Pecan Divinity (photos) Also Millionaires and Amaretto Chocolate pecans

Here is another holiday treat I will skip this year because of my diet. You will love this stuff.

Pecan Divinity

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup cold water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/8 teaspoon salt





A Silpat (non stick silicon) sheet, if you have one.



A candy thermometer.



Directions:

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water.







Stir only until sugar has mixed into the solution. Do not stir the mixture after this point.



Monitor the temperature with a candy thermometer and cook the syrup mixture until it reaches 260 degrees F on a candy thermometer.




260 F is 10 degrees hotter than the hard ball stage of 250 degrees F. Most recipes call for 250 F syrup (not 260). The extra temperature in this recipe helps prevent humidity in the air from affecting solidification of the divinity. At 250 degrees (standard hard ball stage) divinity success is very dependent on low humidity. The lower (less wet) the humidity of the air, the more solid the divinity will set at 250 F. At high humidity, it may never get above a thick creamy stage. Many cooks will not make divinity on a rainy or overcast day. That might be a wise rule to follow, regardless of temperature.

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.







Once the sugar mixture reaches 260 degrees F, carefully pour a slow steady stream of syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, beating constantly at high speed.



BE CAREFUL! THE SYRUP IS VERY HOT! Some will say they make divinity by hand stirring the syrup/egg white mixture. A mixer works netter and is all we would use at our house.

In fact I would say your mixer needs to be a good one to withstand the torque required to mix divinity.


Add the vanilla while the mixture is still very hot and continue to beat until the candy holds its shape, and begins to lose some of its shine (approximately 4-5 minutes of strong mixing). As soon as the shine begins to dull, stir in the pecans and start scooping out the divinity immediately.



Using 2 spoons, drop/spoon scrape the divinity onto silpat sheet or waxed paper, using 1 spoon to push the candy off the other. Size of the scoops is your preference. 1 X 2 or 2 X 2 inches seems like a reasonable size piece. If the divinity becomes too stiff, add a few drops of boiling hot water. You will need to work as fast as possible when scooping the hot candy, because it will set up quickly and you may be left with concrete in your mixer bowl. After you spoon the cooked sugar and nuts onto the waxed paper, you're done. Allow the candy to fully cool and store in a closed/airtight container for up to 2 weeks.







Divinity stores best with wax paper between the layers in the container.

One year, when we were kids, Mom used those red candied Cherries (chopped into bits) when we had no pecans. They were good, too.