I'm not sure who in the group liked it and got it but someone did and I tried it. Apparently I was all candied out and tired so when they started asking me about it I became the annoyed little teenager. So for a joke they kept saying "There's always room for Divinity..."
At the time I remembered it sort of sent the hairs on the back of my neck to stand straight up but I do not for the life of me understand why. So since I've been getting into candy lately I decided that I would use this inside joke to my advantage.
I am sending this family that we know a box of the stuff for Christmas with a single note in the box saying the catchy line. They'll know who it's from and have a really nice treat to snack on during the holiday.
Alright, so anyone can do divinity, you just have to be patient and organized.
The ingredients are:
4 cups of Sugar
1 cup White Corn Syrup
3 egg whites
3/4 cup cold water
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
You want to get ALL of the ingredients ready to go because you're going to be busy checking on the eggs whites and the sugar. It's always good practice anyway. Also get wax paper and two spoons (4 if you have a partner) ready because you will spoon the divinity onto the wax paper.
In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir ONLY until sugar has dissolved, after that just walk away. You're going to want to get the sugar to 250° F. (My old glass candy thermometer ended up being wrong so I had to purchase a digital one, and I have not had a mess up since)
Allow the sugar to do its thing while you beat the egg whites in a large bowl of an electric mixer. If you're using a Kitchen Aid, I used the beater attachment on 5 and 6 for most of this recipe. Although it took a little longer, but I have a small mixer so I always think I'm breaking it if I go any higher. Anywho,
* You want the egg whites to be very STIFF *
Once the egg whites are finished and the sugar has reached 250 then you're going to pour the mixture in the egg whites WHILE it's beating on High and in a SLOW and STEADY stream. Take care to use hefty gloves or oven mits because it will be hot.
You'll want to beat it slow and steady and add the vanilla once you're done pouring the sugar. The mixture needs to hold its shape and then you can add the pecans. It might take 5 minutes until it holds its shape. You'll notice when the mixture starts tearing on the sides of the bowl, that's when it might be close.
Then stir in the pecans and get ready to spoon it in the pan. It might help to have a partner to help because as you see with mine they get less glossy and more grainy the longer it takes to spoon them on the pan to cool.
Using two spoons drop divinity onto waxed paper using one spoon to push candy off the other. I didn't try to do that yet since this was only my second time making them. I just made them semi round and dropped them on the paper. (They taste Just as good :)
-- If candy becomes too stiff to work with add a few drops of hot water and I imagine you will want to incorporate the water in the mixture. Then spoon the mixture, let it cool slightly and then keep it in a cool, dry place in a container for storage.
And ENJOY!!!! :)
(this bottom picture is of the ones that I did during the end of the spooning process. Notice they are more grainy and less shiny than those in the photo above.)
