芝麻糖 Sesame Candy

Since it is holiday season I thought I would learn a tasty and sooo addicting Chinese candy. These come in so many ways, chewy, crispy and somewhere in between, thin, thick, round. I really like the thin crispy ones, I think they are my favorite but then the chewy tubes of it are great too.
A tip I learned it to add in some peanuts for a better mouth feel and a great flavor combination. If you can't find maltose you can substitute honey.

1 cup white sugar
1 cup maltose or honey
1/4 cup lard or butter
1 cup sesame seeds, white or black
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Mix sugar and maltose in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to hard ball stage meaning when you put some of it in ice water it will turn hard like glass. Be careful not to burn or it will taste bad. This is probably the hardest part of making candy. You will need to stir it a lot more near the end. Once it has reached hard ball stage remove it from the heat and quickly add lard, sesame seeds and peanuts then stir it in. Have a sheet of wax paper prepared that has been sprayed with non-cooking spray or sprinkled with coconut (this is commonly done in china as well). Pour it out on the wax paper and let it lay another sprayed sheet of wax paper over the candy and, using a rolling pin, roll it out to the desired thickness. Thinner will make a more crispy candy. Wait about 5 to ten minutes and then cut them while still slightly warm with a greased heavy knife. Make them about 2 cm by 4 cm.