1. Wash and stem crab apples. Place each on a small stick.

2. Combine sugar, water, corn syrup and cinnamon in the top of a double boiler and heat, stirring, until dissolved. Then add enough food coloring to turn the mixture a deep red.

3. Continue to heat mixture gently, stirring until it thickens and forms a ball when dropped from the tip of the spoon into cold water.

4. Remove double boiler from heat. Dip crab apples one at a time into syrup, twirling the sticks to coat evenly. Then let cool and harden either on waxed paper, or on a platter generously coated with peanut oil.

1. For the crab apples, substitute whole large grapes (with their seeds intact), or large California dates, pitted. Impale several on a stick, or one at a time on toothpicks.

2. For the syrup, substitute 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar. Cook as in step 3 until the mixture spins a thread.

From <The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook>, Isbn 0-517-65870-4. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive, http://www. Erols. Com/hosey.