Pepper Imps

We are entering a section that will take awhile to get through-- Ron's first description of Honeydukes:

"'It's this sweetshop,' said Ron, a dreamy look coming over his face, 'where they've got everything... Pepper Imps-- they make you smoke at the mouth-- and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next'" (Prisoner of Azkaban 77).

So first, we take on Pepper Imps. I have not, however, been able to find any real instructions on how to make this candy. So I'm going to make it up! A heads up, pepper imps are eventually described as being black in color, but I couldn't find black food coloring. And even if I could, I think I'd be afraid that it would stain my candy mold!

At The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Honeydukes sells red Pepper Imps, which taste like cinnamon, similar to red hots. But cinnamon doesn't conjure up the image of smoking at the mouth, so I will use cayenne pepper!

You Will Need:
Cooking spray
Corn starch
1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup Sugar
Cayenne Pepper
Tabasco Sauce (I added this as an afterthought)
Candy Molds
Candy Thermometer

1. Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Add a bit of the cayenne pepper.

2. Spray your candy mold with cooking spray and dust with the cornstarch. Tap off the excess.
3. Heat the mixture on medium, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the mixture is 300 degrees. Remove from the heat.

4. Quickly stir in some more cayenne pepper, and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce.
5. Use a teaspoon to drizzle the syrup into the candy molds. Work quickly, as the mixture will begin to harden pretty fast!

6. Let the candy harden. When the candies are cool, pop them out and rub off any excess cornstarch or oil with a paper towel.

Be careful when you enjoy these! They really do pack some heat! My Dad, who loves spicy things, couldn't finish his! Looks like my first candy recipe was a success! Hooray!