint baskets, you will divide the mixture into two sauce pans--one for red and one for white.
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3
Continue to heat the mixture in the separate pans, without stirring, until the candy reaches 280 degrees Farenheit, or the soft-crack stage.
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4
Add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint flavoring to each pan, along with the desired colors of food coloring (for white, do not add any food coloring).
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5
Remove the candy from the heat heat and allow it to cool for just a few minutes. While the candy is cooling, prepare a place for the baskets to cool by laying down waxed paper.
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6
Butter your hands and begin to pull the candy. To create stripes with different colors, form each color into a long, thin roll, and then twist them together. Create small, flat, round discs for basket bottoms, and then use stacked rolls of candy or flat pieces molded together to form the sides of the basket, finishing with a rolled handle looped over the top.
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7
Set completed baskets onto waxed paper and allow to cool and harden completely before moving.
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