Given the classic Victorian theme of our menu thus far, you might have been expecting Christmas pudding for dessert, and I’ll admit I considered it. However, I couldn’t get Scrooge’s favorite exclamation off my mind. I knew I’d probably have many opportunities to make Christmas pudding on the site, but how many books can claim a connection to humbug candies?
It was my first time making hard candy, so I was a little nervous. Luckily, this recipe (which is actually from Harry Potter) is pretty easy—a huge relief for a novice like me!
Scrooge’s Christmas Humbugs
“‘A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!’ cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.
‘Bah!’ said Scrooge, ‘Humbug!’”
— A Christmas Carol
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp mint or peppermint extract (I used mint)
- 5 drops gel food coloring of your choice (I used pastel green)
- you will also need a candy thermometer and a pair of clean rubber gloves
Makes approximately 12 candies
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Liberally spray an 8″ bread pan with cooking oil and set aside. Add the water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a medium-sized saucepan.
- Stirring constantly, cook the ingredients over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mix begins to boil.
If sugar crystals begin to form on the side, you can dissolve them with a pastry brush dipped in water. - After inserting a candy thermometer into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the mixture, stirring occasionally.
- When the mixture reaches 260° exactly, turn off the heat and stir in the food coloring and extract. Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan.
It will have thickened slightly. - Let the mixture rest for 3.5-4 minutes.
This part is a pretty exact science. If you let it rest any less, it will just be a stringy mess when you try to pick it up; any longer, and it will start to harden in the pan. - Put on your rubber gloves and spray them with cooking oil. Pick up the candy and work it into a rope shape by pulling, twisting, and folding it over itself repeatedly. It will be a little difficult at first, since the hot candy will want to ooze through your fingers. As you work with it, it will begin to toughen up and cool. In fact, I was able to remove my gloves about halfway through. It will also begin to change color, going from translucent and dark to opaque and lighter.
It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but it also developed a fun, opalescent sheen. - When the candy starts to become too stiff to work with, lay the rope on a sheet of wax paper. Spray the blade of some kitchen scissors with cooking oil.
- What you do next depends on what shape you want your candies to have. You can pull the rope thin and snip straight pieces, or you can take it a step further and quickly roll the straight pieces into little balls. I wanted mine to have a twisted shape, so I used the following technique:
- Allow the candies to cool completely on the wax paper, being careful not to let them touch each other (if they touch, they’ll stick together). This should only take 5-10 minutes.
- Wrap the candies in squares of wax paper and store in a cool, dry place.
I’ve been told they full recrystallize after 2-3 days, but mine were gone by that point. - Serve to anyone who needs a little extra Christmas cheer in their life. 🙂
I love how each of the pieces has a one-of-a-kind shape, but the flavor was by far my favorite aspect of these humbugs. By using regular mint extract instead of peppermint extract, they had a sweet, lightly minted, almost creamy flavor. If I’d gone with the traditional peppermint flavor, they probably would have tasted more like breath mints. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I like the unique flavor profile the regular mint gives them.
Here’s the Yummly printable!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp mint or peppermint extract (I used mint)
- 5 drops gel food coloring of your choice (I used pastel green)
- you will also need a candy thermometer and a pair of clean rubber gloves
Instructions
- Liberally spray an 8" bread pan with cooking oil and set aside. Add the water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a medium-sized saucepan.
- Stirring constantly, cook the ingredients over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mix begins to boil.
- After inserting a candy thermometer into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the mixture, stirring occasionally.
- When the mixture reaches 260° exactly, turn off the heat and stir in the food coloring and extract. Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan.
- Let the mixture rest for 3.5-4 minutes.
- Put on your rubber gloves and spray them with cooking oil. Pick up the candy and work it into a rope shape by pulling, twisting, and folding it over itself repeatedly. It will be a little difficult at first, since the hot candy will want to ooze through your fingers. As you work with it, it will begin to toughen up and cool. In fact, I was able to remove my gloves about halfway through. It will also begin to change color, going from translucent and dark to opaque and lighter.
- When the candy starts to become too stiff to work with, lay the rope on a sheet of wax paper. Spray the blade of some kitchen scissors with cooking oil.
- What you do next depends on what shape you want your candies to have. You can pull the rope thin and snip straight pieces, or you can take it a step further and quickly roll the straight pieces into little balls. I wanted mine to have a twisted shape, so I twisted the rope several times and cut it into pieces.
- Allow the candies to cool completely on the wax paper, being careful not to let them touch each other (if they touch, they'll stick together). This should only take 5-10 minutes.
- Wrap the candies in squares of wax paper and store in a cool, dry place.
- erve to anyone who needs a little extra Christmas cheer in their life.
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