On the Clothesline

You’re invited to our

on Friday and Saturday
November 11 & 12 from 9 am to 6 pm

GIFT BASKETS • HOLIDAY FOOD TASTING
RECIPES FOR FOOD GIFTING
FUN ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

Make Hard Candy in Your Microwave

green candies photo Holiday hard candy adds color and flavor to your snack tables.

Making Your Own Hard Candy Takes Only Minutes With A Microwave Oven

It's time to start thinking about holiday goodies. My friend, Elonda and I have a special tradition of getting together and making candies and cookies for all of our friends. It's come to the point where they now wait, expecting their goody tray or bag.

Two of our favorite goodies are hard candy and chocolate covered cherries. Last year Elonda found this wonderful recipe to make the hard candy in the microwave! We found molds which made it that much easier. No more cutting the candy, or breaking into pieces. The mold does it for you!

There's a large variety of flavor oils you can use - everything from cotton candy to blueberry! Just check the flavoring oil selection at your local supplier.

I'm sharing our hard candy recipe. We found our molds at Celebrations in Charleston, WV and Vicky’s in Milton, WV. I am sure many places carry microwave candy molds, even online.

Hint--spray your molds with Pam so that the candy does'nt stick!

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
Food coloring as desired
1 dram of flavoring oil (the recipe calls for ½ but we use the whole little bottle)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:
Thoroughly mix sugar and light corn syrup in a 4-cup microwave-safe glass measuring cup or equivalent. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 2 ½ minutes. (If your microwave has lower voltage it may take longer.) Remove from microwave and carefully remove plastic wrap. Quickly stir the sugar mixture and then cover with a new sheet of plastic wrap. Microwave on high again for 2 ½ minutes. Remove from microwave, carefully remove plastic wrap and stir. Be careful of the rising steam! Stir in coloring and flavoring and pour into molds or sprayed cookie sheet. Let candy cool until hardened. Remove from mold, or break into pieces, and dust with powdered sugar to keep it from sticking together. Store in airtight container.

Next month I'll share my secrets for making fresh chocolate covered cherries! Everyone that visits during the holidays begs for them

Using a plastic candy mold allows easy release and fancy shapes for your hard candy.

Herbal Recipes for the Holidays

Fresh from Janet Smith’s kitchen, Still Meadows Farms is sharing its Herbal Recipe Collection. “Cooking with fresh herbs from my garden adds fragrance and flavor to everything I cook,” explains Mrs. Smith. “I want to share some of my favorite recipes with our friends.” New recipes will be added to the website regularly and shared with our subscribers. “Fresh pesto sauce adds zest to many dishes. My family enjoys it on our homemade pizzas,” said Mrs. Smith.