How to Make a Candy Cane

What's Christmas without beautiful red and white candy canes to dangle from the Christmas tree, decorate the table, and satisfy a sweet tooth. The candy cane has become almost a universal symbol of all that's Christmas. Children particularly love to munch on these sugary treats. It may not be good for their teeth, but Christmas only comes once a year.

The candy canes you buy at your local drugstore and supermarket seem so generic compared to the ones you can make yourself. When you make them yourself, you can shape them and color them in any way you choose. Plus, it's a fun activity to do with your kids. Here's how to make a candy cane at home:

Supplies Needed to Make a Candy Cane:

• One cup of corn syrup
• One cup of sugar
• One cup of water
• ½ teaspoon peppermint oil
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• Red food coloring
• Powdered sugar
• A metal cookie sheet
• A metal saucepan

Prepare Your Cookie Sheet

Sprinkle your cookie sheet with a single layer of powdered sugar. This will sweeten your candy and keep it from sticking to the sheet.

Combine Your Ingredients

Add your cup of corn syrup, cup of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar to your one cup of water in your metal saucepan. Stir to combine them thoroughly.

Heat Your Ingredients

Heat the saucepan containing your sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar and water over medium heat until it reaches the soft crack stage which is between 270 degrees and 290 degrees Fahrenheit. At this stage, your mixture should form hard threads which are pliable when removed from the water.

Add Your Peppermint Flavoring and Coloring

Once your mixture has reached the soft crack stage, add a half teaspoon of peppermint oil. Divide into two parts and add 2 drops of red food coloring to half of the mixture.

Pour Your Mixtures

Pour your red and white mixtures in strips onto your powdered cookie sheet. Allow your strips to cool until you just cool enough to handle.

Form Your Candy Canes

Roll your strips into rolls and twist one red roll with one white roll. Form a “u” shape at the top and lay them out on the powdered cookie sheet to dry. Your candy canes will harden as they cool.

Now that you know the basics of how to make a candy cane, you can use your imagination and ingenuity to construct the candy canes of your dreams. Who says they have to be red and white? Why not purple and white or purple and orange? Shape them into odd shapes or use a different flavoring oil other than peppermint. The sky's the limit! Just make sure you have a few conventional candy canes to hang on your Christmas tree to make it special.