"Account Past Due" Nuts

Say it's 1961 and you owe money to a department store, and they send you a letter suggesting a payment plan. What's the next step?

In this case, the recipient cut the letter up, turned it over and wrote a lovely recipe for sugar nuts on the back. Intrigued, I made these.

They couldn't be easier, and they are quite delicious, but they're a bit sticky.  Don't know if that's because the sugar syrup should be cooked beyond the soft ball stage or that my candy thermometer needs to be calibrated (easily accomplished by sticking it in boiling water to see if it registers 212 degrees F). 

 In any case, it was fun turning a sow's ear (dunning letter) into a silk purse (sugar nuts).