This year I was introduced to my husbands family's tradition of making Christmas candy. We have wanted to try it out for years, but one thing or another kept getting in the way.
Last year when we moved into our house one of the first things my husband and mother-in-law both said was..."your island will be great for Christmas candy".
What they didn't tell me what that the candy involved MOUNTAINS OF POWDERED SUGAR!!!!!! For those of you who know me, you can imagine the look on my face as they pour 3 1/2 POUNDS OF POWDERED SUGAR on my island!
The next step involved patting down the mountain until it was an even slab. The kids had fun with that, although I don't know exactly how even it was! The grownups had to help them with that.
Then we drew furrows through the confectioners sugar, which held the molten candy as it was poured. The next step was covering the candy in powdered sugar until it cooled down and then cut/broke into pieces.
We also got a bit inventive and let the kids make handprints in the powdered sugar to make lollipops! 
It was messy...but alot of fun. You are able to keep the left over powdered sugar for the next year. And I think I will be finding little bits of powdered sugar till then!
Christmas Candy
3 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp flavoring oil
citric acid
coloring as desired
Combine sugar, water and corn syrup over medium heat until it reaches the "hard crack" stage. Take it off the heat. When it stops boiling add coloring and flavor. Pour into your powdered sugar molds. Cover the candy with powdered sugar. Let cool.
"Hard-Crack Stage
300° F–310° F
Sugar concentration: 99%
The hard-crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. CAUTION: To avoid burns, allow the syrup to cool in the cold water for a few moments before touching it!"
looks like so much fun! However I think I'll leave that tradition to YOUR family's kitchen :D...good luck with the powdered sugar cleanup!
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