• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Two Drunkards

Our lives told in food and cocktails.

Hide Search

Molasses-on-Snow Candy

ndschmidt · February 3, 2019 · 1 Comment

Ma was busy all day long, cooking good things for Christmas. . . . One morning she boiled molasses and sugar together until they made a thick syrup, and Pa brought in two pans of clean, white snow from outdoors. Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams on the snow.

They made circles, and curlicues, and squiggly things, and these hardened at once and were candy. Laura and Mary might eat one piece each, but the rest was saved for Christmas Day.

Those of you who know us probably know that Kate is a wonderful reader who loves to read her favorite books aloud to me in the car on trips or at home in the evenings. Knowing that the next cookbook on our agenda (book number 13) was The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker, Kate has been reading me Little House in the Big Woods, the first in the Little House series, which contains this irresistible description of homespun candy making. Having never read the Little House books, I had no idea that food memories played such an important role in Laura’s narrative. Barbara Walker’s delightful book collects those food references, places them in the context of the Little House books, and adds historical background and recipes. As much as I love historical recipes and cooking techniques, this book was right up my alley.

With relatively fresh snow on the ground, and molasses and brown sugar in the cupboard, what other recipe could we choose for a cold Sunday in January? I went outside to collect a pie plate full of snow from the dooryard and brought a small pot of molasses and brown sugar to a boil. Once the syrup reached the firm ball stage (245° F), I poured it into a pitcher and Kate and I poured it out in designs on the the snow. Like Laura and Mary, we each ate one piece immediately. It was really tasty; chewy like caramel but with a distinct molasses flavor. We’re keen to try it again with boiled down maple syrup.

Up next: Chez Panisse Café Cookbook (I know we said we were done with our Chez Panisse/Alice Waters cookbooks, but we found a used copy of this one at Powell’s and couldn’t resist).

Tweet

Filed Under: Too Many Cookbooks

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. amy liebert says

    March 3, 2019 at 9:44 pm

    omg I remember this now!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Chicken with Mustard Seed and Coconut Milk (Plus what the heck we’ve been doing for the past six months)
  • Filled Cherry Tomatoes
  • Rhubarb Syrup
  • Quail Stuffed with Wild Rice, Water Chestnuts, and Apple with Apple Cider Vinegar Emulsion
  • Shoulder of Spring Lamb with Flageolet Beans and Olive Relish

Recent Comments

  • Kelly | Foodtasia on Rhubarb Syrup
  • amy liebert on Molasses-on-Snow Candy
  • Amy Liebert on Potato Gnocchi
  • Rocket Salad with Pomegranates and Toasted Hazelnuts on Onion Confit and Winter Greens Pasta
  • ndschmidt on Chicken Legs Braised with Tomatoes, Onions, and Garlic & Cranberry Bean Gratin

Archives

  • February 2020
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • February 2016
  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • September 2014
  • August 2014

Categories

  • appetizers
  • cocktails
  • musings
  • Paula Wolfert
  • side dishes
  • soups
  • Too Many Cookbooks
  • Uncategorized
  • vegetables

Subscribe to TwoDrunkards via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow us on Twitter!

My Tweets

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in