Here is a recipe that is perfect for your princess party!

I’ve been making this candy since I was in junior high.  It is easy to do and it tastes delicious.  You can customize it with food coloring and extracts to change the flavor.  I usually add coloring to mine, but vanilla is my favorite flavor because I think it makes it taste like cotton candy.  

This is what you’ll need:  

• 2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 3/5 cup water
• 1 tsp. flavoring (clear recommended for glass slippers) *
• food coloring (optional) *
• Butter to grease your pan
• Cookie sheet
• Large, heavy saucepan or pot
• Candy thermometer (optional, but recommended)

* If you’re trying to make “glass slipper” candy, I’d recommend using a clear vanilla (or other clear flavoring).  This is what I had on hand, so I went ahead with the brown extract.  It probably made a slight difference in the end color, but the candy yellows somewhat as it cooks, so it will not end up crystal-clear.  

Combine the sugar, syrup, and water.  Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  

Boil, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 310 degrees Fahrenheit, or until drops form brittle threads under cold water.  (This step takes a little patience.  It doesn’t take too long to reach the right temperature, but it does take a while.  Watch the temp carefully because it rises slowly at first, but the last several degrees rise quickly.  You don’t want to overcook it.)

I highly recommend using a candy thermometer for this step.  I’d broken mine and had forgotten that I didn’t have it until I went to make candy for a party.  I got a bowl of cold water and tried dropping candy into it.  I was just sure that it was forming “brittle threads” in the water, so I stopped cooking it.  It must not have been hot enough, though, because the candy never set up.  It was stretchy and bendable, instead of hard.  I had to scrap the whole batch, buy a candy thermometer, and do it again.  Thankfully, the ingredients are cheap, but no one wants to have a failed recipe.  Just go ahead and spend a few dollars on a thermometer.  You’ll thank me for making it easy for you.

When using a candy thermometer, though, be careful to hang it so that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan.  You want to measure the temperature of the candy itself, not the metal pan.  (It should be equipped with a clip to hang it on the edge of the pan and you can adjust how far down into the pan it reaches.)  

Remove from heat.  After the boiling has stopped, stir in flavoring and coloring, if you so desire (Again, skip this if you want clear candy.)

Pour onto a lightly-greased cookie sheet.  Do this quickly because it sets up fast.  (By the time you go to scrape the sides of the pan, it will probably be getting hard.)

Let it cool completely.  It is hard to wait, but when you do, it gets smooth and glassy and perfectly hard. 

Hit the candy with the handle of a butter knife to break the candy into pieces.  Make them as big or as small as you’d like.  (Smaller bits are easier to eat because it is difficult to bite.)

Note:  For non-glass slipper purposes, you can also pour this candy onto sucker sticks to make lollipops.  These are adorable, but you do have to work quickly because, after only a little bit, it begins to harden and turn into brittle strands as it pours.

Store in airtight containers.

This is such an easy, versatile candy recipe!  I loved making it as Cinderella’s Broken Glass Slipper, but I’ve made a green version before to be Kryptonite at our son’s superhero birthday party.  You could do pink or blue for a baby shower, or match the color to any party theme.  I usually make it “just because” and pick whatever bottle of coloring looks pretty in the cabinet that day!

This post is part of Disney Day by Day’s Favorite Food Friday blog hop.  Follow the link to see other bloggers’ favorite foods!

Enjoy!  Leave a comment and let me know if you try it! 

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