Sea glass candy!

Treasure from the sea? Fooled you! This sea glass candy that I make is turning into an annual treat to bring to my family's Fourth of July party in Marblehead. The kids love it, and it's super easy to make, although a bit time consuming. And in this brutal July heat and humidity, standing over a pot of boiling sugar water is not my idea of summer fun (I actually made 3 double batches yesterday, which took ages!), but the playful results are really worth it. Click here to see the batch of candy that I made last July.

SEA GLASS CANDY

Before you begin make sure to have your cooking sheet pans all greased with corn oil or Pam spray, and your flavoring extract and food coloring all ready to add in. Making candy is a science, so it's best to use a candy thermometer to get your candy to the hard ball stage. During the cooking process, don't stir the pot at all, or else your candy will come out cloudy. The pot of sugar is super hot, so be careful! 

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

food coloring

1 cup powdered sugar

Boil the sugar, corn syrup and water to 300-310 degrees, this takes 30-40 minutes, Add the peppermint extract (or whatever flavoring you want) and food coloring, let it cook for 20 seconds for the flavor and color to fully mix, then turn off the heat. Pour candy (again, it's hot so be careful!) into the cookie sheet.  After the candy hardens, around 30 minutes, crack the it with something hard like the end of a rolling pin or a wooden spoon. Then toss the gorgeous sweet shards with confectioners sugar to give it that dull sea glass look. Repeat the whole process to make other colors. Keep in a container with a lid to keep humidity out.