Are they poisoned?
These tasty candies take a bit of work, but they are a super fun treat that will be welcome at any party on Luna!
"...it's a sour apple petite. A Lunar delicacy that is-" "One of your favorites, yeah, I know." -Winter, p.123
If you've made hard candy (also called glass candy) before, you'll have no trouble with this recipe! The only tricky part is getting the hard candy into the right shape before it cools.
"Scarlet lifted the lid of the box, revealing the red marble-like candy in its bed of spun sugar." -Winter, p. 354
Ingredients
Shell:
1/2 a beet OR red food coloring
2 cups apple juice
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
powdered sugar
*candy thermometer
*small half-sphere silicon mold
Filling:
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 TBS sugar
1 pinch citric acid
1 pinch ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder)
red food coloring
OR
1/8 cup pomegranate molasses
1/8 cup light corn syrup
1 TBS sugar
red food coloring
How to Make It
Dice the beet and put in a small deep sauce pan with the apple juice. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Strain out the beet and put the liquid back in the sauce pan. It should be a nice rich red color. If you don't want to bother with beets and boiling, just add a few drops of red food coloring to 1 cup apple juice.
Add the rest of the ingredients for the shell to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly until the temperature on the candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit - hard crack stage. This takes some patience. Don't turn the temperature above med-low or you will burn the candy before it reaches the hard crack stage.
As soon as you hit 300 degrees, pour the liquid candy over the entire silicon mold making sure it fills the insides of the half spheres. Quickly pick up the silicon mold (tongs are useful here since it is very hot!) and hold by one edge letting the candy liquid run off the mold leaving a thin layer behind. You don't want it too thin or the candies will be too fragile to work with. You just want there to be a hollow space inside the candies. (I let the candy drip off onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. After it hardens in a thin flat sheet, I drop the cookie sheet on the floor so the candy shatters into what looks like glass shards. I use these for decorating cakes! Do whatever you like with the excess candy drippings, just don't pour the hot candy down the sink or it will cause problems.) Lay the silicon mold down flat and let harden.
Once it has cooled completely, carefully loosen the half spheres out of the mold, cracking off excess candy around the edges. You want a nice flat ring around the edge of the half sphere.
Mix your chosen filling together in a bowl. (I use a glass Pyrex measuring cup because it has a spout which makes pouring the filling into the candy much easier!). Microwave for 30 seconds and stir until the sugar is dissolved. I prefer using pomegranate molasses since it has a tart fruity flavor that is perfect for this recipe. But if you can't find it, just add some sourness to your corn syrup.
Heat a small frying pan on med-low heat on the stove. Pour a small amount of the filling into a half sphere of hardened candy. Take a second half sphere and touch the flat edge to the hot surface of the frying pan for half a second to melt the candy edge. (Watch out for your fingers!) Press the two halves together to form a complete sphere and hold for a moment until the candy cools.
You can eat them like this, but they are a little sticky. I rolled mine in powdered sugar to make them easier to store and handle.
Enjoy!
I've made this recipe, and it turned out great I think! Some notes for anyone who's considering trying this:
Don't worry about the thickness of the candy shells. Mine come out extremely thin, and still worked great. Word of advice for removing them from the mold: if you poured the entirety of your candy and have a layer of it connecting the hemispheres, stick your finger into a hemisphere, and bend the mold while holding them down. The mold naturally creates a weak point between the hemisphere and the candy on the surface, so it will break much cleaner. If you take the candy out of the mold, excess on the surface and all, you risk breaking the shells a…
I have to make a food for an English project, and this is perfect! Thank you because before this I was just going to make homemade jolly ranchers and call it an apple petite.