Easy homemade Divinity Candy is a smooth, pure white candy that tastes sweet and delicious and is made with simple ingredients. A holiday favorite that goes great on a cookie plate for friends and family!
Before beginning, prepare a place to spoon out the divinity, by placing a large sheet of parchment or wax paper on the counter and place 2-4 regular spoons on it.
Beat egg whites and salt in a stand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
In 3 quart saucepan combine sugar, water, and corn syrup
Cook over medium high heat until it “spins a thread”.
This can be determined by using a candy thermometer and cooking until it reaches 220-230, or when you pull a spoon out of the syrup and let the liquid drip off the sugar forms what looks like thread hanging off the spoon. You are looking for threads that are 2-3 inches long.
Once this stage is reached immediately turn your mixer with the egg whites to high and slowly add sugar syrup in a very slow steady stream. Move quickly at this stage you don't want your sugar to have a chance to continue cooking.
Add vanilla and continue whipping on high until the mixture holds a peak. You are looking for it to lose a little bit of shine and if you pull a spoon out a little mountain forms on the spoon. This is generally 5 minutes of mixing (over mixing can cause the end candy to be crumbly)
Quickly take it off the mixer and using regular spoons scoop out little balls of mixture and place on prepared parchment paper. They should have a nice bent over peak (as seen in the pictures).
Let set at room temperature until fully set.
Video
Notes
No amount of yolk can be in the eggwhites. If you break the yolk and even get a streak of yellow in the egg whites, the fat of the yolk will prevent them from whipping to stiff peaks.
You also need to work with very clean bowls/whisks/etc. when whipping your egg whites because any grease left on the bowls or beaters will prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.
It's a little tricky to know when the divinity is done, it takes a little practice to get a feel for it in my opinion. That being said, if you undercook it, you'll have divinity that is a little soft and sticky, and if you overcook it, you'll have divinity that is a little dry or chalky. They still taste great even if the texture isn't pillowy smooth. We've never thrown a "bad batch" away :)
This recipe is from my sister-in-law Beth, who got it from her Grandmother. It's an old family favorite that probably looks a lot like your family's recipe.