Recipe: Angel food candy (honeycomb candy)

Note: Every year we ask readers to send recipes for favorite holiday foods--turkeys or cookies or, this year, candy. C.L. Underwood of Maywood responded with a recipe for Angel Food Candy, also called Honeycomb Candy, which is coated with chocolate. Underwood got the recipe from the magazine Taste of Home, and many tasters in The Times Test Kitchen had made similar candies before. But this is a great version of the candy, which has an airy crunchiness, in part due to the use of baking soda. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate is recommended to balance the sweetness of the candy underneath.

Active Work Time: 45 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 pounds semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

* Cook sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop stirring and bring candy to boil. Continue cooking without stirring until candy reaches hard-crack stage (300 to 310 degrees on candy thermometer), about 10 minutes.

* Remove candy from heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour into buttered 13x9-inch baking pan but do not spread (candy won’t fill pan). Let candy cool.

* Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water and set aside to cool.

* Break hardened candy into chunks and dip into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper until firm, about 30 minutes, or refrigerate. Store in airtight container.

2 1/2 pounds. Each serving: 313 calories; 20 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.45 gram fiber.