Thisdivinity candy recipe is a classic, old-fashioned candy recipe that my kids request every year. It’s the perfect treat to give to neighborsor friends.
Before we got married, my husband made divinity, and he’s made it for Christmas every year since we got married. My recipe is slightly adapted from the Betty Crocker’s Cookbook we received as a gift at our wedding.
My kids grew up eating divinity, and it just wouldn’t be Christmas for them without it.
What Is Divinity
According to Wikipedia,divinity is a nougat-like confection made with egg white, corn syrup, and sugar. It’s softer than most store-bought nougats but not as soft as a marshmallow. It’s very sweet and sort of melts in your mouth when you’re eating it.
Often nuts, especially pecans in the South, are added to divinity. However, my family prefers it without nuts. (Two of my grown kids still don’t care for nuts.) If your family loves nuts, definitely add them.
How to Make Divinity
Making divinity isn’t difficult, especially if you have a stand mixer and an instant-readthermometer. You can use a hand-held mixer to beat your egg whites and do the initial mixing, but once the divinity gets thick and creamy, you’ll have to finish mixing it by hand. The hand mixer motor isn’t strong enough to beat it when it’s thick.
It’s important to cook the sugar mixture to 260°F or until asmall amount of the hot sugar mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball that holds its shape but is pliable.
Next, you’ll beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once the egg whitesare whipped, you’ll continue beating while you slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the whipped egg whites.
Lastly, you’ll beat in the vanilla extract and stir in the nuts, if using. Instead of using traditional vanilla extract, I used aclear vanilla extract so my divinity is a brighter white.
Once the divinity has thickened to a creamy consistency, you need to quickly divide it into individual portions. We’ve found it’s easiest if you use two spoons to portion it out.
Use one spoon to scoop up the divinity and a second spoon to push the scoop off of the spoon on to the parchment paper. You could also spoon it onto a Silpat or wax paper.
How to Store Divinity
Let the divinity set up on the parchment paper for about an hour or two. You want to wait until it’s no longer sticky and removes easily from the parchment paper.
Store the divinity in an airtight container. Or, we prefer to wrap the divinity in plastic wrap in individual servings. Then the divinity stays softer and is easy to give away as gifts.
When I’m making it for the kids, we generally skip the plastic wrap and use small size sandwich bags.
I decided to put my divinity candy recipe on Barbara Bakes so the recipe would be easy for my kids to find and make themselves one day with their kids. I hope you’ll give the recipe a try too.
Stir sugar, corn syrup and water over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook, without stirring to 260ºF on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a hard ball that holds its shape but is pliable.
Beat egg whites in a stand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue beating while pouring hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add vanilla. Beat until mixture holds its shape and becomes slightly dull. (If mixture becomes too stiff for your mixer, you'll need to beat it by hand.) Gently stir in nuts if using.
Use two spoons to push dollops of candy onto parchment paper or a Silpat. Let stand at room temperature until candies feel firm. Store in airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap to give as gifts.
Notes
*Can sub traditional vanilla extract
**Use 1 tablespoon less water on humid days and let dry longer on parchment paper
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But if your divinity fails to harden, you can beat in two tablespoons of powdered sugar and allow the mixture to rest a few minutes; if the candy hardens too much, you can blend in hot water a tablespoon at a time until the perfect, fluffy consistency is reached.
Divinity is a confection made from egg whites, corn syrup, and sugar. It's similar to nougat, fudge, or marshmallow. Tip: replace the sugar with brown sugar to create "sea foam." Other ingredients can be used to give the candy other tastes, like chopped dried fruit and chopped nuts.
The old wives tale for candy about rainy and hot, humid days applies with divinity. Humidity is nothing more than water vapor in the air and, as the moisture does with meringue and with many candies, it will almost always affect the way your divinity turns out. Shoot for a 40% or lower level of humidity.
If your divinity candy fails to harden, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat again. Allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. This will absorb more moisture and will allow your sweet treat to harden. If you want your divinity candy to soften up a bit add hot water a tablespoon at a time and beat it again.
Corn Syrup – This is added to stop the sugar from crystalizing giving you a very smooth, chewy texture that's not grainy. Sugar – White granulated sugar is the best for this recipe, avoid brown sugar or it'll affect both the taste and look of the divinity.
Divinity candy can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. If you are storing divinity candy in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before cutting it into squares.
Divinity should be dry and set within two hours, but have patience. It may take a little longer. If you would like to try correcting a thin divinity, beat in a little bit of powdered sugar at a time until the consistency is drier and thicker, before dropping onto sheets of waxed paper again to dry.
The only difference between making nougat and making Divinity, I saw, was that nougat requires that after blending beaten egg whites without about half of your hard-ball-stage syrup, you heat the rest to near hard-crack before blending it in. So the Divinity process is basically an easier version of the nougat process.
Mind the humidity at this point. Divinity is highly hygroscopic and will almost literally melt on you. Well maybe not melt, let's just say it will get darned sticky. Store in an airtight container to protect from humidity.
Yes, divinity can be frozen for up to one year! Flash freeze the candy for a few hours or up to overnight, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container. Thaw at room temperature.
We have heard that if you are making divinity on a day which might be a little higher in humidity, decrease the water in the recipe by 1 Tablespoon. You will have better results on a low humidity day.
High humidity hastens the breakdown of sugar as it cools. Once the candy has cooled to the point where it can no longer evaporate moisture, it can actually begin to reabsorb moisture. This produces a softer product than may be desirable.”
Divinity should be dry and set within two hours, but have patience. It may take a little longer. If you would like to try correcting a thin divinity, beat in a little bit of powdered sugar at a time until the consistency is drier and thicker, before dropping onto sheets of waxed paper again to dry.
If the candy falls back into the bowl in ribbons that immediately merge back into themselves, the divinity is not done and you need to keep beating. Eventually, the divinity candy will lose it's glossiness and sheen and stop being so sticky, which means it's ready.
Introduction: My name is Rueben Jacobs, I am a cooperative, beautiful, kind, comfortable, glamorous, open, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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