Butter Pecan Divinity Candy Recipe

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Divinity candy is a classic Southern confection, a divinely tasty sweet treat with a texture somewhat like fudge. This Divinity candy recipe, from developer A.J. Forget, expands from the basics and elevates the original by incorporating another flavor complementary to just about all Southern food: butter. Divinity candy is traditionally flavored with just pecans, though many modern recipes also include vanilla extract. Here we wanted to provide a counterpoint to the sweetness — which can be cloying in some Divinity recipes — so we added a pinch of salt, a dash of butter extract, and an optional buttered dish for setting the candy. The result? A balanced and delicious divinity candy recipe that honors the original while exploring new avenues of flavor.

Candy-making can be intimidating, but this recipe is quite simple. All it takes to make an amazing batch of Divinity candy is heating up your syrup to the proper temperature and then beating it into a bowl of whipped egg whites. The final product can be shaped into individual, praline-like pieces if you wish, but it's simpler to just spread it in a dish and slice it like fudge. We promise that the result is much more than you'd expect for the minimal labor — it's a unique and wonderful treat that might just become a family tradition.

For this recipe you will need sugar, water, corn syrup, salt, egg whites, vanilla extract, butter extract, and toasted chopped pecans. Once you have these ingredients together, you are ready to start cooking.

Stir together the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a pot over medium-high heat.

While the mixture on the stove is heating, place two egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until they hold stiff peaks.

Using a candy thermometer, keep watch on the mixture on the stove. Bring to 260 F, stirring occasionally.

When the mixture reaches 260 F, remove it from heat and pour it into the egg whites in a thin stream, while beating.

Add the extracts to the mixture and continue beating for around 5 minutes, or until the mixture takes on a thicker texture like marshmallow fluff.

Mix 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans into the candy mixture.

Spread the mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish that is either lightly buttered or lined with wax paper.

Top with the remaining pecans, pressing them gently into the candy. Allow the candy to set for around 45 minutes in the refrigerator.

Slice the candy into individual pieces and serve right away. Alternatively, place in an airtight container to store for later.

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Most of the Divinity candy recipes out there stick to the basics, folding pecans into the candy and flavoring it with just vanilla extract. Even our addition of a bit of salt and butter flavor is a huge deviation from the norm. But once you have your first taste of Divinity candy, you will understand just how ripe this confection is for creativity.

The base itself has a nice texture, but the only real flavor is sweetness. Adding toasted pecans gives a textural contrast and a nutty flavor that could be enough. Vanilla, too, adds a nice fragrance, but this candy really could go anywhere. Simply replacing the pecans with something like peanuts or pistachios would be enough to give a new angle — just be sure to toast the nuts in the oven or on the stovetop before using them for maximum flavor. Different extracts would be another simple way to drastically alter the flavor of the candy. We added a touch of butter extract, but something like almond or maple could also be delicious. And for those we're just talking simple swaps, not recipe modification.

If you want to try adding something altogether new to the recipe, try sprinkling a bit of spice in when you add the extracts. A touch of cinnamon rarely goes awry. Or you could choose your own mix-ins beyond nuts. Dried fruits would make a perfect addition. Traditional Divinity candy is delicious, but a recipe filled with cashews, dried mango, and a hint of cardamom sounds pretty lovely too.

With a name like Divinity, you might expect that this particular confection was born of some sort of otherworldly miracle, but in reality its origin is much more mundane than that. The name is thought to derive simply from the fact that the candy tastes divine, and its origin had more to do with corn syrup than anything else.

The first recorded divinity candy recipe debuted in 1907, though the recipe wasn't quite dialed in at that point, and also listed milk as an ingredient. It wasn't until 8 years later, in 1915, that divinity candy found its final form, making use of the increasingly popular corn syrup — which is different from high-fructose corn syrup — as well as the Southern favorite, pecans, to create a delicious, fudgy, nougaty candy. Karo brand corn syrup made its debut in 1902, and may be responsible for popularizing the recipe, as it was included in a Karo brand brochure. (As it turns out, there is also a historic connection between Karo and pecan pie.)

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