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Homemade Candy Canes for Christmas

GREGG TOWNSHIP — Nothing says Christmas quite like a candy cane and one store in Union County makes its own. Purity Candy near Allenwood opened in 1907 an...

GREGG TOWNSHIP -- Nothing says Christmas quite like a candy cane and one store in Union County makes its own.

Purity Candy near Allenwood opened in 1907 and has been making homemade treats ever since.

There are lots of sweet treats at Purity Candy, but some of the store's biggest sellers are candy canes. These aren't the candy canes you see in the big box stores. The staff at Purity Candy makes them all by hand.

Newswatch 16 tagged along while the store's president John Burfeindt made a batch of wintergreen. Each year he makes about 14 flavors.

"We just keep cranking them out," said Burfeindt. "Your basics -- peppermint, wintergreen, cherry --and then I just add some like pomegranate, cola. Every year it's a little different, whatever I feel like doing."

One batch makes between 400 and 500 candy canes and has 25 pounds of sugar. The process is time-consuming and Burfeindt says he must pay close attention or it won't work.

Once the candy gets to a certain temperature, he works even faster.

Every Saturday, Purity Candy holds an open house so people can watch employees make the candy canes through a window.

"(We) bring the kids over and they can stand at the glass and watch them," said Robyn Schreiber of Montgomery. "Sometimes, if you're here at the right time, they'll bring some warm ones out."

"The kids just loved it," said Charlene Bailey of Shamokin Dam. "It was a fun day, a family day. Everybody was out and had a good time."

There's a new addition at Purity Candy this year. There's a monitor outside the candy-making room so that when people come for the candy cane tours, everyone gets a good view.

"We try to always get the children up front to see and then the adults, unfortunately, couldn't see. So we helped them out with the little TV monitor. They can see the stuff that's happening on the marble and stuff," Burfeindt explained.

The last candy cane making tours of the season are this Saturday at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. at Purity Candy near Allenwood.

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