Tequila Jelly Candies (Borrachitos Tapatíos)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-quart saucepan
• •Candy thermometer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Whisk
• •8-inch square pan
• •Parchment paper
• •Sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Lightly oil an 8-inch square pan. Line it with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides. Mix the coating sugar with the 1/2 cup cornstarch and dust the bottom lightly. Keep the rest for finishing. Candy punishes disorganization, so set everything out before the pot goes on the stove.

2. 2

   Bloom the gelatin

   Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes until swollen and thick. Do not dump gelatin into hot syrup dry. It clumps, and then you spend the afternoon chasing little rubber beads through your candy. No me vengas con atajos.

3. 3

   Cook the syrup

   In a heavy saucepan, combine the 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, and glucosa de repostería or light corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Once it simmers, stop stirring and cook until the syrup reaches 235F on a candy thermometer. The glucose keeps the sugar from crystallizing. That is not modern trickery, that is dulcería discipline.

4. 4

   Make the starch base

   While the syrup cooks, whisk the 3/4 cup cornstarch into the cold milk with the salt until completely smooth. Pour this slurry into a second heavy saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a glossy paste. It should pull tracks from the whisk and smell clean, not raw and chalky.

5. 5

   Combine and thicken

   Pour the hot syrup slowly into the starch base while whisking. The mixture will loosen first, then tighten again. Cook over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thick, glossy, and heavy enough to fall from the spoon in slow ribbons. This is the point where the women in the dulcerías know by wrist and eye. You will learn by paying attention.

6. 6

   Add tequila

   Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the bloomed gelatin until fully dissolved. Let the mixture cool for 3 minutes, then stir in the tequila blanco, lime juice, vanilla, and food coloring if using. Add the tequila off the heat so the aroma stays alive. These are borrachitos. Little drunkards. Let them earn the name.

7. 7

   Set overnight

   Scrape the candy into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula. Dust the surface with a little of the sugar-cornstarch mixture. Let it set uncovered at cool room temperature for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Do not refrigerate unless your kitchen is very hot. The refrigerator makes the surface sweat and the sugar coating suffers.

8. 8

   Cut and coat

   Lift the slab from the pan. Dust a sharp knife with the sugar-cornstarch mixture and cut into 1-inch rectangles or squares. Roll each piece in the coating until every side is covered. Leave the candies on a rack for 1 hour so the surface dries slightly, then roll once more in plain granulated sugar if you want the dulcería sparkle. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use tequila blanco if you want a clean agave flavor. Reposado gives a softer vanilla-oak note, acceptable but less direct. Do not waste expensive añejo here. The sugar will flatten what you paid for.
• •Glucosa de repostería is common in Mexican candy work. If you cannot find it, light corn syrup works. It is a compromise, not an upgrade, but it prevents crystallization and gives the candy a smoother bite.
• •These candies contain alcohol added off the heat. They are not for children, and they are not for anyone avoiding alcohol. Call them borrachitos because that is what they are.
• •For a rompope version, replace the tequila with 1/2 cup good Mexican rompope and omit the lime juice. That version tastes rounder and richer, but it is no longer the tequila candy of Guadalajara.

Advance Preparation

• •Borrachitos need at least 8 hours to set, so make them the day before serving. Candy made in a hurry looks like candy made in a hurry.
• •Store the finished candies in a single layer or between parchment sheets in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 5 days. Do not refrigerate unless the kitchen is hot and humid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 13g)