Holiday Delight Candy

Name: Holiday Delight Candy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 600 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon softened butter; 3 cups granulated sugar; 1 ½ cups light cream; 1 cup light corn syrup; 8 oz candied pineapple; 8 oz candied cherries; 8 oz Brazil nuts; 8 oz pecan halves; 8 oz walnut halves; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

This old-fashioned candy sets into a soft, creamy slab flecked with jewel-bright fruit and nuts. Slice it small once firm, and the colorful pieces look right at home on a holiday tray.

By Betty Lou GardnerAbout 10–26 hoursUpdated 2026-08-25

Jewel-bright candied pineapple and cherries and three kinds of nuts make this generous old-fashioned candy especially festive. It is best made a day ahead so the creamy candy can firm before it is sliced for Christmas trays or gift tins.

Betty Lou Gardner in a family archival photograph

Granny’s Kitchen Notes

From Betty Lou Gardner

I keep the nuts in big pieces because they cut all that sweetness and give every square some crunch. If the candy still smells too sugary after I beat it, I add another little splash of vanilla before the fruit and nuts go in. I think these little squares look especially pretty tucked into Christmas tins beside fudge and cookies.

How to Make Holiday Delight Candy

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Sugar, light cream, and light corn syrup boiling in a heavy saucepan with a candy thermometer at the soft-ball stage.

Cook the Candy Base

Dissolve the sugar in light cream and corn syrup, then cook the mixture to the soft-ball stage.

Holiday Delight Candy base being beaten in the heavy saucepan until pale, thick, creamy, and less glossy.

Beat Until Creamy

Beat the hot candy until it lightens, thickens, and loses most of its gloss.

Candied pineapple, candied cherries, Brazil nuts, pecans, and walnuts being folded into the creamy candy base.

Add Fruit and Nuts

Fold the creamy candy into the prepared candied fruit and large pieces of nuts.

Thick Holiday Delight Candy being spread evenly into a buttered 10x15-inch pan with a lightly wet spoon or buttered heatproof spatula.

Press into the Pan

Spread the thick mixture into a buttered 10x15-inch pan with a wet spoon or buttered spatula.

A firm slab of Holiday Delight Candy in a rectangular pan with small fruit-and-nut candy squares cut on a wooden board.

Cool and Slice

Refrigerate the candy for 24 hours until firm, then cut it into small squares.

Betty Lou Gardner

Betty Lou Gardner’s family recipes are preserved in Granny’s Recipe Box.

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Equipment

Rimmed baking pan (10x15-inch metal pan)
Saucepan (Heavy; 5-quart capacity)
Candy thermometer (Suitable for confectionery; position the tip without touching the saucepan bottom)
Electric hand mixer (Use on low speed)
Mixing bowl (Extra-large and heatproof)
Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula (Sturdy)
Pastry brush (For washing visible sugar crystals from the saucepan sides)
Small bowl (For the cold-water soft-ball test)
Sharp knife

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