D.I.Y. Imitation Starbursts

My husband isn't much of a sweets eater.  He would much rather have chips over dessert.  Only once in awhile, thank goodness, he gets his sugar craving.  That usually ends up with us taking a trip to Kroger to buy Heath bars, Starbursts, and some type of M&Ms.  I know...bad...don't judge us. :)

Well, the other night, after we had turned in for the evening, I was doing some crocheting and he was playing 2005 Tiger Woods (because he's awesome like that), when all of a sudden he wanted Starbursts.  Because I told him we would be stupid to get out of bed for Starbursts, he decided to go to the "Google Machine" and see if we could make our own.  Obviously, we didn't make them that night, but the idea entertained him enough to distract him from his craving and it also cemented a future project.

The next day we were at the Amish store, found all the ingredients we needed  (other than citric acid- check the canning section at Walmart), and went home and made these yummy treats. 

*In the recipe, I just wrote extract.  The recipe called for lemon but Mikey wanted to try banana.  We all know that there isn't a banana Starbursts but the texture of this candy was very similar to the original.  We also bought lemon extract and strawberry and we are excited to try those because they will be even more like the yummy Starbursts we all know. :)

WHAT YOU NEED:

4 Tablespoons Butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. citric acid

2 drops yellow fool coloring

Line a 9x5 pan with foil.  The recipe I have says to spray with nonstick cooking spray but I didn't have any so I lightly buttered it. 

- Melt butter, corn syrup, and sugar on medium high heat.  Stir until the combination is dissolved.  Be sure to scrape the sides well so the sugar doesn't crystallize. 

-When dissolved, add candy thermometer.

- Stir occasionally until mixture reaches 245 degrees.  (DO NOT OVERCOOK or your candy with not have the chewy texture you want.)

-As soon as it reaches the appropriate temperature, remove from heat.

-Add extract, citric acid, and food coloring.  Stir until well combined.

-Leave candy to set for at least 4 hours. (My husband and I were too impatient to wait that long.  We cut it after 3 hours. :/ )

-After completely cooled, cut into small squares.

-Wrap with small pieces of wax paper. 

These can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.