Julie Clark
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Hard Tack Candy
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Remember this vintage candy recipe from your childhood? Hard Tack Candy is easier than you think! Make for any holiday.
There’s a handful of recipes I remember my mom making during the Christmas holidays. I remember some Christmas cherry cheesecake bars, snickerdoodles, peanut blossoms and this hard tack candy.
I’ve always been candy crazy, so when I remembered this old fashioned hard candy recipe, I had to make it to share with you. This brings back many memories for me and I hope it does for you too.
Why you’ll love this hard tack candy recipe:
- vintage recipe
- simple ingredients
- make any flavor and any color
- perfect for make ahead holiday gifts
What is hard tack candy?
Hard tack candy, sometimes called rock candy, is a homemade hard candy. Think Jolly Ranchers, lollipops, etc…this is a candy that you suck on similar to those.
You make hard tack candy by boiling sugar to the point of “hard crack” stage or hard ball stage, which is between 290-300º Fahrenheit.
What do I need to make hard candy?
Besides the sugar, water, light corn syrup and powdered sugar, here are a few key things you’ll need for this homemade candy recipe:
- LorAnn Oils: You can find these in baking shops, possibly in Walmart or on Amazon. They come in tiny little bottles and you can get them in just about any flavor imaginable. Our favorite flavors are peppermint, cinnamon, butter rum, spearmint, grape and cherry. LorAnn oils are highly concentrated making them great for hard candy. They will not break down as other flavors will. We don’t recommend anything other than flavor oils recommended for candy.
- Food Coloring: We used liquid food coloring. Just cheap store brand is fine for this recipe.
- Candy Thermometer: We LOVE our Thermoworks ThermaPen to quickly test temperatures. This probe thermometer is AMAZING. Get it here.
How do you make hard tack candy?
It’s important to be very, very careful when making homemade hard candy. The mixture gets extremely hot so you can easily get burned. And the hard candy can actually be quite sharp! The first times I made this I ended up with tiny cuts on my hands. Make sure you watch those strands of glass-like candy.
Also, kids may want to help with this. After all, it’s candy! It may be best to bring them in at the point of breaking the candy or shaking it in powdered sugar.
- Line a large cookie sheet (at least 12×17″) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Mix constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture starts to boil.
- Continue to cook and stir. The first time you make this, you may want to keep the heat at medium. Once you are comfortable with the process, feel free to turn up the heat. Just continue to mix gently.
- Constantly measure the temperature of the boiling sugar mixture and cook until it reaches 280º Fahrenheit. At this point, add in the food coloring. Add a few drops at a time until it reaches the color you’d like.
- Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 290º Fahrenheit. Don’t rush this process! Make sure it hits at least 290º, but up to 295º is ok. Remove the sugar from the heat and stir in the flavored oil.
- Immediately pour syrup on the prepared cookie sheet. Make sure you don’t have a super thick layer or it will be hard to crack apart.
- Allow the mixture to cool completely (This will take about 30 minutes, but will depend on temperature and humidity.)
- Use a meat mallet to crack the candy into small pieces.
- Place the candy pieces into a zippered bag. Add the powdered sugar and shake to coat.
Why is my hard tack candy sticky?
If hard tack candy is sticky, you didn’t let it get to a high enough temperature during cooking. Hard crack stage is between 290-300º Fahrenheit.
How do you fix sticky hard candy?
There is not a great way to fix sticky hard candy after you’ve cooked it and let it cool. You can dust with powdered sugar or a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch. Make sure you store the candy in a humidity-free place as humidity will make the candy more sticky.
How long does hard tack candy last?
Hard candies can last about 6 months if stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can I make this without a candy thermometer?
You can, but it is easiest with a thermometer. You cannot go completely by time (although mine usually takes about 20 minutes). To test for hard crack stage without a thermometer, drop a bit of mixture in a glass of ice cold water. The mixture should immediately harden into a ball. You can also drizzle a bit of mixture into the cold water. It should become like brittle threads and be glass-like. If is doesn’t, cook it longer.
Other Holiday Recipes
Hard Tack Candy is a classic holiday recipe. Here are a few other family favorites during the holiday season!
Hard Tack Candy
Remember this vintage candy recipe from your childhood? Hard Tack Candy is easier than you think! Make for any holiday.
Servings 20
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Setting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.75 pounds granulated sugar (about 3 ½ cups)
- 1 cup water 8 ounces
- 1 cup corn syrup 8 ounces
- food coloring
- .125 ounces LorAnn Flavoring Oil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar 65 grams
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet (at least 12×17") with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Mix constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture starts to boil. 1.75 pounds granulated sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup corn syrup
- Continue to cook and stir. The first time you make this, you may want to keep the heat at medium. Once you are comfortable with the process, feel free to turn up the heat. Just continue to mix gently. Be patient!!! Temperature is everything. This recipe will not work if you take it off the heat too soon.
- Constantly measure the temperature of the boiling sugar mixture and cook until it reaches 280º Fahrenheit. At this point, add in the food coloring. Add a few drops at a time until it reaches the color you'd like. food coloring
- Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 290º Fahrenheit. Don't rush this process! Make sure it hits at least 290º, but up to 295º is ok. Remove the sugar from the heat and stir in the flavored oil. .125 ounces LorAnn Flavoring Oil
- Immediately pour the hot sugar on the prepared pan. Make sure you don't have a super thick layer or it will be hard to crack apart. Allow the mixture to cool completely (this will take about 30 minutes).
- Use a meat mallet to crack the candy into pieces.
- Place the candy pieces into a zippered bag. Add the powdered sugar and shake to coat. ½ cup powdered sugar
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The candy will keep this way for several months.
Notes
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving about 20, with 1 serving being 1/20 of a recipe. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 56g | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.02mg
I’ve made this for years. I used cinnamon oil and red food coloring. Yummy!
Just made peppermint for my hubby, Easy recipe like I made years ago. You cannot hurry the cooking process or you will have sticky candy.
can I use Lyles Golden Syrup in place of corn syrup Iam allergic to corn syrup?
I’m going to try this for Christmas. I had a friend whose mother made this. I love it!!!!!
Hi Lizzy, I want to try this recipe and I want to make a sour strawberry or cherry flavor. Any suggestions? Thanks, Alida
Do you use the whole bottle of oil per batch?
My candy stuck to the parchment paper, so I would recommend pouring directly into a pan rather than using paper to avoid your candy from potentially sticking to the paper. Also, when you use a meat mallet to break the candy, you can get very tiny pieces you wouldn’t want; it is much better to cut the candy.
Can I use sugar free sugar
I made 4 recipes of this today and it was perfect! But on the 5th and 6th tries, my candy hardened “cloudy”… any tips?
How do you recommend measuring out 0.0125 of the oil? Is there a “drop” equivalent or actually measuring in a dish and pouring it in?