Divinity

Another candy recipe that depends on the humidity. I try not to make this one if it's 60% or more outside. It's by Ann Gilbert, from one of my First Methodist of Canton cookbooks.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Karo, light
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 cups walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Combine sugar, Karo, and water in saucepan.
2. Cook to firm ball stage (250 degrees).
3. Beat egg whites until stiff (in a mechanical mixer with the whisk attachment).
4. Add 2 tablespoons sugar (to eggwhites) and beat for about 10 to 15 seconds.
5. Pour syrup into egg white slowly while beating.
6. Continue beating until candy begins to lose its gloss and will hold its shape (when you turn off the mixer).
7. Add vanilla (with the mixer) and nuts (stir nuts in with spatula - don't use mixer so you won't release nut oils and screw the whole thing up).
8. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper (I use two spoons: one to get it out of the bowl, and one to scrape the contents of the first spoon onto the wax paper).
9. If candy starts getting too hard before you finish, stir in a few drops of water.

A few notes from my own experience:

This is one recipe I follow TO THE LETTER.

This recipe almost requires a mechanical mixer. It doesn't have to be a fancy-pants KitchenAid, but it should be one that can operate without your hands doing any work in the mixing process. Reason being, on step 5, pour syrup slowly, it means SLOWLY, as in try to get the most thin ribbon of syrup coming from the pot into the mixer as possible, while the mixer's going high speed. It should take a long time, and it helps your muscles to prop the pot against the bowl while pouring.

The object of this game is to infuse miniscule bubbles of air into the egg whites and syrup: stiffly beaten egg whites + syrup + air = good divinity.

Seven Minute Icing is a variation of this - it's basically divinity - but I haven't tried it yet. Right now I'm not a master of divinity, and until then, if I'm going to all this trouble, it's gonna produce a candy everybody oohs and ahhs over, not icing that nobody notices.