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The first record of candy canes dates back as far as 1670, when a cathedral in Germany made sweets to give to the children during a nativity service. The sweets were shaped to look like a shepherd's crooks.

Candy canes are still popular today and some Christians have found other meaning in the humble sweet. If you turn the shepherd crook upside-down it suddenly becomes the letter 'J' for Jesus, and the red-and-white stripes represented Christ's blood and purity.


To make Christmas Tree Candy Cane sweets you will need...
12 tablespoons of icing sugar,
1 egg white,
Red food colouring,
Green food colouring,
Peppermint flavouring.
Lemon flavouring.

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...
Add to a bowl the icing sugar, egg white, 4 drops of peppermint flavouring. Mix.

Divide the mixture into two bowls and add 12 drops of red food colouring to one bowl. Mix well, and kneed the mixture to form two smooth balls. If the mixture is a little too wet add more icing sugar.

Roll the balls into long sausages and fix the ends of the sausages together and then twist the sausages together. Give the sausage a roll to make round again.

Cut the sausage into lengths and bend the top over to for a shepherd's crook, or a 'J' and place on some greaseproof paper or a chopping board to dry. Putting them into a fridge overnight helps the drying process. Then the candy canes are ready for hanging on the Christmas tree.

You could also try green coloured, and lemon tasting candy canes for a variation on the traditional.