Southern Pecan Divinity Candy is a nougat type candy flavored with vanilla and pecans. It is a classic Southern candy and there aren’t too many Christmases that go by that I don’t make a batch or two.
I don’t recall exactly how the conversation came about, but as a new bride, I discovered that my husband loves Southern Pecan Divinity Candy. Divinity is a traditional nougat-like Southern candy made with vanilla and pecans. Depending on the weather, it can require a rather lengthy mix time in order for it to set up. I had just gotten a new hand mixer as a wedding gift from our family friend, Esta Price. New husband, new hand mixer. Divinity candy was my destiny.
Over the years, I made Divinity many times at Christmas. Some years the process would go off without a hitch. And then there were the years where my little hand mixer would overheat causing me to have to interrupt the critical mixing step. As the hot sugar syrup was mixed, it thickened and caused too much of a strain on my little mixer’s motor. After many years, I thought I should give up making Divinity until I could afford a stand mixer. By this time, the little hand mixer was getting up in age and I would be heartbroken if it conked out on me.
As life goes, all the stars didn’t line up just right in order for me to resume Divinity making for a long time. But, it finally happened. I was able to buy a stand mixer and I haven’t missed a Christmas of making Divinity since then. I still have the hand mixer 40 plus years later and I use it often. Sacrificing Divinity for years was the right thing to do. The hand mixer means a lot to me. You couldn’t buy a hand mixer today and expect to have it 40 years from now.
I still have the same husband, too. He’s as handsome as the mixer is lovely. They were both built to last. I”ll leave you to draw your own analogy about the durability of today’s hand mixers and husbands.
I wound up with a good mixer and a good husband. What else does a girl need? I’m forever grateful, indeed.
Y’all come see us!
Southern Pecan Divinity Candy
They say you shouldn’t make Divinity when it rains because it’ll never set up properly. I haven’t tested out that theory. I make it when the sun shines. You’re supposed to make Divinity and cut hay when the sun shines.
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I use Karo)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 cup pecans, chopped
Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir only until the sugar dissolves. Cook to 260 degrees (hard ball stage). I highly recommend using a food thermometer to make sure you get the syrup to the right temperature.
With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. When the syrup is ready, slowly pour it over the egg whites while beating on high-speed. BE CAREFUL! The syrup is hot and it will burn the fool out of you if it splatters.
Add vanilla and continue beating until the candy holds is shape.
Add pecans, mix well.
Drop by teaspoons onto waxed or parchment paper.
Let the candy dry on the paper before attempting to stack it in a candy dish or storage container.
Southern Pecan Divinity Candy
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup I use Karo
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 egg whites
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 to 2 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir only until the sugar dissolves. Cook to 260 degrees (hard ball stage). I highly recommend using a food thermometer to make sure you get the syrup to the right temperature.
- With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. When the syrup is ready, slowly pour it over the egg whites while beating on high-speed. BE CAREFUL! The syrup is hot and it will burn the fool out of you if it splatters.
- Add vanilla and continue beating until the candy holds is shape.
- Add pecans, mix well.
- Drop by teaspoons onto waxed or parchment paper.
- Let the candy dry on the paper before attempting to stack it in a candy dish or storage container.
Susan H. says
Thanks for posting. Divinity is a favorite of mine too. I’ve been married for 37 years and still have my hand mixer I got as a wedding gift. Same brand and color as yours. I don’t use it any longer. I got a Sunbeam MixMaster several years after. Used it for a number of years. Then advanced on up to a KitchenAid that I love. And last year I bought a new hand mixer for small jobs. My mom and I made divinity a few weeks ago…but it ended up a little sticky but still good. Think the recipe we used was same as yours. Not to be outdone, we are going to try it again next month. Hopefully we’ll perfect it. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
CIndy says
I’m at Divinity: 1 Me:0, but I’m not willing to let it beat me just yet. My mom made it and it was perfect, but she could NOT make peanut brittle. We always did each other’s. Now that she is gone I regret not biting the bullet and learning.
Jackie Garvin says
Go,Cindy. Go! You can do it! Two key points: make sure you boil your syrup to the right temp, make sure you beat the candy until it starts to set up.
Charles says
I made my 4th batch today. The other 3 turned out fine but this batch is sticky and hard as a rock can’t cut it up? Temp was fine and mixer was boggying down like the other time?
Jackie Garvin says
That’s disappointing. I’ve never had a failure using a stand mixer. Perhaps you beat too long.
Susan H. says
Oh…forgot to mention. My mom and I were spooning out like you and your husband. My sister grabbed the smallest Pampered Chef cookie scoop and went to town dipping it out. That worked great and went a lot quicker.
Jackie Garvin says
Susan,
I’m afraid that my little hand mixer is on it’s way out. The place where the electrical cord attaches is worn and the cord keeps slipping out. I’ll use it as long as I can. The scoop is a great idea. I use a scoop for cupcake and muffin batter. I hope your Divinity comes out good next month. Merry Christmas!
Amanda Gattis says
I am totally going to try to make this!!! Divinity is my Mom’s favorite and she has an avocado green hand mixer that still works too!
Jackie Garvin says
Amanda,
I hope you enjoy the Divinty. I know your Mom will! 🙂
Teresa says
I toast my pecans first it makes a world of difference
Jackie Garvin says
Jean says
My dad was the divinity maker at our house. He always cautioned about making it when it was damp or raining. I tried to help him once and only ended up making a mess. He used to make tons of it for Christmas to give away. All topped with a puk-kahn of course!
Jackie Garvin says
Jean,
Puh-kahns indeed! I wrote in the post that you should make Divinity and cut hay when the sun shines. I’ve never tested that theory, mind you. I won’t even try to make it when it’s rainy. 🙂
Jean says
Jackie there is something about the humidity that just messes with the divinity. I think the day I helped him it was raining and he cautioned that it would not do well…but then I was a hard head and was determined to do it. It was a disaster.
This stuff is a kissing cousin to 7 minute icing…once removed. LOL!
Jackie Garvin says
Jean,
It’s related to 7 minute icing and marshmallows, too! That’s a shame that a batch didn’t turn out for you. That’s the reason I won’t even try it when it’s rainy. I would hate to waste the time and ingredients. 🙂
Tammy Griffin says
If it doesn’t turn out after you scoop one scoop of it then add marshmallows to it to thicken it up…You will love it still.
Susan says
Hi !
My Grandma always made Divinity at Christmas when I was a little girl… I think I’ll give your a try ! Thank You !!!
~ Susan
Jackie Garvin says
Susan,
Enjoy your Divinity. I hope it brings back some wonderful memories.
Merry Christmas!
Connie Lee says
Hey, I got one of those little mixers too. I had mine and my husband for 40 years now, and both are still going, LOL! I did inherit my mom’s sunbeam stand mixer, but I don’t have room in my small kitchen to set it up. I never tried making divinity, it sounds pretty tricky!
Jackie Garvin says
Connie,
Divinity really isn’t hard to do. It just has a few steps. The main things are to make sure you boil the syrup to the right temperature and then have a good mixer so you can mix it until it holds it’s shape. Yea for good mixers and good husbands! We are both very fortunate! 🙂
Michele says
Brings back soooo many beautiful memories… thanks Jackie! I would dearly love to make some this year! I have a wonderful Kitchen Aid stand mixer (about 15 yrs old or so), so I’m wondering what my excuse is… not really, but that’s a whole nother story.
Your difficulty with your hand mixer reminds me of the time I literaly burned out my first hand mixer making my mother’s recipe for Meringues Glacées. Here’s the culprit: “With electric mixer at high speed, beat the whites until they are stiff enough to hold a shape. Then, at low speed, add
the sugar (2 cups) 2 tablespoons at a time, beating about 2 minutes after each addition…” Excellent recipe, but I had to get a better mixer. It was worth it.
Jackie Garvin says
Michele,
Holy smokes! No wonder you’re hand mixer went ka-phloo-ey. I know folks made all the meringue and nougat type candies long before stand mixers. For life of me, I don’t know how they did it. 🙂
Amanda Gattis says
I was totally thinking about all the women who made candy before stand mixers while I was making Divinity! My arm would NEVER have held up! 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Amanda,
Isn’t that the truth??? I just don’t understand how in the world they did it. They must have recruited nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, church members and their children to help! 🙂
Harry Satterwhite says
My mom made this at Christmas without an electric mixer. She started with a dozen egg whites and me beating them with a wire whip in a huge dishpan while she prepared the syrup. When it stiffened up in a cup of water or hardened as she let it drizzle off a spoon, the she slowly poured it over the whites while I beat it. Then we traded off beating it with a spoon until it set up. Seemed like hours. This went on from my age of around nine or ten until I was a teenager. Great fun and lots of candy to eat and give away. Some of it went into buttered plates and some dropped on waxed paper by spoons full. With and without nuts, but often black walnuts were used. My right arm was thicker than my left for a couple of months after this, but then there is the story of angel food cakes she made in which process I participated beating egg whites. She did finally get an electric mixer but said it was better by hand… now I will be 80 my next birthday and this is in the realm of great memories. But I will make some divinity with your recipe this week for our bridge club.
Jackie Garvin says
Harry,
What a sweet story! I laughed at “my right arm was thicker than my left for several months…”. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
Mindy says
I learned how to make divinity without a mixer, was so happy when I got a hand mixer, now I use my stand mixer…. You can make it anytime raining or not unless you don’t have heat and air.. weather does not matter now
Jackie Garvin says
I agree!
Amy Wren says
Hey!! Watch it with all this talk about newer husbands being like new mixers!! My wedding gift hand mixer didn’t even make it to my 5th anniversary, but David did!
Jackie Garvin says
Amy,
David is a good one, too! It’s too bad you can’t have a good husband AND a good mixer! 🙂
Sandy says
My dad used to make the Divinity every year when I was a little kid. His always turned out perfect….well, I just finished making Divinity and it turned out like the inside of a Look bar! LOL…..I don’t know what happened. It is sunny here today so the weather isn’t the problem. I even used a candy thermometer. I’ve made it years ago and it turned out fine but for some reason today its not like my dad’s. Oh well, I’m going to dip them in Chocolate so they will be just like a Look bar! By the way, I’ve been married 37 years to the same husband but I don’t have the handmixer that was a wedding gift……now I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer! Merry Christmas and many blessings to all!
Jackie Garvin says
Merry Christmas, Sandy! 🙂
Joye says
When I first started making divinity, we used a crank-style egg beater. I was thrilled to get an electric hand mixer when I got married. Husband nor hand mixer either one lasted too long, but 30+ years post divorce, he still tells our son every year, “If your mama has any of that divinity she makes, you can bring it over here with you.” LOL
Jackie Garvin says
Joye,
I read your comment to my husband. Your provided some great entertainment for us tonight! Sorry about the demise of husband and mixer. However, your ex-husband certainly appreciates your Divinity making skills!
Sandi says
My Granny used to give out little boxes of Christmas candy each year. Divinity and honeyed walnuts were my favorites and I can never have it now without thinking of her! <3 Thanks for the reminder.
Jackie Garvin says
What sweet memories, Sandi! 🙂
Jandre O'Keef says
My father who he 92 used to make this with his mom when he was a little boy. I am thinking it was divinity. I have been looking for a recipe for years. I want to make it for him. Grandma would always have some when we visited. What I remember was hers was smooth and they were pastel colors. No nuts. Not sure if divinity was the candy???? I would give anything to find this candy as he will be 93 next month and I know he would love it.
Jackie Garvin says
I think was most certainly Divinity. The texture can be smooth if you drop it on the waxed paper sooner than I did for that batch that was photographed. It had gotten completely set up before I was able to get it out of the mixing bowl. Leave out the pecans and add in a few drops of food coloring to get the color desired. Please let me know if you give a try. Happy birthday to your father!
Dorene Nagy says
My mother used to make Divinity every year at Christmas. She would allow us to have a few pieces and then send the rest out as gifts. When I got married 38 years ago my father-in-law made a candy he called Sea-foam candy. It put me in the mind of divinity. I loved it. I was given a copy of the candy. I have tried to make it several times but it has NEVER turned out. My husband seems to think the recipe was copied wrong. I want to try your Divinity recipe but I would also like to ask you if you have heard of Sea-foam candy. If you happen to have a recipe could you please send it to me. It is never in any of the new cookbooks that have been published. I look all the time. Thanks for posting.
Jackie Garvin says
Dorene,
I’m not familiar with seafoam candy but I googled and found a recipe. Does this one seem right? http://allrecipes.com/recipe/old-fashioned-sea-foam-candy/
Myra Overall says
I had to smile when reading about your little GE hand mixer. I have one like it only mine is Harvest Gold, same color design era! However, mine is a little older…back when girls still had a hope crest!! It was the first thing I bought myself for my future homemaking. It was bought in 1970, I even keep it in the cabinet in its original box!! So, that makes mine 43 yrs. old. They sure don’t make things to last like that anymore. 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Myra,
Could you imagine buying a mixed in 2013 and it still working in 2050? I don’t think that’s going to happen. We come from the era of people who grew up with their refrigerators, too. Now, even major appliances, are pretty much disposable. Sad. Just sad.
Pamela Hoisager Connell says
Divinity has always been my favorite candy! My mother used her Aunt Willie’s recipe and it was delicious! She even made divinity frosting on my devils food cake for my birthday ! Alas, Mother and Aunt Willie are both gone and so is the recipe! I’m anxious to try this one to see how it measures up !
Ellen@BakeItWithBooze says
I have an avocado green Sunbeam hand mixer that my mom got for xmas in 1975. It still works great and IMO much better than the new Cuisinart I got a few years ago. My grandmother made divinity and it’s something I’d very much like to learn to make. You have inspired me! Happy Holidays!
Jackie Garvin says
Ellen,
I hope your Divinty turns out just as good as you remember your grandmothers.
Jeannine Burks says
When I was young, all it took was a humid day to keep my Mom from making divinity. We didn’t have air conditioning so there was no artificial protection from the weather. She would wait for a bright sunny dry day and make up a big batch and we all loved it. Since we live on the Texas Gulf Coast non-humid days are rare so the candy was a rare treat.
Jackie Garvin says
Jeannine,
Thank Heavens for climate control. I grew up on the gulf coast without it. Not sure how we survived, but we did.
Petie Sturre says
Hi Jackie! A way to help keep the wax paper in place is to dampen counter first with washcloth or damp paper towel and then lay down the wax paper.
Jackie Garvin says
Excellent tip! Thanks for passing that along.
Kristen says
Jackie, thank you for this yummy recipe and video! I love trying new recipes esp when they have a “how to” video to accompany. I had divinity once as a girl, and have loved it ever since. Just the other day I was thinkin’ on it and decided to make a batch of my own. Love your site and your sweet charm, and cute accent! (I’m from AZ…) and i certainly appreciate the time it took to make the video and all your tips and tricks for making divinity. I hope my own works out! I would love to be able to share it around for the holidays. THANK YOU!
Jackie Garvin says
Kristen,
You’ve made my day! What a lovely comment. I hope you can enjoy the divinity candy at the holidays and many years to come. God bless you.
Peggy Walker says
Can I do this without the Pecans? I have a child highly allergic to nuts but I love Divinity.
Jackie Garvin says
Certainly, you can leave out the pecans.