Turkish Delights

My kids have fallen in love with the Narnia movies and my 10 year old has been begging me to make her Turkish Delights. I didn't know they were a real thing until a few weeks ago. I always assumed they were just a made up thing.

When I was a kid, I liked to watch the movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Then when my mom would make us meat pies for lunch, I would pick out the meat pieces and save them until the end and pretend like they were Turkish Delights.

I figured Turkish Delights were meat snacks. Turkish = turkey meat, right? Apparently not. I was WAY off on what they really are. They are kind of a cross between gelatin and gum drops.

I halved the recipe and still felt like there was a ton.

1 1/2 cups water
3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons orange zest
3 (.25 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts, optional
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Bring 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F (115 degrees C) on a candy thermometer. Set aside and keep hot. Stir together orange juice and orange zest, sprinkle with gelatin, and set aside. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1/2 cup cold water, then stir into hot syrup. Place over medium-low heat, and simmer, stirring gently, until thick. Remove syrup from heat, stir in orange juice mixture, vanilla, and pistachios. Grease a 8x8-inch pan and sprinkle generously with confectioners' sugar. Pour the Turkish delight into the pan, and let cool in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until set, 3 to 4 hours or overnight. When cool, sprinkle the top with another thick layer of powdered sugar. Cut into 1-inch squares, and dredge each well with confectioners' sugar. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Recipe from Allrecipes