Maple Sugar Candy Recipe
Maple Sugar is basically what remains after the sap of the sugar maple is boiled for longer than is actually needed to create maple syrup or maple taffy. Once, thoroughly boiled, all that remains is a solid sugar. Maple sugar is supposed to be about twice as sweet as standard granulated sugar. Thus, maple sugar has wide applications when it comes to preparing recipes for candies.
There are however two kinds of Maple Sugar Candy-Cake like stuff and Taffy like stuff. Here is how we can prepare both these candy types.
Cake like Stuff:
Prepare molds by greasing them lightly. Heat the maple syrup to the hard crack stage i.e. at around 300 degrees and hold it there until it starts to crystallize. At this point you require extra agility so that you pour the crystallizing syrup into the molds as fast as possible to get smooth grained cakes. If however, you catch the syrup too late; the candy will be coarse grained.
Taffy like Stuff:
Heat maple syrup in a heavy bottomed pan until it reaches the soft crack stage i.e. at around 260 degrees. You may even drip a little of it into cold water so that it should form a hard thread that will bend but not break. When syrup is at soft crack stage, drizzle it decoratively over the snow. Once hardened, remove it or it will eventually dissolve.
Though, most sugar candy recipes require at least half an hour to be prepared; sited is an easy way to prepare these candies in less than 15 minutes.
14 Minute Maple Sugar Candy Recipe:
In a large saucepan cook the maple syrup, the cream and the butter for 9 minutes till it reaches boiling stage. Then remove from heat, add nut meats and the lemon extract and stir for 5 minutes. Pour into buttered pans or into candy molds. Cut into squares or unmold when cool and make as many squares as you wish to make.
