Feather-light, creamy divinity is relatively easy to...

Feather-light, creamy divinity is relatively easy to make when the weather is dry and you have a sturdy free-standing mixer. It’s simply a matter of following recipe directions to the letter.

Make sure your beater is up to it, though. Making divinity will overheat the motors of portable mixers and most lightweight free-standing mixers.

And don’t try making divinity when the humidity is above 60%. No matter how long you beat the mixture, it will remain too runny to form into mounds.

Tips:

Cook the syrup mixture in a heavy saucepan. Use a candy thermometer and double-check that the syrup has reached the hard-ball stage by dropping a small amount in cold water. It should form a firm ball when pressed between your fingers.

Bring the egg whites to room temperature before beating to allow them to reach their maximum volume when whipped. Start beating them to stiff peaks when the syrup is almost ready.

Gradually pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a slow, steady steam. This should take about three minutes. Don’t scrape the pan, but immediately run hot water into it to help with cleanup.

If you want to tint the candy, add a few drops of food color at the same time as the vanilla.

The divinity has been beaten enough when it starts to lose its gloss and falls from the beaters in a ribbon, which forms a mound.

A cup of any of the following may be folded into the candy right before the mixture is spooned: crushed candy, chopped nuts, golden raisins, chopped pitted dates, chopped dried fruit, chopped candied fruit.

Work quickly when spooning the candy; otherwise it may get too stiff to manipulate before you’re finished. If it does become too hard to spoon, beat in a few drop of hot water.

Wrapped airtight, the candy will keep one to two weeks.

DIVINITY

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cups light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

2 egg whites, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup crushed peppermint candies

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in heavy 3-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until boiling.

Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook 3 minutes until steam washes down any crystals on sides of pan. Uncover pan and continue cooking, without stirring, until mixture registers 260 degrees on candy thermometer, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Just before syrup is cooked to proper temperature, beat egg whites at medium speed of electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Pour hot mixture in thin stream over egg whites, continuing to beat on high speed about 3 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Add vanilla extract and continue beating on high speed 5 to 6 minutes, just until candy begins to lose glossy appearance. When beaters are lifted, mixture should fall in ribbon.

Drop teaspoon of mixture onto waxed paper. If candy stays mounded, mixture has been beaten sufficiently.

Immediately fold in peppermint. Quickly drop teaspoon of mixture onto waxed paper. If mixture flattens out, beat 1/2 to 1 minute more.

Continue dropping mixture by teaspoons. If mixture becomes too stiff to spoon, beat in few drops of hot water.

Store tightly covered.

Makes about 40 pieces candy.

Each candy contains about:

71 calories; 5 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.