Conversation Hearts

Makes around 75 large hearts. Ingredients: 2 tsp unflavoured gelatin cup water 2 tsp light corn syrup 7.5 cups icing sugar (for less sweetness, replace a small fraction of this with potato flour) Assorted flavourings (I used rosewater, strawberry, orange, and peppermint) Assorted food colours

Method: 1. In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin into the water. You may heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds to assist in this process. 2. Incorporate the corn syrup into the gelatin mix. Stir well. 3. Add a cup of the icing sugar to the gelatin/syrup mix and mix well. Once the mix liquefies, add another cup of sugar. 4. Repeat step 3 until all sugar has been incorporated. 5. Transfer the candy mix to a counter dusted with either icing sugar or potato flour. Knead the mix like dough until it is no longer sticky. 6. Split the mix into even portions equal to the amount of flavours/colours you intend on using. 7. Create a small dip in the centre of each portion. Add a few small drops of your selected colours and flavours to each dip. 8. Work the colours and flavours into the candy portions by kneading, making sure to avoid getting flavours from the other portions mixed up. 9. Once all portions have been mixed, begin pulling pieces away from the candy and shaping them into hearts (remembering that the thinner they are, the faster theyll harden). 10. Allow your hearts to air-dry for a few hours. 11. Once the outsides of the hearts have hardened, you may write messages on them using toothpicks. Do this carefully as the insides of the hearts will still be soft, making them quite fragile. 12. Leave the hearts to air-dry overnight to ensure complete solidity before serving. (When theyre not completely dry, they have an unpleasant jelly texture. Yuck!)

Hopefully, youll end up with something like these!