There are so many yummy recipes to make at this time of year, but one I have never thought of making on my own is candy canes. They are just an accessory you buy at the store to garnish the other goodies you made, right? But with only 6 ingredients–many of which you probably have in your pantry–homemade candy canes are a unique and frugal way to dress up your holiday table. Come take a tour with me to see how it’s done.
Supplies:
- Candy Thermometer {One that will get up to 265 degrees}
- 2 Cups of Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Light Corn Syrup
- 1/2 Cup of Water
- 1/4 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
- 3/4 Teaspoon of Peppermint Extract
- 1 Teaspoon of Red Food Coloring
- Cookie Sheet
- Butter {To grease hands/pans}
- Knife/Spatula
Directions:
Mix sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar in a saucepan. Make sure you stir it well so all the sugar gets mixed in.
Cook the mixture until it reaches 265 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not stir while it’s cooking. Take the pan off the heat, and stir in the peppermint extract. Y’all know how much I love coconut, so I happened to use coconut extract instead! I’m just wild and crazy like that. 
{And it may or may not have had something to do with me accidentally “misplacing” the peppermint extract I bought. *Ahem.*}
Put half the mixture in one bowl, and stir in the red food coloring. Or match the color to your other decorations. I thought about using turquoise at first, but decided I’d stick with traditional red.
Grease some cookie sheets while you’re letting the candy mixture cool enough to handle it. I sneaked a taste while it was cooling, and it tasted like cotton candy!
Now’s the time to grab a buddy, because you’ll want to work fast to make sure the sugar doesn’t get too hard before you have shaped your candy canes! Just take the white mixture from the bowl, pull and roll it out lengthwise on the cookie sheet until it’s about 18-inches long and nice and glossy. {Don’t roll it like cookie dough. Roll it long and skinny like a rope. Whatever size you want your candy cane to be.} Do the same with the red piece. Then twist them together, cut them to the length you want, and form the cane shape at the top. Place them on the greased cookie sheet, and let them dry overnight.
In the morning, you can serve with some of Amy’s Cinnamon Rolls, and a piping-hot cup of Lynn’s Coconut Tres Leches Hot Chocolate and Homemade Chocolate Whipped Cream. You might even print out the history of the candy cane so your guests can buff up on their trivia while they oooh and aaah over your handiwork. Just don’t make these if you’re a perfectionist! They are like snowflakes…Every one is different!
Stay tuned in the next week or so, because I’ll be showcasing different candy cane recipes! Here’s a preview of what I’ll be making:
- Chocolate Candy Cane Muffins
- Candy Cane Brownie Lollipops
- Candy Cane Cookies
And don’t forget! Tomorrow, Kaley is all set to talk about Christmas traditions as the next piece in our Beautiful Christmas (on a budget) series, so head on over to Cha-Ching on a Shoestring! If you missed Sharon’s post on holiday decorating yesterday, go take a look at Good, True & Beautiful. Thursday, Beckie from Infarrantly Creative will chat with us about homemade gifts. And Friday, you get to share what you’ve been working on with a linky over at Cha-Ching on a Shoestring!
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
AMAZING! Oh how I would love to take a big ol’ sip of that mug of hot chocolate while reading about the history of the candy cane. =)
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Frugal Femina Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Thanks! I thought they turned out pretty cute. They’re rustic.
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Sharon Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 8:58 am
a “snazzy” kind of rustic though…!
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That is TOO COOL!
I was needing to come up with a neat, simple treat to gift the nursery workers at my church… this will be a perfect addition to the Mom’s Group basket.
I’ll be back next week to see more. THANKS!
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Frugal Femina Reply:
December 8th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Thanks, Sharon! I’m glad I tried it.
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By the way, The Coupon Crate is featuring this article in their e-mail newsletter tomorrow, so sign up at http://thecouponcrate.com/ if you’d like to get a copy.
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Hi!
WOW! Homemade Candy Canes! I didn’t even think you could make them yourself. Thanks for sharing! Have a great day!
Sherrie
A View of My Life
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I didn’t think you could make candy canes yourself either! Yummy!
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That is too cool!! I think they would look great in white and turquise!!
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Oh I can’t wait to try this out. They look delicious!
vickie
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These are really cute. How creative.
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What a great recipe. They are so pretty, as well. Good job! Thanks for sharing the recipe and linking to TMTT.
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Love love love how they turned out!! So pretty and you’re making me drool with the pics – LOL! That hot chocolate sounds fantastic too! And yay – more candy cane stuff coming up! Great job Katie!!
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Yumm!!! Thanks for all the other links, too. Everything looks so yummy!
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so tasty
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So you roll out all of the white at once, and then all the red at once? Then cut them to size and twist together? I can see a whole army of red and white, AND turquoise and white ones together!
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Frugal Femina Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Hey, Beth,
Really, it’s ideal if you have someone else rolling out one color while you’re rolling out one. It dries *really* fast. It’s kind of like taffy. I don’t think it matters if you twist/cut or cut/twist first.
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OH! I get it! Not rolled out like cookie dough. Rolled out skinny and long. I can see where twisting to start makes things quick and easy. Thank you for clearing it up for my slow little mind!
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Frugal Femina Reply:
December 9th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Yes, there you go! I should probably clarify. Thanks!
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What an inventive idea!
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What a brilliant idea! I would never have thought of trying to make candy canes
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Frugal Femina Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thank you! It took me a while to think of what I wanted to do for our Beautiful Christmas series.
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I haven’t been brave enough to take on candy canes yet this year – but yours turned out so pretty I may go ahead, and give it a try!
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