Snow Candy

We woke up Sunday morning to about an inch of snow. The weatherman got it right. Snow is something we do not see but maybe once or twice a year here. People will get into a panic and rush to the stores and close businesses with the slightest threat of the white stuff. We rarely get just plain snow, It’s usually mixed with sleet or freezing rain. In fact, it has been sleeting here for hours, laying a blanket of ice to seal the snow. Basically, we get our Winters in bundles. It can be 70 degrees one week and 30 the next. But I will not complain. Nothing is prettier than a snow in December.

I really miss my daughter being home on snow days. We used to rush out and build a snow man followed by making snow cream, then settle down inside to a warm cup of cocoa. Now we snap photos back a forth. 

The kid in me still likes to go outside when it snows. While I was having my breakfast and coffee, I came across a recipe for Maple Snow candy.  I could not wait to go outside and try it. Holy Moly it worked! 

I am 49 years old and have seen every Little House on the Prairie episode and still never knew about “snow candy” until today. I bet my mom knew about this, but with four kids I can see why she kept it a secret. 

Supposedly, Snow taffy or Snow candy is a traditional favorite in Canada. When maple syrup is boiled to the right temperature, it is poured onto a blanket of snow creating a taffy or hard candy. I guess it depends on the heat of the syrup. There is an art to making candy just like making peanut brittle. But ill save that one for another post. 

I did not have any Maple syrup so I used the optional recipe of honey and brown sugar. 

SNOW CANDY

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of brown sugar. 

Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. You want the temperature to reach about 235-240 degrees.

I did not have a thermometer so I let it boil for about 5 minutes. It will foam up but the foam will disappear as soon as you take it off the heat. 

When the syrup is ready, pour strips of the honey mixture into the snow. With straws (or wooden sticks) roll the candy to make pops. This has to be done rather fast because it quickly turns into a hard candy. If this happens its ok, the kids will have fun picking the pieces up to get a sugar fix. 

I’m sure the real Maple syrup would have tasted better than honey but a poor girl only has so much to work with. 

WARNING:  Use adult supervision at all times and be very careful. Boiling sugar can be the worst burn ever if it gets on you because it will stick while burning your skin off

Crochet Chapstick Cozy

I took a break from big crochet projects to do some small things. I have been busy Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts and tidying up the house for Christmas.

Speaking of wrapping gifts, every year I wrap up some little gifts for the girls.
“The girls” are my daughters friends. One is her roommate and one is her best friend from college. The three are inseparable. Every year they pick a night during Christmas to set out a little tree , pull out the Christmas movies and bake cookies. I make sure they have some little gifts under their tree to have fun opening. They are addressed "from Santa". 

This year I got each one of them a planner, some beauty accessories then added a chapstick to top it off. My daughter is always looking for her lost chapstick, so an idea hit me. I decide to crochet each of their chapsticks a little chapstick cozy (aka holder). 

I told Nick my plan and he gave me a funny look. “You just watch me” I said as I flipped open my iPad and searched for a pattern.

Bingo! I found several different patterns, so I had to decide which worked best for me.

After fiddling around with my yarn and crochet needle, three tiny chapstick cozies were born. 

I showed them to Nick and he was surprised. He thought they were rather cool.

I finished the cozies off by adding a key ring to the top and packed them neatly with each gift. 

My daughter texted me once they opened their gifts. They giggled and thought the crochet cozies were the best. 

It was just a little something fun to add to the mix. Now maybe my daughter can keep up with her chapstick and leave mine alone. 

Crochet Chapstick Cozy (free) pattern can be found HERE.