In less time than it takes to say “Je t’adore”, you can have a stack of edible candy hearts for everyone to enjoy. Stuff a heart or two in a pretty envelope or plant a few inside a floral gift and you will have a winning treat.
Create a unique holiday table top tree by sticking a branching into a pot of small stones or marbles and decorating it with these beribboned candy cane hearts. Or why not use them to decorate a chocolate cake or the dessert you will be serving on Christmas Eve? The possibilities are endless.
Note: To “glue” the candy canes to form a heart, you can use a royal icing “glue” made using icing sugar or a sugar “glue” made from ordinary sugar. The royal icing glue is more suitable if your kids are making these hearts.
Ingredients and Materials
- Candy canes (large and small)
- Royal icing glue (recipe below)
- Sugar glue (recipe below)
- Wax paper (or non-stick cookie sheet)
- Ribbons (optional)
Royal Icing Sugar Glue
- 1 egg white
- 1 ¾ cups icing sugar
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- Beat the egg white until stiff and then add sugar and tartar.
- Beat for one minute until thick. Use immediately. If mixture thickens, add a bit of lemon juice to thin it.
- 3 oz sugar
- 4 tablespoons water
- Heat sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Use a candy or jam thermometer and raise the heat, stirring constantly until the sugar reaches 250 degrees Celsius.
- Pour sugar into a small wide-mouthed bowl and use immediately. This glue will need to be made up in small batches as it cools quickly.
Note: Use either glue recipe but, if you are using the royal icing glue recipe, the hearts will need at least one hour to dry. So do not move or touch until then. The hearts made with the sugar glue will dry instantly.
- Cut out a large sheet of wax paper (or you can use a non-stick cookie sheet) and place on a flat surface.
- Dip both ends of two candy canes into the glue. (For small kiddies, you might want to give them a small, clean, artist’s paintbrush to coat the ends of the canes with glue.)
- Once the glue has been added to the candy canes, place the canes on the wax paper, in pairs facing each other, making sure that top and bottom ends of each cane are in contact. Let the sugar dry completely before moving the candy canes off the paper.
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