Good gifts are on the menu
MAKES 12 OUNCES (340 G)
Got someone with a sweet tooth on your holiday shopping list? There are some delicious ideas that you can cook up in a pinch. From salty caramel sauce to Hokey Pokey, at left, we have you covered.
It’s otherwise known as honeycomb candy and it’s a full-blown drama queen during the cooking, fizzing and bubbling as the baking soda reacts with the hot sugar syrup. The recipe calls for an optional dip into melted chocolate, but who are we kidding? That is not optional. From Handmade Gifts from the Kitchen by Alison Walker.
4 tbsp (60 mL) corn syrup 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar 3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing 2 tbsp (30 mL) water 2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda ½ tsp (2 mL) white wine vinegar Melted chocolate, for dipping (optional) Grease an 11-inch-by-7-inch (28-by-18 cm) baking pan. Make sure you can leave it somewhere undisturbed as you don’t want to move it until the hokey pokey is completely set. Heat the syrup, sugar and butter in a deep, heavy bottom pan until the sugar is dissolved. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down the sides of the pan to dissolve any stray sugar crystals that may cause the sugar syrup to crystallize while cooking. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and boil steadily until a candy thermometer reads 280 F/138 C (soft crack stage). If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a teaspoon of the mix into a bowl of cold water. Bring it together with your fingers — it should form firm, but pliable threads. Take off the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda followed by the vinegar — it will fizz and bubble up, so take care. Quickly turn the mixture into the prepared pan, pouring in one layer from the top to the bottom of the pan — don’t be tempted to smooth out or shake the pan to level the mixture because this will burst all the precious bubbles you have just created. Leave to set without moving. Break into pieces and dip into melted chocolate if you like. These treats start to get sticky after a couple of days, but will keep for up to two weeks if completely covered in chocolate.