Molasses-on-Snow Candy

The fresh snow gave us the perfect opportunity to make a favorite treat of Mary and Laura Ingalls–molasses-on-snow candy.  Here’s how we made it:

1)  We mixed one cup molasses and one cup brown sugar in a large cast iron pot.  We then boiled it until the mixture reached the “hard crack” stage–300 degrees F.

I didn’t get a picture of the mixture boiling, because my hands were full as I stirred constantly and held the thermometer.

2)  Kayla scooped fresh, clean snow in two 9 x 13 pans.  We then dribbled spoonfuls of syrup onto the snow.

3)  Once the syrup was hard, we lifted it off the snow and set the candy on wax paper.

4)  Time to eaat–if you dare!  We’re not huge fans of molasses around here, and it’s also slightly possible that the molasses mixture began to burn while I was cooking it (though I never let it get above 300 degrees).  The girls sort of liked it, but I tried it and thought it was horrible.  The smell drove Aaron nuts, but overall we had fun experiencing life as Mary and Laura did.