My Best Divinity Candy Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to making divinity? ›

Much like it is when making meringues, the key to making a successful divinity has everything to do with the weather! If possible, always make divinity on a cool, dry day. As sugar attracts water, any humidity or moisture in the air can affect how your divinity turns out.

But if your divinity fails to harden, you can beat in two tablespoons of powdered sugar and allow the mixture to rest a few minutes; if the candy hardens too much, you can blend in hot water a tablespoon at a time until the perfect, fluffy consistency is reached.

There could be several reasons that your divinity did not turn out fluffy: The syrup was not at the right temperature when it was added to the egg whites. The egg white and syrup mixture was not beaten long enough. The humidity was too high.

Consider this: divinity hates humidity. It's best to make divinity on a cool, dry day. If it's humid (over 50%) or rainy, the candy might end up with a more gooey, or grainy texture.

Humidity equals wet, and wet equals candy that often won't set. Even in the cooler and less humid months, it can be a challenge to make old fashioned divinity - that being a divinity that is purely sugar, corn syrup, water, egg whites, chopped pecans, a little vanilla - and a goodly amount of elbow grease.

Corn Syrup – This is added to stop the sugar from crystalizing giving you a very smooth, chewy texture that's not grainy. Sugar – White granulated sugar is the best for this recipe, avoid brown sugar or it'll affect both the taste and look of the divinity.

Beat until candy holds its shape, 5-6 minutes. (Do not overmix or candy will get stiff and crumbly.)

The divinity is ready when it holds its shape in a mound on the parchment paper. If it turns into a puddle, continue beating the mixture.

If your divinity candy fails to harden, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat again. Allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. This will absorb more moisture and will allow your sweet treat to harden. If you want your divinity candy to soften up a bit add hot water a tablespoon at a time and beat it again.

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.

Why is my divinity not losing its gloss? ›

Tests to Make Sure the Divinity is Done

If the candy falls back into the bowl in ribbons that immediately merge back into themselves, the divinity is not done and you need to keep beating. Eventually, the divinity candy will lose it's glossiness and sheen and stop being so sticky, which means it's ready.

Drop mixture from buttered spoon onto waxed paper. Let stand at room temperature at least 12 hours, turning candies over once, until candies feel firm. Store in airtight container.

High humidity hastens the breakdown of sugar as it cools. Once the candy has cooled to the point where it can no longer evaporate moisture, it can actually begin to reabsorb moisture. This produces a softer product than may be desirable.”

How To Handle Overly Dry Divinity. If you find that your Divinity candy has turned out too dry (left hand side of image above), work as quickly as possible to spoon the pieces out onto the parchment paper. Let the candy sit out just until it has cooled and then immediately transfer to an air tight container.

Short-term storage:

Place the cooled candy in the lined container, separating layers with additional sheets of wax paper to prevent them from sticking together. Store the container in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat. Divinity candy can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Now, making divinity comes with all kinds of warnings about humidity and weather. You can't make it if it is "too" humid or if it's raining. The moisture in the air will keep the candy from setting and drying properly.