One more quick candy for any really severely last minute holiday emergencies you are having. Honeycomb or sponge toffee is a light, crispy, foamy candy - it's what's inside a Crunchy bar. It's great with chocolate on top, or with maple syrup and toasted walnuts as I did here. It's quick, it's an excellent stocking stuffer and you will find watching it magically bubble up strangely soothing in the midst of seasonal panic. Or at least I did. If the foaming isn't quite soothing enough, there is also some very cathartic smashing to look forward to. It puffs up so much it seems impossible. Make sure to choose a large enough pan to contain the foam explosion.

I hope you have a lovely, happy Christmas or holiday or your choice!

maple walnut honeycomb

adapted from Merrill Stubbs at Food 52

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tbs baking soda
1/3 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
big pinch flaky salt, if you wish

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and place this on a heat tolerant cutting board or trivet.

Heat sugar, syrup and 1/3 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl mixture a couple times but do not stir. Cook until mixture reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer.

Remove the pan from heat and very quickly stir in baking soda. Mixture will foam up a lot so stir rapidly to mix soda thoroughly. Add half the nuts and dump mixture out onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle remaining nuts and salt on top.

Let toffee cool completely and then smash it up into bite size chunks. Store in an airtight container, toffee will wilt and weep if left out for too long.

Photos: Tyrel Hiebert

Need a stocking stuffer, secret santa, party favour or just general emergency gift? A bag of juicy, spicy and slightly boozy caramels fit the bill nicely. And they are very quick to throw together for any festive crisis you encounter. They keep for a couple weeks in an airtight container + parchment wrappers at room temperature.

Candy making is slightly intimidating, it needs a bit of precision and it can also hurt you real bad. Sugar burns are awful, so please be very careful adding things to boiling sugar and pouring the caramels. Also, I highly recommend not setting your sugar on fire, setting off all the smoke alarms, alarming & annoying the other building residents, having to call the charming fire-people to come turn the stupid thing off and ruining a perfectly good pan, as I did once making caramel. Just stay there and watch your caramel like a hawk. Despite these potential stumbling blocks, candy making is pretty easy if you have a reliable thermometer and lots of fun.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups apple juice, preferably cloudy
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
½ cup heavy cream
5 tbs butter
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
4 tbs spiced whiskey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8"x8" square pan with parchment.

Combine juice, sugars and cinnamon in a medium pan and cook on high heat until mixture registers 280° on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and and cream butter and salt. The sugar will bubble up-be careful. Return to heat until mixture reaches 250°. Add whiskey and vanilla. Pour caramel into prepared pan and chill until firm.

Slice into small rectangles and wrap in parchment squares.

Photos: Tyrel Hiebert