Heavenly Divine Divinity Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Continue cooking, without stirring, until it reaches a firm ball stage when dropped in water. If using a candy thermometer, it must register 260 degree F for the hard-ball stage (10 to 15 minutes).

Remove pan from heat. In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Gradually pour hot mixture in a thin stream over whites. Beat mixture on high speed about 3 minutes; scrape sides of bowl occasionally. Add vanilla and, if desired, food coloring. Continue beating on high just until candy starts to lose its gloss (5 to 6 minutes). When beaters are lifted, mixture should fall in a ribbon that mounds on itself.

Drop a spoonful of candy mixture onto lightly buttered waxed paper. If it stays mounded, the mixture has been beaten sufficiently. If mixture flattens, beat 1/2 to 1 minute more; check again. If mixture is too stiff to spoon, beat in a few drops hot water till candy is a softer consistency. Immediately stir in nuts. Quickly drop remaining mixture onto waxed paper. Store tightly covered.

Cherry or mint divinity can be made by adding a teaspoon of flavoring and some food coloring. Or any other flavor you would like to try.

Note: Divinity can be a temperamental type of candy. Do not make this when there is high humidity. A rainy day is not a good day to make this candy. I know first hand that it can change from a fluffy heavenly divinity to a hard gooey chew.