"what do you say, laura?"

When all the trading was done, the storekeeper gave Mary and Laura each a piece of candy. They were so astonished and so pleased that they just stood looking at their candies... Both pieces of candy were white, and flat and thin and heart-shaped. There was printing on them, in red letters. - Little House in the Big Woods, Chapter 9, "Going to Town"

In the 1860s, Daniel Chase of Massachusetts began printing mottoes on lozenge candy that had been rolled, pressed, and cut into hearts, horseshoes, miniature postcards, or other shapes.

In Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder writes that at the store in Pepin, Wisconsin, Mary and Laura were given candy hearts with sayings on them. Laura's said "Sweets to the Sweet" - Mary's had a whole poem on it: "Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet - And so are you." Popular for weddings, early conversation candies may even have been printed with the saying found in These Happy Golden Years: "Married in black, you'll wish yourself back."

You can easily make your own "Little House" candy hearts using the same ingredients found in the original: powdered sugar, corn syrup, water and gelatin. They can easily be tinted and/or flavored.

To make the hearts, first: wash your hands! Then measure 1 teaspoon Knox gelatin, 1/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon light Karo syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir, microwave on high for about 20 seconds, and stir until well mixed.

Pour the gelatin mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. You can mix them by hand but it will be much, much harder. Add powdered sugar - a half cup at a time (you'll need a one pound box, plus a little extra for rolling and cutting) - mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl often. The mixture will go from a watery liquid to a dough that is quite stiff.

Once you've reached the "play-doh" stage, remove the ball of dough to a wooden cutting board dusted lightly with powdered sugar. Knead until smooth and elastic, then roll flat. I used 8mm diameter knitting needles on either side of the dough in order to roll to a uniform thickness. It's best to work in small batches, since the dough immediately starts to dry. Cover unworked dough with a moist towel, or a thin crust will form while you're waiting.

Cut the flattened dough into heart shapes using a cookie cutter, and place candies onto a piece of parchment paper to dry for at least 24 hours before stamping; the ink will run if the candies aren't completely dry. This recipe will make about forty 2-inch hearts.

I used an inexpensive printing kit from the office supply store to make stamps with the sayings from the "Little House" book; use food-safe ink for stamping. You can also write directly onto the dry candies with a food-safe marker. In the past, I've used these stamps to made fimo hearts to use as Christmas decorations; I've also stamped shrink plastic to make tiny hearts to dangle from a ribbon bookmark (make sure you punch a hole in the plastic before shrinking). If you're careful, you can also stamp royal frosting on heart-shaped cookies. And... you can even use them on paper Valentine's Day hearts in greeting cards!
- posted by pioneergirl at 2:14 PM