We had to go purchase something that typically does not live in our pantry.
Brown sugar. Gasp!
But . . . we needed it for school. Can I claim to need Starbucks for school?
Since we have been blanketed by snow and ice for what seems like several weeks (not that I am complaining . . . it makes me feel like I am in Colorado . . . kind of . . . except Colorado doesn’t get continuous snow like this on the front range) --
. . . . as I was saying, since we have been with snow it seemed fitting to make Molasses-On-Snow Candy Little House style, which we read about in Little House in the Big Woods.
Typically, you would use maple syrup to create candy. However, even if we HAD a tree, we wouldn’t have any sap (the tree doesn’t run in December/January). And since we are forgetting that there normally is maple syrup in our refrigerator, we had to use brown sugar . . . which we pretended was really cooked maple sugar because it is easier to store and transport.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark molasses
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 or more pie pans or skillets
- saucepan
- heatproof pitcher
- glass of cold water
Directions
- Collect some fresh snow. Avoid any snow that is yellow or brown. {Insert smile.}
- Combine molasses and brown sugar in a saucepan. Choose a large enough pan that will allow all of this sugar to boil up.
- Needless to say, bring contents to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Soon after the liquid comes to a boil, test the syrup by drizzling some from a spatula into a glass of cold water. You want the syrup to be around 245 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If the syrup clouds the water or remains formless, then you need to heat the mixture longer. BUT if the liquid forms a ball, circle, disk etc. then act fast!
- Pour hot syrup into a small pitcher.
- Grab your snow.
- Go to work pouring the hot liquid onto the snowy surfaces you created in your pie pans.
- Don’t try and achieve perfect, circular candy. Won’t happen . . . unless you are an experienced candy maker, I suppose.
- When candy has become hard, place it on top of wax or parchment paper.
- I found that you will have lasting result by placing it in the freezer.
Enjoy . . . . I will warn you . . . the Molasses-On-Snow Candy has a rather strong flavor.
Other Little House posts on Granola Mom:
- Music, Lincoln Logs, and Lapbooks
- painting a wood fire with marbles
- making an orange peel snack
- making a log cabin with popsicle sticks
Resources to supplement your Little House learning:
