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Soft Cherry Divinity (Nut Free)

Soft Cherry Divinity has been a long time favorite of my family. This is not for the faint of heart. It is sweet and much loved at our house.

Divinity has to be one of my all time favorite recipes that my mom made while I was growing up. She cooked it to be on the softer side and used not only cherry Jell-O, but lime and raspberry. I am intrigued to try apricot and pineapple as well. Most divinities have nuts which I omitted out of preference.

One note about the original recipe. It calls to heat to 250-f to 265. We tried it on the higher end towards 265 and it was just a bit too hard. For soft divinity, I would do 255-f degrees instead.

Cherry Divinity

Soft Cherry Divinity (Nut Free)

Soft Cherry Divinity has been a long time favorite of my family. This is not for the faint of heart. It is sweet and much loved at our house.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 pieces
Calories 141 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 egg whites
  • 3 ounce package cherry flavored Jell-O mix regular Jell-O, not sugar free

Instructions
 

  • Before starting, please note that divinity is best made when the humidity is less than 50 – 60% outside. High humidity can wreck your divinity. So, don't make this on a day it is raining, instead try on a dry day.
  • Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir just to blend, then bring to a boil. Heat to 255 (softer) to 265 degrees f (firmer) (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball.
  • Meanwhile, whip egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy. Sprinkle in the gelatin powder, and continue whipping until peaks form when the beaters are turned off and lifted.
  • When the syrup reaches temperature, pour in a thin stream into the egg white mixture, mixing constantly on low speed. Increase to high speed once the syrup is in, and whip until the candy is stiff and loses its gloss.
  • Drop spoonfuls onto wax paper. Using two spoons sprayed with nonstick spray makes this easier. One to scoop and one to scrape the divinity off onto your wax paper. Once it sets, at least 2 hours, transfer to a Tupperware or cookie tin. Leftover divinity can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Notes

Alternative flavors we’ve tried that were great: Raspberry, Lime.
If you prefer smaller pieces, they can be reduced from 1 Tbsp. to 1 tsp instead. The yield will be 72 pieces if using a teaspoon sized amount.
Slightly adapted from Allrecipes

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSodium: 28mgPotassium: 5mgSugar: 36gCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.02mg
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10 Comments

  1. I made Divinity for my mother last yr for Christmas and it took me a few tries to get it right. She has loved it since she was a little kid. She doesn't like it with the nuts either. Turns out my mother isn't the only one that loves it – my husband and son also love it. I will have to try it with the jello flavorings and mix it up to see how that goes over.
    Thank you for the idea and the recipe.

  2. My family has been making this with strawberry Jello for as long as I can remember. Just a piece of advice, do NOT use sugar free Jello, it doesn't seem to set up. =o)

  3. In our family it was Cherry …..with or without nuts. But Cherry only…..its so sweet. My mom used to let the weather determine whether this precious gift could be made.

  4. 5 stars
    I made this the other day and it was delicious – I wasn’t sure how it would turn out because it was kind of humid, but it was fine! We used strawberry Jello because I was supposed to buy some and forgot (of course) but it still tasted good. Thank you!