From The Kitchen of The Cypress House, Oct. 17,1979:

Candy making is not my forte. I usually rely on the fall school and church bazaars to fill our “sweet tooth.”

But when we do make candy, it’s with the recipe for brown candy that has to be the best in the country.

We thought we’d share with you my Aunt Sidney’s recipe for Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy. 

Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy

3 pints white sugar

1 pint half-and-half

1/4 pound butter

1/4 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 pounds nut meats, finely chopped

Pour 1 pint sugar into heavy aluminum or iron skillet and place over low heat. Begin stirring with a wooden spoon, and keep sugar moving so it will not scorch at all. It will take over half hour to completely melt this sugar, and at no time let it smoke or cook so fast that it turns dark. It should be about the color of light brown sugar syrup.

As soon as you have the sugar started to heat in the skillet, pour the remaining 2 pints of sugar together with the pint of half-and-half into a deep heavy kettle and set it over low heat to cook along slowly while you are melting the sugar in the skillet.

 As soon as all the sugar is melted, begin pouring it into the kettle of boiling half-and-half and sugar, keeping it on very low heat and stirring constantly.

Now the real secret of mixing these ingredients is to pour a stream no larger than a knitting needle and to stir across the bottom of the kettle all of the time.

Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture forms a firm ball when dropped into cold water.

After this test is made, turn off the heat and immediately add the soda, stirring vigorously as it foams up.

As soon as the soda is mixed, then add the butter, allowing it to melt as you stir.

Now, set off the stove, but not outdoors or in a cold place, for 20 minutes, and then add the vanilla and begin beating. Use a wooden spoon and beat until the mixture is thick and heavy, having a dull appearance instead of a glossy sheen.

Add the broken pecan meats and mix. Turn into tin boxes or into square pans where it may be cut into squares when cooled slightly.

(This recipe is much easier if two cooks work together; one pours, one stirs.)