Candy sticks or candy canes?

by Diana McCollum

Ever wonder how candy canes got the hook on the end? For centuries candy canes were made by hand. Around 1920 Bob McCormack, residing in Georgia, U.S.A, decided to start making candy canes by hand  for his friends. As the popularity of his candies increased he opened Bob’s Candies.

Bob’s brother-in-law, a catholic priest named Gregory Harding Keller, invented a machine that worked on straight candy sticks into the beautiful curved ones of today. The automated machine is called the Keller Machine.

Bob’s Candies was bought out by Farley and Sathers in 2005.

Here is a recipe for making green or red candy canes.

http://bit.ly/2fOQfoB  this is the cooking site Taste of Home where this recipe was created. Go there for a printable copy.

Picture by Homemade Candy Canes Recipe photo by Taste of Home

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 25 min. Cook: 25 min.

MAKES: 16 servings

Ingredients

·         1 teaspoon butter

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 cup water

·         1 cup light corn syrup

·         1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

·         1 teaspoon peppermint or spearmint extract

·         6 drops red or green food coloring

Nutritional Facts

1 candy cane : 110 calories, 0 fat (0 saturated fat), 1mg cholesterol, 14mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate (18g sugars, 0 fiber), 0 protein.Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch.

Directions

1.    Grease two baking sheets with butter; set aside. In a large saucepan, bring the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 280° (soft-crack stage).

2.    Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring. Immediately pour onto prepared pans in eight 8-in. strips. Let stand just until cool enough to handle, about 1-2 minutes.

3.    Working quickly, roll each strip into a 10-in. log. Cut each into two 5-in. lengths. Curve the top of each to form the handle of a cane. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 16 canes. 

Editor's Note: We recommend that you test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212°. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Originally published as Homemade Candy Canes in Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook Annual 2009, p83

http://bit.ly/2fOQfoB  web site red or green

If you are one of those people who say show me! Go to this ‘you tube video' for how to make candy canes.

http://bit.ly/2fBoNrN

And then after making some of those lovely candy canes, you might want to sit with a candy cane and a cup of hot chocolate and read one of the following books:

CANDY CANE CAPER                                              

Things go from crazy to insane in the Zimmerman household when Scooter's dad comes to town, Zoe tries to find the perfect gift for Zak while helping out with Hometown Christmas, and Levi finds the body of bakeshop owner Candy Kane dead in the pantry. It's funny, it's family, and it’s a Zak and Zoe Christmas mystery. (Amazon description)

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Savor the magic of the season with Debbie Macomber’s newest Christmas novel, filled with warmth, humor, the promise of love, and a dash of unexpected adventure.

CHRISTMAS ON CANDY CANE LANE

Review by Bette Hansen 

I loved it! It's the holiday season in Icicle Falls and the craziness is in full swing. There is no place in town that's as crazy as Candy Cane Lane. This is the story of three women, each trying to juggle the stresses of life, deal with crazy neighbors, and stay sane enough to still have a life!

I must say I've never tried to make candy. Cookies and cakes and pies, oh, my, yes I make all of those, but candy No.

Do you have a favorite Christmas candy? Do you make candy? 

Introducing Encore Month!

Hard to believe but true! May 1st marks the beginning on Encore Month - our 3rd Blog-O-Versay Month. 

As a treat to our readers we are encoring the most popular post in our three years of existence. Enjoy again Darlene Panzera's November 2013 post. At the end of Darlene's post you'll find links to the next two most read blogs.

Thank you for your support! Sarah, Judith and the Genre-istas  

Now Available!

Check out Darlene's latest addition to The Cupcake Diaries. The Cupcake Diaries - Sprinkled with Kisses! After you read her original post you'll see how creative this best-selling author is!!!

 I loosely based my latest release, THE CUPCAKE DIARIES: Spoonful of Christmas on the famous Grinch story classic. I first made a list of Christmas songs, decorations, and traditions  to incorporate into the story to give the reader a real feel for the holiday. Then when my daughter and I were brainstorming what kind of villain could try to sabotage Christmas for my three heroines who run the Creative Cupcakes shop, we just knew it had to be a Grinch! One of the heroines already had a six-year-old, blond-haired daughter who was perfect to play the role of Cindy Lou Who. After that we introduced a few new characters, including a foster care boy (named Max after the Grinch story dog), and created a different spin on the Grinch storyline.

 Once I had the plot, I did a lot of research into the setting of the story and went to Astoria, Oregon to speak with the locals about traditions and legends specific to the area that readers might not know about. For instance, when it snows the town shuts down eighth street, one of the steepest streets in America, for community sledding. I thought this would be a perfect place for a romantic encounter for my hero and heroine. I also had one couple go to the famed Victorian Flavel House for plum pudding and another of my couples travel over the Astoria-Meglar bridge into Ilwaco, Washington  to see a lighted boat parade and the world's largest crab pot Christmas tree. Of course major turning points in the story also occurred at each of these locations.

Instead of a chimney, I had to figure out a way for my Grinch to steal presents and local research also provided the answer. Astoria is famous for the pirates who use to "shanghai" unsuspecting people from taverns and force them to join their crew. The Portway restaurant still has one such trap door and tunnel used from that by-gone era. Except in my novella I changed the restaurant's name to 'The Captain's Port' and added a few more of these trap doors and tunnels around town. When combined: holiday tradition, local setting, humorous characters, and a romantic storyline can make a very interesting, sweet, fun-loving Christmas!

For fans of Debbie Macomber comes Spoonful of Christmas, the fourth installment in the popular Cupcake Diaries series.

Andi, Rachel, and Kim each have their own reasons for wanting this Christmas at Creative Cupcakes to be special. 

Andi is scared that Jake's job offer with another newspaper will move them to a different state. Rachel, set to marry Mike on Christmas Eve, is afraid her cousin Stacey will ruin the wedding.

Kim fears she'll never get a ring and Nathaniel will leave her after the holidays are over.

What they didn't count on was having a modern-day Grinch try to steal Christmas away from them. Can they unmask the culprit before it's too late ... or will this be a Christmas to remember for all the wrong reasons?

Darlene Panzera writes sweet, fun-loving romance. Her career launched with the publication of THE BET, included in NY Times best-selling author Debbie Macomber's FAMILY AFFAIR. Her current series, THE CUPCAKE DIARIES, hit the top 100 on the Barnes & Noble Nook with a debut at #7 for overall sales. 

Darlene says, "I love writing stories that help inspire people to laugh, value relationships, and pursue their dreams."  

www.darlenepanzera.com

www.facebook.com/DarlenePanzera

For our next two most popular reads, click on the links below.

Christie Walker Bos' delighted readers in February 2012. See why here!

Another favorite was Christie's "Cleaning out those brain cobwebs" April 2012.

Check back tomorrow for more Encore performances!