Homemade Hard Candy is easy to make and really easy to customize to whatever flavor and color you want! This hard candy recipe will become a favorite in your family.
Basic Hard Candy Recipe
How pretty is this candy? I like that it looks like broken glass.
The first time I made it, I didn’t realize how simple this type of candy is to make, it’s just a little time consuming, much like this rock candy recipe.
Only six ingredients and really, the food coloring & powdered sugar dusting at the end are optional.
Why you’ll love this old-fashioned hard candy
So much fun – You get to pick colors, flavors, AND smash it up at the end to make the small pieces.
Holiday season – It’s perfect to make as gifts in little jars around Christmas time.
Customizable – You can easily adjust how much flavoring oil your candy has and you could color coordinate for a holiday, party, or shower.
What is hard candy?
Hard candy is a boiled sweet made of sugar that is usually brightly colored and made to slowly dissolve in your mouth (think Jolly Ranchers).
You can color it with food coloring and use your favorite flavor oils or extracts to get the combo you’re after.
Things you’ll need
- Candy Thermometer – You NEED a candy thermometer to make this hard candy. Not optional.
- Lipped Baking Pan (Jelly Roll Pan) – You also need a pan with a lip. You’ll pour the hot mixture onto the pan to cool and without a lip…you’ll have a mess.
- Silicone Baking Mats – It’ll make your life easier to line the baking pans with silicone baking mats. It’s easy to peel the cooled candy off of.
- Flavor Oils or Flavor Extracts – Like I said, you can likely find individual flavor extracts at your grocery store, but this set has some unique ones – crisp champagne, butter rum, or cinnamon candy, anyone?
- Food coloring – I always recommend this color performance kit. It has a really helpful color chart that makes mixing whatever color you want really easy.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Sugar – White, granulated sugar. This is candy, after all.
- Light Corn Syrup – Karo syrup is used for a light sweet flavor, in sauces and jams and such. It is made with real vanilla.
- Water – cold water, just from the tap.
- Extract or Oil Flavoring – We used strawberry and lemon in this batch but there are many possibilities. Oils will be more potent that extracts but use what you can find.
- Food Coloring – Not necessary, but candy just isn’t as pretty without it.
- Powdered Sugar – Sometimes called icing sugar or confectioners’ sugar. You’ll dust the finished candy with powdered sugar to prevent it from sticking.
How to make Homemade Hard Candy
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Making homemade hard candy is probably easier than you think!
- STEP ONE: First, you’ll combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan and stir continuously over medium heat until dissolved.
- STEP TWO: Then, you use a candy thermometer to make sure the temperature gets to 295 degrees F (hard crack stage), which takes about 35-45 minutes.
- STEP THREE: Once it hits temperature, you remove from heat, add whichever coloring and extracts you’re using to the sugar mixture, stir it up, then pour it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat to cool.
- STEP FOUR: Once it’s cooled, use a mallet to break it up into whichever size pieces you want. Sprinkle in powdered sugar & you’re done. Easy!
What to serve with Homemade Hard Candy
Serve this homemade hard candy on a holiday treat table with Christmas Oreo Bon Bons, Christmas Crack, Cinnamon Sugar Candied Almonds, and Easy Peanut Butter Fudge.
Tips & Suggestions ⭐️
- Each batch makes a cookie sheet worth of candy, which you break up into whatever size pieces you want. So, it makes a lot.
- Oil flavoring will be more potent that extracts.
- Use caution when adding the oil to the pot, the steam will be strong.
- You can use candy molds or suckers with this recipe as well.
How much flavoring for hard candy?
You can use whichever flavor you like for this hard candy recipe and how much flavor you use is also customizable.
It’s best to use a highly concentrated candy oil that can stand up to the heat without losing flavor. You’ll typically use a teaspoon of flavoring if it’s super-strength, or one Tablespoon if it’s “regular” strength.
Extracts are somewhat easier to find and will work, they just aren’t as potent.
Possible Flavor/Color Combos 🍓🍋🍊🍒
- Strawberry oil (1 teaspoon) with red food coloring.
- Lemon oil (1 teaspoon) with yellow food coloring.
- Orange oil (1 teaspoon) with orange food coloring.
- Spearmint or wintergreen oil (1/2-1 teaspoon) with green food coloring.
FAQs
Hard candies can last up to one year if they’re stored properly. Keep it in a cool, dry place away from humidity and heat. The coating of powdered sugar at the end of the recipe helps to keep hard candies from absorbing moisture from the air.
Hard candy doesn’t have an expiration date but it does get less desirable the older it gets. It can get sticky or chewy when affected by humidity or fluctuating temperatures so it is best to enjoy it as soon as possible.
Yes, you can use silicone molds to make hard candy or lollipops, as long as they are heat safe (some aren’t!). Make sure you check the labels – they should be heat safe to 350+ degrees. This set would work for fun shapes and this set would work for suckers.
Yes, most molds double for chocolate or hard candy, just double check that they’re heat safe.
Yes, you can easily substitute oils and extracts in this recipe and most others. Since flavoring oils are so much more concentrated, you only need a few drops in place of a teaspoon of extract.
Yes, hard candy is vegan and cruelty-free because is is made with no animal by-products.
Need more candy recipes? Try these:
- Homemade Chocolate Nonpareils (Sno Caps!)
- Gummy Bears
- Homemade Twix
- Potato Candy
- Easy Peanut Brittle
Click here to view my entire collection of candy recipes.
Originally published December 31, 2012.
Emily Dicks says
I love how pretty the colors turned out, stopping by from Wednesday Whatsits 🙂
Donna says
We lightly greased a cookie sheet, no powdered sugar used and rather than breaking with a hammer, just lift one end of candy with a knife, it will easily snap into pieces.
Melissa Williams says
Easy, right? 🙂
Tracey says
You really need to get to 300 degrees on the candy thermometer and use Loann oils instead of extracts
Melissa Williams says
I haven’t had problems at 290 or with the extracts, but I’ll have to try the oils. I have heard good things.
Jan says
have you ever molded this recipe into lollipops?
Melissa Williams says
I have not, but that sounds fun & I think it would work! Let me know if you try.
Deborah says
Burned before it got to 290 not happy I never left it
Melissa Williams says
Hi Deborah – it sounds like you had your heat up too high. Medium heat and stir constantly, if you try again. I haven’t burned this, but many batches of caramel & I know it’s frustrating.
Kelly says
Hi – do we stir it or not? Your recipe states, “…continue to cook, without stirring, until the thermometer reaches 290 degrees….”
Melissa Williams says
You do not stir it while it’s coming to temperature.
Wayne says
I would like to make a hard candy from real coffee and I just can’t find it anywhere. Would you please help me with this? I know a lot of people that would really like to have a coffee hard candy from real coffee.
Melissa Williams says
Hi Wayne, I have not tested any coffee recipes, but thanks for the idea 🙂
JENNI says
Candy is beautiful, but ours didn’t taste like strawberry. We used a tablespoon of extract. Any ideas? I have other flavors to try, but don’t want to overdue the flavor
Melissa Williams says
Which brand did you use? They’re not all created equal. I like LorAnn.
Casie says
Yes I am gona try this for the first time and I wana know where I can find the other colors u mentioned? I got a ton of LorAnn flavors and I wana be able to make all kinda cool colors to go with the flavors.
Melissa Williams says
If you already have the flavors, you just need food coloring. I link some on Amazon above but any market should have some 🙂
Casie says
Oh and I also forgot to ask what else I can use for the bottom of my cookie sheet? Can I just use the powder sugar? I don’t have anything to put underneath it. Thanks
Melissa Williams says
How about foil? You want something to help you with cleanup 🙂
Casie says
Ok thank u! I appreciate the feed back. Do u think it would be ok to use gel food coloring? I’ve never used that kind but but husband could not find any.
Melissa Williams says
I haven’t used gel in this, but I think it will work fine.
Bernie says
Don’t use foil it will stick, just use powdered sugar on your pan before spreading. Please be extra careful because it is very hot!!!
Melissa Williams says
Thanks, Bernie 🙂
Gina says
I’m wondering if you can help me my daughter is in a cocktail competition and she had the idea to make this hard candy but she wants it to be clear with a silver backing so that when it’s broken it looks like broken glass. Is there a way that it can be clear because I know a lot of the times it turns out to be an amber color without any food coloring. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Melissa Williams says
Hi Gina – that sounds fun! I’ve never stopped at the point before coloring/flavoring the sugar, but I think it should come out pretty clear. Or, try this one https://nerdymamma.com/sugar-glass-recipe-or-candy-glass/
Mary Lane says
I love the flavor I think another way to test if it is ready is to put a little bit (1/2teeaspoon) into a bowl of COLD Water and if it makes like a tear drop with a string on the end it is ready
Melissa Williams says
I’m a lil confused about the “love the flavor” but only 3 stars comment 🤔
Michaelle Tuckus says
Hello, I just made my first two batches last night and the one i flavored with strawberry extract tasted really good but a little weak so now I know Use more since it was the extract, but the one I made with LorAnn apple, and cinnamon oils and it tasted horrible and because I used green food coloring it was hard to tell if it was just burnt or just too much oil? So Im trying this again but before i do I wanted to know about mixing the flavor oils or extracts together to make a new one for example by boyfriend wants me to mix the maple and the coconut extracts should this work and also how much do I use of each? should it be equal parts 2 tsp. maple and 2 tsp. coconut? if you can please help I would love to try this combo and others
Melissa Williams says
Are you using the super strength oils? I know a little bit goes a LONG way so start small. I haven’t tested those particular flavors to tell you the ratios.