The other day we had our first big snowfall of the season. My 6-year-old asked that we celebrate by making Maple Snow Candy, something we read about last winter in a book about American pioneers.
It was fairly simple, as candy making goes, to make this candy. It only requires maple syrup, a bowl of snow, and a stove (or a fire – if you want to be really authentic) to heat it.
Here’s how I made it:
- We put some maple syrup on the stove to boil. I boiled it over medium-low heat. (I use organic, grade-b maple syrup)
- While I was watching the syrup, my 6-year-old went outside and filled a bowl with fresh, clean snow.
He packed the snow tightly into the bowl (it’s important your snow isn’t loose and fluffy, or else the syrup will pour right through instead of sitting on the top. We learned this during the steep learning curve we faced trying to make candy last winter).
- I boiled the syrup in a saucepan until it reached the softball stage (you can test for this by putting a small spoonful of the syrup into some very cold water (I do this in a glass measuring cup) and seeing if it holds together, or you can use a thermometer). Your syrup will look foamy like this when it reaches the correct temperature.
- We poured the heated syrup over the snow.
- Once the candy has cooled (this only takes about 15-30 seconds), we pulled it off and put it on a piece of parchment paper (otherwise it’ll glue itself to your plate; we also learned this last season).
- Then we ate it. It’s extremely sweet (a couple of small pieces are plenty), but also yummy.
As a note, this candy doesn’t save well. It’s very sticky, and it’s slightly damp from the snow. But it tastes wonderfully like maple and is fun to make. All of this to say, just boil a small amount of maple syrup and plan to enjoy the candy immediately.
We’re hoping to experiment with maple sugar candy later this winter, which should be the type of candy you can save. I’ll keep you posted on how our experiment goes.
Have you ever made candy in the snow? What did you make? How did you make it? We would love other suggestions.