How to make maple cream candy is part of the Colonial Craft series where kids (and adults) can literally ‘make history’. This craft requires use of a stove or heating element so an adult supervisor is strongly encouraged.
Colonial Craft Series
What is maple cream candy?
Maple cream candy is a sweet treat of springs yesteryear. Made straight from nature herself… sap from the maple tree. It’s all natural and all yummy!!! And it’s surprisingly simple to make.
History of maple cream candy
Early American colonists learned about maple sap from the local Native Americans. The indigenous people had their own system for retrieving the sap from the maple trees and had a festival each spring under what they called The Sugar Moon. Tribes used the sap in a number of different foods they prepared and it was looked forward to every spring.
Native American Heritage Month
The colonists called it maple water and it didn’t take them long to learn how to make syrup and other sweet maple treats. They would get together as large families and communities to harvest the sap from trees and make what they called a Sugar Shack. Kids would take the syrup and drizzle it on snow for early spring snow cones.
Colonists not only made the syrup they would use for a year but also maple sugar and maple cream candy. All of these kept well and in the days before refrigeration, this was a great thing.
Where is maple cream candy produced?
Canada and America are the only countries who produce maple syrup for the world. Quebec is the leading exporter of all things maple but Vermont, Maine, and other New England states contribute to the world supply of maple syrup (and maple cream candy).
Ready to make maple cream candy?
Supplies
You probably have most of what you need to make maple cream candy around the house, but in case you do not, everything you need is in Sage’s Colonial Craft Supply Shoppe and can be accessed clicking on this photo.
Video instructions How to Make Maple Cream Candy
Step One
Measure two cups of 100% Maple syrup in a measuring cup and then pour the syrup into the pot. Do this with the heat off. 100% syrup works best so make sure you check the ingredient list.
Use a little bit of butter around the inside edge of the pot you are using. This acts as a buffer and prevents the soon to be boiling syrup from boiling over the edge. (This is why you don’t turn on the heat yet).
Recipe for home made butter
In this Make your Own Butter Tutorial, (another of the Colonial Craft series) Sage will show you how to make your own butter to use in this recipe and anywhere else you use butter.
Put in the candy thermometer but make sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom. If it is resting on the bottom of the pot, you won’t get an accurate read and temperature and timing are the two keys to successful maple cream candy making.
Step Two
Turn on the heat! If you are using an electric burner, put heat at medium and if you are using gas burner, medium low. This will gradually bring the maple syrup to a boil. Maple syrup will boil at about 235-240 degrees farenheit.
During this time you’ll want to occasionally stir with your wooden spoon. We highly recommend wooden and Sage likes the flat edge to be able to scrape along the bottom of the pot to ensure nothing is burning down there.
Step Three
Reach and maintain a boil for about five minutes. You note the color beginning to lighten in the boil and that is perfect! Maintain the maple syrup at 235-240 degrees.
Step Four
Remove it from the heat and let it sit undisturbed. We recommend putting it on a trivet (carefully) and let it reach about one hundred eighty degrees. It’s really important it is undisturbed. The maple syrup is doing secret sciency things and we don’t want to mess up the process or it won’t turn into a lovely cream candy.
IT IS HOT! This pot may not be on the stove but it is still extremely hot so don’t touch it!
Step Five
After about five minutes stir vigorously for another five minutes. You’ll know you are doing it right when it starts to turn blonde and you can’t see through it any more. This is the point where you will know if it’s going to remain syrup or turn into a cream candy. Make sure you read the troubleshoot section before this and use the photos as your guide.
PS The maple syrup and the pot are still hot so be cautious. You can always ask your adult supervisor to do this part.
This is when you can add chopped walnuts if you wish.
This is when it starts smelling REALLY GOOD!!!
Step Six
Pour into the molds or bread pan. This step has to be done pretty quickly as the syrup sets into candy within a couple minutes.
Ideally, let it sit 12-24 hours to set up completely. (but if you are super anxious you can pop them out of the molds sooner).
Maple Cream Candy success
When you pop them out they will have a creamy texture similar to fudge. You can break up your candy and put it on ice cream, in coffee, or just eat it as is. It’s all pretty yummy!
Troubleshooting Maple Cream Candy
Still syrup
You did everything right but when you were stirring vigorously in step it just didn’t turn that pretty blonde color. What do you do? Chances are you didn’t bring it to the right temperature for as long as it needed to be there. Bring it back up to a boil and watch that candy thermometer. Temperature and timing is everything for making maple cream candy.
Stuck in the pot
Sometimes if you boil the maple syrup a bit long it sets up too quickly and it’s SUPER difficult to get out of the pot. Don’t fret. Just add a half a cup of water per the amount of maple syrup you started with. SO if you had two cups of maple syrup, add half a cup of water and bring to a boil again. Basically it’s a ‘do over’ moment.
Crumbly and chunky
It obviously isn’t really maple cream candy seeing as it’s crumbly and (as Sage notes in the video) looks like a chicken nugget. This is, however, known as maple sugar and you can use maple sugar as you would use any other sugar…except maple sugar is way better for you because it’s all natural and not processed. Again, you can either add water and ‘do over’ or use it as sugar. (really good in coffee)
Coffee, America’s unofficial Drink
Other issues
If you run into any issues while you make your maple cream candy, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ve probably made the same mistakes. Thankfully, this is one of those rare recipes that you can actually fix if things go awry.
Buy Maple Cream Candy
In case this is daunting or just too much work to make the maple cream and you just want to experience the sweetness of the candy, we recommend a couple of different brands, made in the USA. 🙂
OOOOOO maybe a taste test with maple cream candies from different states?
Make History with your Family
Learning to make maple cream candy is one of a series of tutorials that celebrates our rich American History.
Some say it was a simpler time. Perhaps. I think it’s more accurate to say things were just different. Priorities were different then today for sure.
These tutorials invite you to make pieces of history. We view them as fun crafts today and things to do with kids but they are real learning experiences and a glimpse into the past.
Doing a craft like learning to make maple cream candy brings up memories as well as lessons. A new skill is learned and a sweet treat to share is created.
We love making these ‘Make History’ videos and we hope you enjoy watching them and doing them with your family.
Pin It For Later!
Whenever you are ready to make maple cream candy, we’ll be right here for you.
Sign up for our email so you’ll know when each new craft is posted!
This looks delicious! Love the video!
I love anything having to do with maple syrup! We homeschool and I think this would be a great activity to try with my children. Thanks for sharing the step by step directions.
Real maple syrup is the best! I agree…. And making maple cream candy is a hoot! I hope you and the kids have a great time! Make sure it’s 100% maple syrup… makes a big difference.
We love maple cream candy. Thanks for posting a recipe. My girls would love to make this!
Oh I’m so glad to hear this! Maple Cream Candy is awesome. You’ll have to let me know how they like making it. Tip: Make sure the syrup is 100% maple. It makes all the difference.
My husband would love these. Maybe I’ll make them for him!
You should totally make them! Maple Cream Candy is so simple but such a treat! Historic and yummy!!!!
Maple Candy is delicious and thank you for the recipe!
Have you made maple cream candy? It is fun to make and it smells wonderful!!! Historic fun in the kitchen 🙂
I haven’t heard of this but what a fun way to share some history with the littles and get a tasty treat in return!
Yes! We’re always looking for fun and meaningful ways to learn history. What better way than to eat history? It’s helpful that maple cream candy is easy to make as well…I’m rather a disaster in the kitchen.
This looks delicious!
If you have the chance to make maple cram candy yourself, I highly recommend. It’s easy and tasty and a sweet way to bite into American History. 😉
What cute and fun photos! They make me want to make maple candy as soon as possible! 🙂
I hope you DO make some maple cream candy! It’s really good! …and a sweet little bit of American History too…
Yum. I would eat that.
You absolutely should LOL Thankfully it’s pretty easy to make the maple cream candy… I have a history of being a rather terrible cook so if I can make it, anyone can.:)
My eldest son loved everything maple (cookies, ice cream, taffy). I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to make his own maple cream candy.
excellent! Yes, Maple Cream Candy is delightfully simple to make so a great family activity. And a little historic fun too
I think I’ll just buy it, lol! Anything that sticks like caramel is a pain to make but fun if I had kiddos
I hear you..LOL… It is very different than carmel. The first time we made maple cream candy it stuck in the pot. Hardend SOLID and I was sure I’d have to throw out the pot…it was like cement. Then I did a lot of research. I’ve never made anything that all you had to do to fix it was to reconstitute it. Life saver. Maple Cream candy disaster averted.
This looks really fun! I love the molds you used. So cute. I may have to try this someday, but my can’t making skills in general are lacking. I think it’s a lack of patience on my part. Ha!
Oh Stacey…. my history in the kitchen is not pretty and involves more than one food poisoning and fire truck incident. Girl, if I can make maple cream candy, you can too! Mind you, it took me three times to make the candy properly and my ten year old daughter one time but it’s the most forgiving recipe… just add water and start over. My kind of recipe!
I love that you are using REAL maple syrup which is actually good for you! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m not sure you can use anything BUT real maple syrup to make maple cream candy. All my research pointed to it not working/not setting up properly because most store ‘maple’ syrup is corn syrup. ew. And yes, maple syrup is actually good for you. I’m considering using maple sugar for a while too. (now that I know how to make that too)
How fun! I think I will be trying this out! We have been making all sorts of fun stuff lately!
Great! The recipe to make the maple cream candy is pretty simple. It’s the timing and the temperature of the syrup that is the trick. I know people have been making it for hundreds of years and I wonder how they did it without a candy thermometer. (Pretty sure that is relatively new in candy history). I guess they knew maple and the process enough to know…
Looks like it would be fun just trying to make it!
It really is fun to make the maple cream candy…and it makes the house smell delicious! Bonus!!!! I have a history of being terrible in the kitchen but we did OK with this one!
So fun. Now you just need to get your maple syrup from New England. We get these treats every spring when we visit Vermont but now I can make my own.
We DID get our maple syrup from New England! 🙂 I think that or Quebec is the only place you really can get 100% Maple Syrup. Oh what a great tradition to get them every spring! When you make your maple cream candy let me know how it compares…
I don’t think I’ve ever had maple cream candy. I’m not usually a big fan of maple flavor, but I’d be willing to give it a try. Now my kids, on the other hand, would be trying to eat as much as they could.
I never really thought about maple as a flavor but I must admit after trying the cream candy, I’m a fan. I think we will make more because we ate the first two batches LOL
What a great tutorial! The video is the best thing ever!
Ah thank you! She loves doing her historic craft videos. And it was a good time to make the maple cream candy. I hope you get a chance to make your own!
Looks delicious, great video!
I hope you get to make maple cream candy for yourself! It’s delicious!
Such a cute and fun post! Looks like an activity my kids would enjoy.
Absolutely! What kid doesn’t want to make (and eat) candy! The Maple cream is delightful!
We lived in Vermont for five years (in St. Albans – known as the maple syrup capital of the world)…I will definitely pin this recipe to make in the future.
Fantastic! I bet there was a lot of history there! When you make it, let me know how it goes and how it holds up to the maple cream candy you remember!
Thanks for sharing. I hadn’t heard of Maple Cream Candy
It’s a New England thing. Lots of history …. I hope you get to make or at least eat some maple cream candy. It’s pretty great!
This would be fun for my kids to learn how to make.It would be something totally different from what we have been doing during our time at home. Love the video!
It is great for kids! When you make the candy, let me know how it goes! There is nothing quite like maple cream. A taste of history!
Looks yummy! My kids would love this!
Yes they will! Let them make the maple cream candy and then eat it! Yum!
Sage looks so cute in her vintage dress! Perfect candy demonstrator. 🙂
Sage lives to do this. If she could be a historical reenactor full-time, she would. LOL It’s a cool hobby and interest to have. Maple cream candy is just one of many things like likes to demonstrate how to make.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I love maple anything.
The candy really is. There is something unique about the maple cream. Sweet but not sickening like a peep LOL