Homemade Candy Canes

Gather the ingredients.

Spray 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray and set aside. Position a rack in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat to 200 F.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir with a silicone spatula until the sugar dissolves.

Pour remaining 1/4 cup water into a small bowl and use it to wet a pastry brush.

Use the wet brush to wash any sugar crystals off side of pan. Do not stir syrup.

When syrup comes to a boil, insert a candy thermometer and continue to cook, without stirring, until thermometer registers 285 F. At this point, the candy will have reached the soft-crack stage.

Remove from heat. Let bubbles subside, then stir in peppermint extract.

Pour about half of the syrup onto one prepared baking sheet and place it in the oven.

Stir red food coloring into remaining syrup. If necessary, add more coloring to achieve a vibrant shade of red.

Pour candy onto the remaining baking sheet and allow it to sit briefly until it forms a “skin.”

Spray a bench scraper or metal spatula with cooking spray, and use the tool to "knead" the candy. Flatten the candy, then fold it back over itself. Repeat this process until the candy is significantly cooler, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using heat-resistant gloves, stretch the candy into a long rope, then fold rope in half and twist candy until it melts back into itself.

Repeat this process until the candy takes on an opaque color and a satiny finish, 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, the candy will be warm—you should have some trouble pulling and folding it.

Stretch candy into a rope, about 2 inches in diameter, then return it to oven, where it will stay warm and pliable.

Remove other baking sheet from oven. Knead the white food coloring into the candy, if using.

Pull and fold the candy in the same fashion as the red batch until it becomes opaque, glossy, and difficult to pull.

Stretch it into a second log, about 2 inches in diameter.

Remove red candy from oven. Cut a 2-inch segment from the white log and another 2-inch segment from the red log. Put the remaining candy back in oven.

Squeeze 2 segments together until they form a two-toned log.

Stretch candy again. This step will determine the thickness of your candy canes—you can make them thinner (with a 1/4-inch diameter) or thicker (with a 1/2-inch diameter).

When you're happy with the candy's width, twist rope to form those distinctive candy stripes.

Oil or use cooking spray on a pair of cooking shears and cut candy into smaller pieces. Again, you can choose to make long or short candy canes. A 7-inch piece of candy will yield a medium-sized candy cane.

Immediately form the hook at the top of the cane and place it on a clean surface to firm up at room temperature.

Cut off another segment from each log, returning the remaining logs to the oven, and repeat the twisting and stretching process until you have used all the candy.