3.03.2009

maple snow candy

things have been super crazy around here, and to top it off, we were just hit with the biggest snow storm in 3 years!  I think we got about 8 to 10 inches when all was said and done.  so what did i do?  i made maple snow candy!

the idea comes from laura ingalls wilder's little house in the big woods.  at one point in the book laura writes about pouring boiling maple syrup onto freshly fallen snow to make candy... what a treat!  if you've never experienced this wintertime delicacy, you just have to try it.  it is so simple and fun to make, especially with kids!  here is what you do...

first, go outside and gather some fresh, clean snow from outside.  make sure to avoid yellow and/or brown snow!  pack it into a shallow dish and/or plate.


go back inside, stash your snow in the freezer, and pour some good quality real maple syrup (none of that artificial stuff!) into a saucepan.  add just a little bit of butter for a richer, caramel-like treat.  then, bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for about 6 to 7 minutes, or until it reaches the soft ball stage (if you are using a candy thermometer, that's about 235 to 240 degrees farenheit).


when the maple syrup mixture is ready, get out your snow again.  carefully drizzle the hot mixture onto the snow.  the freezing cold snow will cause the boiling liquid to instantly harden into delicious taffy-like candy!


yum!  now it's time to enjoy your creation!


xoxo,
lesley

8 comments:

We Blog Artists said...

What a great idea!
We have tonnes of that white stuff up here...it' only -24 today!

lesley said...

-24! wow! and i thought it was cold here...

Chrisy said...

Sounds wonderful...

Unknown said...

Yummy!

Now you will have to try another Little House on the Prarie treat:

"Pa" used to take the tails of the pigs and hold them over a fire until they were nice and crispy. Laura and Mary loved them.

lesley said...

haha, i don't think i will be trying pig tails anytime soon.

mamajoy said...

What fun! Great to see how you turned a negative (stuck inside) into a positive (make snow candy.) Not surprised, though - you're so creative and fun!

Alice X said...

haha, me and my friends used to do this in the winter, it was aweeesome:)

alicexinwonderland.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Wow I always tried that when I was a kid (I read way too many of those books, as I went to Laura Ingalls Wilder Elementary School) and it never turned out - gonna have to try it again sometime!