Christmas may be over, but some of the remnants of it are probably still lurking around your home. One thing that tends to stick around our house for weeks after Christmas is candy canes
This is such a simple recipe and the result is a decadent and sweet syrup that’s wonderful for flavoring hot chocolate or drizzling over ice cream.
All you need is 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, and 6 to 8 candy canes.
Start by pouring the sugar and water into a saucepan.
Give it a good stir and turn the stove on medium heat. Meanwhile, unwrap from 6 to 8 candy canes and break them into pieces.
Add the candy cane pieces to the pan and continue stirring frequently as the mixture heats up.
The candy canes will start dissolving, and the syrup will begin to turn a creamy pink color. When all the sugar and candy canes are dissolved, it will turn clear and take on a deep pink color.
Continue cooking until the syrup comes to a boil. Let it boil for about 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool in the pan. When it’s cooled, pour the syrup into a jar with a lid for storage.
This syrup makes a lovely gift if you put it in a pretty jar or bottle and decorate it with a ribbon and a candy cane. I find that Mason jars,
This is a great recipe to make with the kids, who will love unwrapping the candy canes and seeing what you can make from them. And of course if you let them eat the results in hot chocolate or over vanilla ice cream (my personal favorite), they’ll love it even more!
11 comments so far:
Chica and Jo,
What a fab idea!!! I have already saved it…
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Omgomgomgomgomg :3
That look so totaly yummy. i still have some canes and if I have time for it; I will definately try this out. I love things like this. The more sugar, the better xD
Nomnomnom
Recipe works great but you should add 2 cups of water rather than 1 cup. If you use 1 cup water to 2 cups sugar it ends up WAY too thick, can’t even pour it.
Hi CaneMan. Thanks for the feedback! If your syrup ended up too thick, I suspect it’s because you boiled it too long. Sugar changes a lot the longer you boil it (and the higher the temp gets), as I’ve learned with my experiments in making hard candy. Be sure to only let your syrup boil for 2-3 minutes.
aweeesome
And very tasty, too! I need to remember this year to buy candy canes as soon as I see them in stores (which ought to be any day now) so I can make some syrup to have throughout the holidays.
This sounds so good, and my kids will love it. Do you think you could put it on pancakes?
I think that would be a pretty interesting pancake topping, Jenah! I’m a huge fan of maple myself, so I’m not sure I could veer away, but I do love the syrup on ice cream
Love this! About how long will it keep? And does it need to be stored in the fridge?
Vita, I’m no food safety expert, so I can’t give you exact specs on storage of this syrup. However, my gut tells me that since it’s just made of sugar and water, it’s just as shelf-stable as a candy cane would be, so it should last for quite a long time without refrigeration.