Homemade Divinity Candy
Satisfy your sweet tooth this holiday season with a batch (or two!) of pillowy soft homemade divinity candy.
This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to learn more about how affiliate links are used on this site.
There is a saying, “You know who your true friends are if they give you homemade divinity.” Actually, no. I just made that up. But if you’ve ever made homemade divinity candy, you know what I’m talking about. And if you’ve never made homemade divinity, a word of wisdom: If someone ever gives you homemade divinity candy, even if divinity is not your thing, thank them profusely. Because of the time it takes to make my divinity recipe, I only give mine away to people I really like.
Ingredients and tools you will need
To make this old fashioned divinity candy recipe, you will need:
- A day with low humidity – I’m not even joking with this one. We live in a day and age with central heat and air. You wouldn’t think the weather would have any effect on the outcome of a recipe. But in this case, it does. High humidity will impact the way the batch of divinity dries and could result in gooey candy. Check the humidity levels on the day you intend to make divinity. If it is a rainy day or the humidity level is more than 50%, plan to make the candy on another day.
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup of cold water
- 3 room temperature egg whites – room temperature egg whites produce more volume when they are beaten than cold egg whites.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Additional pecan halves for garnish, optional
- Candy thermometer – we need to heat the sugar and corn syrup until the mixture reaches 260 degrees F, also known as hard ball stage. Some people can decipher hard ball stage by sight. I’m not one of those people. The most foolproof way to ensure your hot sugar mixture has been heated to the appropriate temperature is with a good candy thermometer.
- Stand mixer – I know some of y’all probably have mamas and grandmamas who beat their divinity by hand with a wooden spoon back in the day or with a handheld electric mixer. I don’t recommend it. At one point, the divinity candy needs to beat for 10-15 minutes. I don’t know anybody who can beat something nonstop for 15 minutes. I’ve also heard trying to use a hand mixer can burn out the motor.
- Cooling racks – not necessary, but this does help to facilitate the drying process a little faster.
Heat the sugar
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. The mixture will be cloudy. I kept stirring until I no longer spotted any sugar granules on my spoon. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the sugar syrup to a boil. Place your candy thermometer into the saucepan and heat, without stirring, until the candy thermometer reaches 260 degrees F. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat.
Beat the egg whites
While your sugar is boiling, beat the egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer. Just be sure to keep an eye on your thermometer. Using your stand mixer, beat the egg whites using the whisk attachment at medium to medium-high speed until they reach stiff peaks. Stiff peaks means when you lift the whisk out of the egg whites, the peak stands straight up rather than falling back over on itself.
Add the sugar mixture
With the mixer running on medium speed, pour the hot syrup mixture into the beaten egg whites in a slow and steady stream. I want to emphasize that this needs to be done slowly. Adding the sugar in a thin stream is going to add volume to the stiff egg whites and allow them to stabilize. However, adding the sugar too quickly will cause your egg whites to deflate.
Just beat it
Once all the sugar has been added, switch to the paddle attachment. Set the mixer to medium speed and set your timer for 10 minutes. We are trying to cool the egg whites slowly by incorporating air. You will notice the egg whites have a shiny sheen to them at first, but as they start to cool, that sheen will start to dull. After 10 minutes, if your egg whites are still glossy and not holding a shape, beat them for 5-10 minutes more.
Add the nuts and vanilla
At this point, you should be able to scoop up a bit of the mixture with a spoon and it will hold its shape and not run all over. If you’ve achieved this, add the vanilla extract and chopped pecans. Mix on low just until the pecans are evenly mixed throughout.
Dry the divinity
Spoon heaping tablespoons of divinity onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper. It’s helpful to use a second spoon or small spatula to push the divinity off the spoon into little mounds onto the wax paper. If you want, top each candy with a pecan half while it’s still soft. Allow the divinity to dry at room temperature for at least two hours, but it can take up to 24 hours for it to completely dry (this is where low humidity comes in to play).
Once the divinity has hardened to the point where you can pick it up without damaging it, it’s helpful to move it to a cooling rack to finish drying. This allows more air to circulate underneath the candy and facilitate the drying process. Homemade divinity candy is properly dried when it’s no longer sticky to the touch. It should have a pillowy soft texture, like nougat (you know that bottom layer you bite into when eating a Snickers bar?).
Storage
Homemade divinity candy can go stale, so it’s important to store it in an airtight container or freezer bag in a cool dry place. Consume within two weeks. Divinity candy can also be frozen for up to two months.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You can add food coloring or colored gelatin. Keep in mind that if using gelatin, the divinity will taste like the flavor of the gelatin. Add the food coloring or gelatin after your egg whites reach stiff peaks but before you add the hot sugar.
I don’t advise exchanging dark corn syrup for light corn syrup in this recipe like you can with my pecan pie. Dark corn syrup will affect the look and flavor of the finished product, so try to use light if possible.
I personally have not tried making this without corn syrup. But I have done some research on this topic and have found that you should be able to replace the corn syrup with agave nectar and still achieve the same color and flavor. Brown rice syrup, honey, golden syrup, blackstrap molasses, sorghum molasses, cane syrup, tapioca syrup or maple syrup can also be used as a substitute but may result in divinity that is a different color and has a different flavor.
Homemade Divinity Candy
Ingredients
- 4 cups sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ¾ cup water
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Additional pecan halves for garnish optional
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil without stirring until the sugar reaches hard ball stage, or 260 degrees F, on a candy thermometer. You may need to adjust the heat a little to reach the correct temperature. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- While the sugar is boiling, beat the egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form.
- Switch to the paddle attachment on your mixer. With the mixer running, add the sugar mixture in a slow and steady stream.
- Once all the sugar has been added, continue to beat the egg whites until the whites have lost their glossy sheen and the mixture holds a shape, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and chopped pecans. Mix on low speed until the pecans are evenly incorporated throughout the divinity.
- Spoon heaping tablespoons of divinity candy onto waxed or parchment paper.
- Top each piece of candy with a pecan half.
- Allow the divinity to dry at room temperature for a minimum of two hours, up to 24 hours.
![How to Make Beignets [from scratch]](https://cookingbride.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/How-to-Make-Beignets-IMG_4373-768x576.jpg)
Thank you for your kind words, Ingrid. I’m afraid I can’t answer your questions, though. I have heard of divinity frosting. However, his recipe was written with the intent of making candy, not frosting. Without knowing the differences between divinity the candy and divinity the frosting, I really can’t say with confidence that this will work.
I have never tried to make this recipe with cream of tartar instead of corn syrup. So again, I really can’t say if you would achieve the same results. Sorry!
Thank you for your wonderful recipe. I want to make this recipes to frost a cake. My mother used to make my birthday cake and she always used divinity to frost my cake with. Will it be okay to use your recipe for divinity and use it as frosting on a cake? I am 100% certain that she used divinity for my cake. This is why I ask you that question. It was delicious and the frosting was chunky like divinity is. Can I still make the divinity without the corn syrup ?Can cream of tartar be used instead? Anyways, what are your thoughts? Getting advice from you will be so sincerely appreciated. Thank you so much.