Hokey Pokey--confection at its finest. And easiest.
We remember peanut brittle being a staple around our grandmother's house during the holidays. We were always lukewarm on the peanuts, but we loved the "brittle". And now that we have a son with severe nut allergies, there's no way peanut brittle is coming within 100 feet of our house.
Hokey Pokey is a confection that hails from New Zealand (or so we learned while researching the recipe). And it is a lot like the "brittle", without the nuts. We've heard some compare it to the insides of the British Violet Crumble candy bar.
And it's so easy that we let our kids help us make it.
Here's what you need and how you do it
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tablespoons dark corn syrup
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Mix the sugar and corn syrup together in a pan. Turn on heat and bring to a boiling, bubbling mass. Let it cook like this for at least three minutes (if it does not cook long enough, it won't harden. If you have a candy thermometer, you might want to check that the temp reaches 300 degrees. But our hokey pokey turned out fine without a thermometer.)
Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. It should look like spun gold. Poor onto parchment paper or greased aluminum foil. Let harden (takes 15 to 20 minutes). Then crack it into small pieces.
If you want to step this recipe up a little, you could melt some chocolate, swirl the hokey pokey through it and let cool.
That is dangerously easy.
Posted by: Missives From Suburbia | November 17, 2008 at 10:35 AM
May I also suggest this crushed and sprinkled on ice cream, or even mixed into ice cream - delicious!
Posted by: Angela | November 17, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Yum!
Posted by: Michele | November 17, 2008 at 11:17 AM
That looks a lot like cinder toffee, except made with baking powder instead of bicarb and vinegar.
Posted by: Andrew | November 17, 2008 at 02:48 PM
well, that just looks yummy! Something to make for the holidays along side peanut brittle, for those that may have a peanut allergy. Thanks for the recipe!
Posted by: Amiyrah | November 17, 2008 at 04:04 PM
I love this recipe! I'm going to try it with my allergic kids. I'll also add some sunflower seeds in for that extra bit of texture. I miss nut brittles too.
Posted by: Gladys | November 17, 2008 at 07:18 PM
Sweet and easy: that's what it's all about!
(I can't believe I'm the first one to jump on the pun wagon!)
Posted by: kcinnova | November 17, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Someone gave me hokey pokey last christmas and I've always been curious how to make it.
Posted by: Culinarywannabe | November 18, 2008 at 03:32 AM
Hokey Pokey is a thin version of what I've always known as "Sea Foam" here in Cali sweet shops. You should tried it coated in chocolate! Yummo!
Posted by: Sarah | November 22, 2008 at 08:31 AM