These Christmas Candy Recipes Will Help You Sweeten the Season (2024)

FAQs

Which candy is associated with Christmas? ›

To absolutely no one's surprise, candy canes - red and white, or red, green, and white, striped candy traditionally flavored with peppermint - are one of the signature Christmas candies, with most countries firmly associating them with the holidays.

According to America's Favorite Christmas Candy by State Report, a comprehensive study by research firm HubScore that delved into a survey of the top 20 favorite Christmas candies, Kit Kat ranked top in 13 states followed by a tie between Skittles and candy canes, both ranked top in six states.

A Christmas legend

There's some mystery surrounding the origins of candy canes because there are no exact records of their invention. One well-regarded story suggests that in 1670, a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, gave out sugar sticks to the children as a way to soothe them during the long nativity ceremony.

Every trip past the candy dish yielded a handful of cut rock candy, rainbow gems, baby ribbons, chocolate-filled straws, filled raspberries, and other treats to suck on while opening gifts. Other Christmas classics include peppermint patties and candy canes.

Candy canes are one of the oldest Christmas candies, first appearing in the 17th century in Europe. They were originally straight white sticks of sugar that were meant to symbolize shepherd's crooks.

One theory behind the tradition of oranges in the stocking stems from the generosity of Saint Nicholas (also known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and Old Saint Nick), who was the son of a wealthy merchant and later in life a bishop.

Snickers is listed as the most popular candy in the world. M&Ms, with annual sales of over $500 million, is the most popular candy brand in the United States. In duty-free shops, Toblerone is the best selling candy. KitKat's popularity is the highest in Japan, with over 200 distinct flavors available such as green tea.

In ancient times, Egyptians, Arabs, and Chinese made candies with fruits and nuts that caramelized with honey. The two oldest candy types are licorice and ginger. The historical roots of licorice are found in the early years of man's appearance. In particular, many licorice were eaten by Pharaohs and Prophets.

In 1847, he made a candy to symbolize Christ. The cane's "J" shape stands for Jesus; when turned upside-down, it becomes a shepherd's staff. The white color signifies purity; the red represents Christ's blood, shed for the world's sins, and three red stripes symbolize the trinity.

What color were candy canes originally? ›

Or course, today, there's nothing more iconic when it comes to candy than the alternating red and white stripes of the candy cane, but, according to Schildhaus, for 200 years, before mass-production was automated, they came in just one color: white.

Most historians credit ancient Egyptians with the invention of candy. As far back as 1500 BC, Egyptians created candy from any sweet, local ingredient they could find. They would often combine honey, nuts, and fruits to make a delicious treat that they could share with their community.

- Peppermint is a classic holiday flavor, often found in candy canes, chocolates, and seasonal beverages like peppermint hot chocolate. - Gingerbread spices, including ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, create a distinctive flavor associated with holiday cookies and cakes.

The dire crop outlook recently pushed wholesale cocoa prices to the highest in almost 45 years, and sugar to the most in over a decade, further raising the cost of making treats before Christmas.

Come 13 days before Christmas, Icelandic children will place a shoe beneath their bedroom window in hopes of receiving something from one of the 13 Yuletide-lads. (Read: the Icelandic version of Santa Claus.) Well-behaved children will get little treats such as candy or chocolate stuffed into their shoes.

For dessert, Christmas cookies – usually butter cookies stamped into Christmas-inspired shapes and decorated with icing – are a popular snack all season long, as are mince pies, gingerbread cookies, Bûche de Noël (rolled chocolate cakes meant to resemble the Christmas Yule log), panettone (a sweet, fluffy bread popular ...

Luckily, the origins of the candy cane are slightly more documented than some other holiday traditions. Multiple books have been written on the subject and seem to agree on a common possible explanation: that the candy cane was first invented as an attempt to keep children quiet during the Christmas church service.

Legend goes that a candy maker from Indiana was trying to make a candy that would help everyone remember what Christmas is all about. He hit upon the idea for a candy cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus. His creation began with a pure white hard candy.