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1
Combine the sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat.
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2
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
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3
Increase the heat to high and, without stirring, cook until the syrup is golden amber or until a candy thermometer reads between 250 to 265 degrees F (hard-ball stage), about 10 minutes (see Cook's Note*).
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4
Promptly remove the saucepan from the heat.
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5
Working quickly, drop 3 cranberries into the caramel.
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6
Use 2 forks to coat the cranberries completely in the syrup and pull together into a cluster.
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7
Place the cranberry cluster on a waxed paper lined baking tray.
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8
Repeat with the remaining cranberries.
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9
Reheat the syrup briefly over low heat if it starts to thicken.
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10
Let the clusters cool to harden.
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11
Melt the white chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl over barely simmering water.
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12
Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the white chocolate is almost completely melted.
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13
Be careful that no moisture gets into the chocolate, or it will harden.
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14
Remove the bowl from the heat and allow the white chocolate to cool slightly.
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15
Dip the bottom of the cranberry cluster into the white chocolate and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to set for approximately 20 minutes.
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16
Place clusters in paper candy cups and store in an airtight container.
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17
*Cook's Note: To determine hard-ball stage without a candy thermometer, remove the pot from the heat and dip the bottom of the pot in water to stop the mixture from cooking further.
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18
Carefully spoon a drop of the hot syrup mixture into ice-cold water.
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19
It should mold easily into a ball in the water and should retain its shape when removed from the water.
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20
The ball should be sticky and fairly resistant to pressure outside the water but not crunchy.
