Great-Grandma Cathy'S Date Loaf Candy - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Stir sugar, milk, and butter together in a saucepan; bring to a boil without stirring once the boiling begins. Heat until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball or until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), about 20 minutes. Immediately remove saucepan from heat and stir dates, pecans, and vanilla into the milk mixture.
Thoroughly wet a piece of cheesecloth and lay out onto a flat work surface. Pour the candy mixture into the middle of the cloth and roll the cloth around it to shape into a log.
Refrigerate until hard, 8 hours to overnight. Remove log from cloth and slice.