Old Fashioned Angel Food Candy is one of the easiest and tastiest homemade candy recipes!
I have a confession to make…I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet. Not one single gift has been purchased. As of when I’m writing this post, I have 13 days to get all of my shopping done, wrapped, and under the tree. Eeeeeks!
I just want to sit around eating Christmas candy, snuggled under blankets, reading books or watching movies. I don’t want to shop. Do you want to come do all my Christmas shopping for me? Please? If you do I’ll make a batch of this Angel Food Christmas Candy for you. Deal?
Truth be told, Angel Food candy is so easy to make, I’d get the better end of the deal. While you’d be out hitting the over crowded mall, standing in long lines, fighting over parking spaces, getting tangled up in tape, looking for your scissors, etc. I’d be mixing up just a few ingredients to create some of the tastiest Christmas candy around.
I have an aunt who used to make Angel Food Candy each year, and it wasn’t until she brought it up to me the other day that I even remembered it. It’s probably been 30 years since I’ve had Angel Food Candy, but now that she’s given me the recipe and I’ve made it myself, you can bet another year won’t go by without me making it again.
You may be wondering what Angel Food Candy is. It’s kind of hard to describe but it’s a hard-ish candy, also known as “sponge candy” or “honeycomb candy”. It tastes like toffee, but has a more airy, crunchy center, and the inside looks like a sponge or honeycomb. Most Angel Food Candy doesn’t include sea salt, but I decided to up the ante just a bit and add a sprinkling of San Francisco Salt Co’s Fleur de Sel (French Sea Salt). Angel Food Candy is good without it, but amazing with. I wouldn’t skip this step if I were you!
The key to getting the center of this candy just right is making sure you don’t let the temperature of the mixture go past 300°F. The most accurate thermometer I’ve found for candy and other things is the ThermoWorks Thermapen. This isn’t sponsored…I just absolutely love this food thermometer. It is so fast and accurate, I’ve never had better luck making candy than I have when using the Thermapen. (It’s spendy, but now that I’ve used it for about a year, I think the price is well worth it!). You can buy a Thermapen on Amazon here.
If you are looking for an easy and different candy to include in your holiday entertaining plans, I can’t recommend this Angel Food Candy enough. Definitely make it! Now, I’ve got to go because I’ve got some Christmas shopping to get started. Enjoy!
Old Fashioned Angel Food Candy Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon San Francisco Salt Co Fleur de Sel optional
Instructions
- In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 300° (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Do not overcook (and remember that the temperature will continue to rise even after you turn the heat off, so work quickly at this point).
- Remove from the heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Quickly pour into a buttered 9-in. x 9-in. glass pan. Do not spread candy. Just pour it in and let it set.
- When cool, break into bite-size pieces.
- In the meantime, melt chocolate chips and vegetable oil together over low heat. Once melted, dip candy pieces into the chocolate, shake off excess and set on waxed paper. Sprinkle with Fleur de Sel (optional) and serve once chocolate is hardened.
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I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet either! And now that I’ve seen what your candy looks like, I don’t know what to do with my life. They’re like precious, shiny little nuggets of decadence.
This is my absolute favorite candy EVER! My grandmother used to buy bags of it when I was a little girl. I made it one time (and forgot to oil my pan – that was fun) and have been in the mood to make it again. I found a bag at Trader Joe’s the other day and almost ate the whole bag by myself. I think this is a sign… 🙂
It totally is a sign 🙂 I need to try the TJ’s version!
Oooh! I had never heard of this – now I am obsessed! Adding it to my friday links roundup.
I was so busy moving that I didn’t cook or bake for Christmas – just let my dear son-in-law do all the work. This candy looks delicious. I’m not waiting until next Christmas to make some. All my kitchen stuff is loaded up at the new house so I think I will run out to the grocery store and buy the ingredients and take a break from opening boxes.
It’s almost close to Christmas this recipe I’ll save to make on that date, I love to vary recipes at that time.
Can I freeze this candy until christmas or not?
That’s a really great question. I’ve never tried freezing it but knowing what I know of the recipe I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze it. I’d definitely take it out a good half a day or so before serving it! This is all just a guess though. I’m sorry I don’t the actual answer.
I don’t think you can freeze it. The moister from thawing it out would make it tough. But you could try it with a little bit of it so you don’t wreck all of it.
I have never heard of this kind of candy! I bake at Christmas, and use Trader Joe’s as “fill ins” in case I can’t get all the baking done that I want to. I am going to make this, because your directions are clear and your description makes me want to go for it! I love home baked gifts….giving and receiving! Thanks for your recipe!
My very favorite candy–hands down. Did you see what confectionaries are charging? $25,00, and up, a pound.
This candy was a childhood favorite of mine. I’m so glad you posted the recipe! It sounds super easy to make and I’m going to try it this year even though I’m not really a “holiday baker.”