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Dandelion Candy

Homestead Lady Tessa Zundel
This dandelion candy contains honey, raw sugar, dandelion, turmeric, lemon, and ginger. Great tasting and naturally good for you! Or at least better for you than commercial candy with corn syrup and chemical dyes.
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Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Cups Dandelion Tea* Instructions in Notes section.
  • 2 Cups Raw Sugar
  • 1 Cup Honey
  • ½ tsp Powdered Ginger
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • 1 Lemon Squeeze and strain out the seeds.
  • 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions
 

  • Mix all the ingredients in a medium to large, heavy-bottomed pot with handles. Stir once to combine.
  • Place on a burner over medium heat.
  • Using the handles, gently swish the contents of the pot as the mixture heats to prevent scorching. You may also use a whisk but keep the syrup low in the pot. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, use a silicone pastry brush with a little water to gently swipe them back down into the pot.
  • Using a candy thermometer, heat to 300°F/149°C until hard crack stage. Watch carefully for signs of the sugar scorching or burning. Remove from heat for a few seconds to cool a bit, if necessary. If you have a gas stovetop, it’s easier to control the flame and prevent burning.
  • Once the syrup has reached temperature, remove immediately from heat and begin to place by spoonful onto a silicone mat or buttered glass dish.  You can also pour mixture into heat-proof silicone molds for fun shapes and sizes.
  • Cool completely and remove the dandelion candy by carefully popping them up off the mat or out of the molds.
  • Coat in organic powdered sugar to prevent the dandelion candy from sticking together. Alternatively, you can use stevia powder mixed with cassava flour. You could use arrowroot powder, if you prefer, but I think it’s too bitter. This is candy, after all.

Notes

*To Make Dandelion Tea:
  1. Gather about three cups of dandelion blooms.
  2. Snip the green ends off and compost them.
  3. Place the blooms into a heat-safe bowl and cover with at least 4 cups of boiling water.
  4. Let it sit for at least 4-6 hours. The longer you leave it, the darker and stronger the tea will get. Strain and compost the spent dandelion.
If you don’t have a candy thermometer, heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves. It takes roughly another half hour to get the heated mixture to 300°F/149°C.
  • The mixture will start to bubble (boil) and separate when it’s hot enough.
You can drop a bit of the mixture into a glass of cold water; if it hardens quickly, it’s ready. You can also drop a bit onto a silicone mat to see if it hardens, which it should start to do quickly.
See the post for a temperature chart for the sugar syrup if you don't have a candy thermometer.
Keyword dandelion, healthy treats, homemade candy
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