This Easy No-Cook Divinity Candy recipe takes the guess work (and candy thermometer!) out of making the classic Christmas candy.
This year’s advent of treats has an unintentional theme: Retro Sweets! It’s a result of my recent thrift store find of someone’s recipe box from 1950. I can’t believe such a thing was given away and not passed down to family, but their trash is certainly my treasure.
Inside that box I found this recipe. It’s a hack for classic divinity and much less finicky than the original recipe. Classic (cooked) divinity will be adversely affected by humidity and weather conditions, but this candy held up just fine even though I made it on a rainy day.
The secret Ingredient.
The magic ingredient in this recipe is a box of dry frosting mix. The product made by Betty Crocker has been on American grocery store shelves for decades, and I had no problem locating it at my neighborhood grocery store.
I decided to splurge and use the seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean in this recipe, because the specks look so pretty in the pristine white candy. Pipe the candy in swirls using a decorator piping tip, or portion using two spoons.
Plan ahead, because even though the candies take just minutes to whip up, they need to dry (uncovered) for about 24 hours. The larger you pipe the candies, the longer they’ll need to dry.
For quickest setting, keep them on the small side so they will dry evenly. Aim for about the size of a large gumball.
After a few hours the tops of the candies will be dry to the touch. Flip them over so the bottoms can dry also.
Just as the name implies, this candy has a divine texture! It’s soft and tender, with marshmallow flavor.
These can be dressed up with all kinds of holiday sprinkles in whatever colors and flavors you fancy. Portion these by the half dozen in clear cellophane bags for a festive homespun gift!
If you can’t find the dry frosting mix needed for this easy version locally, it can be ordered online. However, it costs much more than it would at a grocery store. Alternatively, see my recipe for Classic Divinity, and watch the weather forecast for a dry day.
Easy No-Cook Divinity Candy
Equipment
- Piping bag
Ingredients
- 1 box Betty Crocker Home Style Fluffy White Frosting Mix 7.2 oz. box
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
- Assorted holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Cover two or more large baking sheets with parchment paper or waxed paper.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, combine the frosting mix (dry mix), the corn syrup, and the boiling water. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. With the mixer still running on medium, slowly add in confectioners’ sugar a little at a time; mix until just combined. Don’t over mix or you’ll deflate the batter. Add the vanilla and mix briefly. The finished mixture should be billowy and light, and a little bit stretchy like classic divinity.
- Piped: Transfer the candy to a piping big fitted with an open star decorator tip. Pipe the mixture in swirls about the size of a large gumball onto the prepared pans. Immediately cover with sprinkles, if using.
- Spooned: Drop candy mixture by the heaping teaspoon onto the prepared pans. Immediately cover with sprinkles, if desired.
- Let candies stand, uncovered, until dry to the touch, about 6-8 hours. When the outside of the candies feel firm, turn over. Dry 6 more hours, or overnight. Store candies in an airtight container.
I'm always looking for new Christmas treats. I can't wait to try these. Thanks so much for sharing.
Merry Christmas ?
Remember this frosting from the past, so many uses for it. Thanks for the recipe and memories
These turned out really well!! We're in a super humid climate and I've never managed to get the real thing to set properly. Also I had no idea that frosting mix was even a thing. Thanks so much!!
As I commented on your IG, I am so happy YOU found the box for two reasons:
1) you truly appreciate it
2) you are sharing its contents with so many others who would have missed out!
Are the red shards decorating some of the divinity broken cinnamon imperials? Those are my favorite presentation.
Aw, thank you! I intend to share more in the near future.
The little red shards are crushed peppermint, which can be DIY'd with candy canes, but I bought a little bottle of already crushed pieces (Wilton brand, I think). I do love cinnamon imperials, though. I might just have to try crushing some for a topping!
How long do these last? And can you freeze them
Can I use Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting instead?
You can only find this mix in packs of 12 for approximately $45. but you can’t just buy one box off the shelf. Very disappointing.
The product could be stocked regionally. It’s more widely available in the southern US, I believe.
However, you can find a single package for purchase on Amazon for $8.65 at this link.
Or a 3-pack for 17.95 at this link.
Walmart sells individual boxes online for about $3.50.
I have not been able to find this fluffy frosting for more than 15 years. I used to make this divinity every year.
I cannot wait to try this recipe! I’ve made divinity the regular hard way, and it tastes great, but as you said the climate has to be just right. Can I add chopped pecans to the mix, or will it interfere with the texture?
*I just saw at the bottom that you can fold in nuts. Doh!*
Hi Sue!
I love pecans folded into this. I’ve also added walnuts. Both are nice.
My mother made divinity the old way and regularly added nuts and raisins to it. It.was so delicious!
I love divinity but never could master it. I’m going to try this thanks for sharing.
You may have already said this but this really should not be called Divinity and I should have known better. This is frosting. It does not even resemble the texture or flavor of Divinity. It was sticky mess too. I could barely get it off of the spoon into the piping mechanism and there was no way to drop it from a spoon to the pan it was so sticky. I managed to get some done but the taste was like pure frosting, not light and meringue like divinity. I live in a humid environment so I tried this because… Read more »
Hi Nancy,
I’m not sure your mixture was whipped correctly. It should definitely not be so sticky that you can’t get it off of a spoon or into a piping bag. It’s hard to say what went wrong here. The mixture should be light and marshmallowy. Billowy, even. I’m sorry you had trouble with this recipe. I’ve made real divinity many times, and although this is not true divinity, it is a close approximation.
Quick question, your recipe doesn’t call for baking and the recipe on the box does?
Hi!! This recipe is no bake. I got it from a vintage recipe box that was hand written I’m not familiar with the one currently on the box.
Just made my first batch. It was SO much easier than the traditional way! Thank you for posting this! It has saved me a ton of time and frustration and my candies look more beautiful too. I started making divinity candy a few years ago when my grandmother was reminiscing and mentioned how much she used to love it. I wanted to surprise her so I learned to make it but I’ll tell you, it wasn’t great the first time! I look forward to trying these once they are dry. Thanks again!
So glad to hear this! There’s a bit of a trade-off with the lengthy drying time, but at least you can do other things while they cure. 🙂 Thanks for trying the recipe!
I made these and they turned out light and tender. You can’t under whip the mixtur or it will be too dense. You can’t over whip it or it will deflate. It took a couple of tries but now I know what to do. Drying time took longer because I spooned them out larger than gum ball size.
I used to make this every year at Christmas time. I did all the mixing by hand and it was very tedious when it came to mixing in the powdered sugar. But the results were worth it The candy rastes very close to cooked divinity . I have not made it for a long time, but I’m going to try again this year if I can find the frosting mix.
Since I was unable to locate the Dry box mix frosting and I had to settle for a tub of premade Betty crocker fluffy white frosting, will it turn out the same? Or will I just have to have the box mix?
Hi Cheryl, you’ll need the dry frosting mix. The powdered egg whites and confectioners’ sugar help the mixture to set. I wish the tub frosting could be used as a substitute, because it is easier to find, but it just won’t work.