hard candy 🍬

Hard Candy

Learn how to make hard candy in your favorite flavors with this easy to follow recipe. You don't even need a candy thermometer!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Servings: 50 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
• Food Coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon Flavoring Oil See note

Instructions

• Place the first three ingredients in a small saucepan and stir to combine.
• Turn on the heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil.
• Boil approximately 10 minutes until mixture thickens and reaches the hard crack phase (310 degrees on a candy thermometer).
• Remove from heat and wait for boiling action to calm down, about a minute.
• Pour in food coloring and flavoring oil and whisk quickly to combine, keeping your face away from the steam. Whisk well.
• Working quickly, pour the mixture into molds or out on a sheet of aluminum foil that has been dusted with powdered sugar. Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top of the candy.
• When candy cools slightly, use a large knife to score it into small bite size pieces. When it cools completely, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Different flavors of oil vary in strength. I use Lorann Oils. The cinnamon flavor is one of the stronger ones. For a hot cinnamon hard candy, I use half a teaspoon. For a medium cinnamon candy, I use about 3/8 of a teaspoon (1/4 teaspoon will give a very mild candy). Peppermint oil is also quite strong; we prefer 3/8 teaspoon for a batch this size. Wintergreen oil is not as strong, so a little over 1/2 a teaspoon is just about perfect. For most flavors half a teaspoon of flavoring will be about right; just remember that Cinnamon and Peppermint are extra strong.

The number of candies you end up with will depend on how big you cut them. This is a fairly small batch - you'll end up with about a cup and a quarter of candy once it's broken into pieces. You can double this batch if you'd like.