A Handmade Christmas! Home Made Cinnamon Hard Candy

What better way to gift this season than to hand-make your own delicacies!! All December we will be featuring delicious edible ideas for small gifts, baskets and much more. To start we are featuring a yummy recipe from Saveur Magazine for home made cinnamon hard candies. These could be packaged in a vintage tin, or set on your table for guests. Spicy and bold in color, they are sure to add a little holiday cheer to any event planned for the season!

Cinnamon Hard Candies
Makes about 120 candies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp cinnamon extract or 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon oil
1/4 tsp red food coloring

Directions
1. Line an 8x8" metal baking pan with parchment paper and grease parchment with non-stick spray; set aside.
2. Heat sugar, corn syrup & 1/2 cup water in a 1-qt saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and cover; boil 3 minutes. Remove lid & attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Cook, without stirring, until sugar mixture reaches 300 degrees; remove pan from heat.
3. With a long handled spoon, stir in the cinnamon extract & food coloring. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Let cool slightly, until candy reaches pliable consistency. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut candy into 1/2" squares. Let cool 30 minutes until hard.
4. Peel candies off parchment paper and wrap individually in confectioner's paper or dust candies with a mixture of 1/4 cup powdered sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon, if you like and transfer to another bowl.