Butter Tarts and Homemade Candy

These were originally posted on Facebook May 11, 2009. I just made the candy again last night, with a twist!

Butter Tarts

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Frozen tart shells (unsweetened)

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs. Add other ingredients and mix well. Spoon into tart shells. Bake at 425 for 10 min and then reduce heat to 350 and bake for a few more minutes until pastry is lightly browned.

Homemade Old Fashioned Sugar Glass Candy

2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup corn syrup (you're supposed to use light but I used regular)
1 tsp flavouring
A few drops of food colouring
Candy thermometer

Cover cookie sheet in parchment paper. In a heavy bottomed saucepan stir together sugar, water and syrup until sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a boil and cook until candy thermometer reaches 300-310 F or 149-154 C. Remove from heat and stir in flavouring and food colouring. Immediately pour onto cookie sheet. Break into pieces when cool.

This was my first attempt at making candy and I didn't expect it to turn out well. But it did! It was tasty, although I didn't put in any flavouring or food colouring but I will next time.

I made these again only this time I mixed some Kool-aid powder in with 1 1/2 tbsp of water and then mixed that in instead of the food colouring and flavouring. Mmmmm, cherry candy