This is been in my candy lineup ever since I was a newlywed looking for affordable, homemade gifts. It’s that classic, old-fashioned hard candy that packs a real spicy punch and looks like beautiful red stained glass. Despite looking fancy, it is actually super easy to make—you just need a pot, a thermometer, and a little patience to get it right.
If you need a bulk gift that doesn’t break the budget, this is hands-down the best option. For the price of a bag of sugar and a tiny bottle of oil, you get pounds of beautiful treats for neighbors, teachers, or coworkers.
what You’ll Need
Equipment
Ingredients
I strongly recommend you do not double or triple this recipe. It will take a very long time to get the syrup up to temperature, which increases your risk of scorching. Then when it comes time to pour it will be very heavy and hard to handle.
The Candy
- 1 cup water
- 3 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
- 1 tsp red food coloring (optional, but gives it that classic stained-glass look)
- 1 to 2 tsp cinnamon oil (This must be oil, not extract. Extract is too weak and will burn off at high temperatures. Start with 1 teaspoon for mild, 2 teaspoons if you like it spicy.)
The Coating
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Don’t Make THis When It’s Humid:
Sugar absorbs moisture from the air, so high humidity or rain will turn your hard candy into a sticky mess. For that perfect, glass-like snap, save this recipe for a dry, sunny day.
Step 1: Prep Your Station Completely
I cannot stress this enough: once sugar hits the hard-crack stage, it begins to set almost instantly. You won’t have time to hunt for a pan or grease parchment paper.
Before you even turn on the stove, butter your rimmed baking sheet, line it with parchment, and then butter the parchment paper itself. This might feel like overkill, but the syrup is sticky and we want it to release easily later. Also, make sure your pot is clean and your thermometer is clipped to the side. If you scramble later, you risk burning the candy.
Step 2: Dissolve the Sugar
Combine your water, sugar, food coloring and corn syrup in your large pot. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir just until the sugar is fully dissolved and the liquid looks clear.
Tip: Once it boils, stop stirring. If you keep stirring, you encourage sugar crystals to form, which makes the candy grainy instead of glass-like. If you see crystals forming on the side of the pot, you can gently brush them down with a pastry brush dipped in water, but otherwise, hands off!
Step 3: The Long Boil
This is the part that tests your patience. You need to bring the mixture all the way up to 300°F (Hard Crack Stage). It will bubble aggressively for a long time. It might stall out around 220°F or 230°F and feel like it’s never going to get there. Just let it ride.
Why 300°F matters: If you pull it off at 290°F, your candy will be sticky and get stuck in your teeth. If you go to 310°F, it might taste slightly scorched. Aim for exactly 300°F, but if you have to choose, err on the side of slightly over rather than under.
Step 4: The Cinnamon!
As soon as the thermometer hits 300°F, pull the pot off the heat. Immediately stir in your food coloring and the cinnamon oil.
Safety Warning: When the cinnamon oil hits the hot sugar, it will steam and release a very potent vapor. Do not lean over the pot. Stand back, stir quickly to incorporate it, and hold your breath for a second if you have to. It clears up quickly, but that initial cloud is intense!
Step 5: Pour and Cool
Pour the hot mixture onto your prepared baking sheet. Don’t worry about spreading it out perfectly; gravity will do the work for you.
Let it sit at room temperature undisturbed. It usually takes about 4 hours to cool completely, but on a cold day, it might be faster. You’ll know it’s ready when it is hard as a rock and taps like glass.
Step 6: Crack and Coat
This is the fun part. Dust the top of the solid sheet of candy with powdered sugar.
This prevents the pieces from sticking to your hammer or mallet.
Flip the candy out onto a cutting board and peel off the parchment.
Give it a firm whack with the handle of a knife or a clean meat mallet. It will shatter into those classic shards. Toss the pieces in a bowl with more powdered sugar to coat them so they don’t clump together in the jar.
Storage Instructions
If this is stored well, it will last up to 4 weeks. But you have to keep it airtight.
Keep it Airtight: Moisture is the enemy here. Store your broken candy pieces in a glass mason jar or a metal tin with a tight-fitting lid. Plastic bags are okay, but hard containers are better for keeping out humidity.
Room temperature: Store the container in a cool, dry cupboard. Do not put this candy in the refrigerator; the humidity inside the fridge will make the candy sticky and weep.
Don’t freeze. While it seems like a good preservation method, freezing causes condensation to form on the candy when you bring it back to room temperature. That moisture will dissolve the surface sugar, leaving you with a sticky, wet mess rather than beautiful, dry shards. It lasts long enough on the counter that freezing just isn’t necessary.
Mixing and Packaging
This is a great and colorful treat to mix with some brown fudges and caramels in your candy boxes. A little color variety is always nice.
Here are some of our favorites:
Troubleshooting
Don’t waste your energy scrubbing! Just fill the pot with water, put it back on the stove, and boil it for a few minutes, the sugar will melt right off.
You likely stirred it too much after it started boiling. Once the sugar dissolves and the boil starts, put the spoon away and let the heat do the work, or you’ll create crystals.
You didn’t quite reach 300°F (hard crack stage). If you pull it off the heat even a few degrees too early, you end up with heavy taffy instead of brittle glass.
Yes! Instead of pouring it onto a sheet, pour small circles onto your parchment paper and quickly press a lollipop stick into the center of each one before it hardens.
Absolutely, just make sure you buy flavoring oils (like peppermint, lemon, or clove), not extracts. The ratio remains the same.
Printable Recipe
Cinnamon Rock Candy
Equipment
- 1 Large Deep Saucepan
- 1 15×10-inch Jelly Roll Pan
- 1 Meat Mallet or Hammer
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 3 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon oil (do not use extract)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar for coating
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Instructions
- Prep the pan. Butter a 15x10x1-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line it with parchment paper, then butter the parchment paper to ensure the candy doesn’t stick.
- Dissolve the sugar. In a large, deep saucepan, combine the water, sugar, corn syrup, and food coloring. Stir over medium-high heat just until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks clear.
- Boil to Hard Crack Stage. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan (ensure tip doesn’t touch the bottom). Let the mixture boil—without stirring—until it reaches exactly 300°F. This usually takes about 20 minutes.
- Add flavoring. Remove the pan from the heat. Immediately stir in the cinnamon oil. Stand back while stirring, as the steam will be very strong!
- Pour and cool. Pour the hot syrup onto the prepared baking sheet. Let it sit at room temperature until completely cool and hard, about 4 hours.
- Crack. Dust the top of the solid candy with powdered sugar. Turn it out onto a cutting board, peel off the parchment, and break into pieces using a meat mallet or hammer. Toss pieces in more powdered sugar to prevent sticking.
Notes
Cleaning Tip: To clean the hardened sugar out of your pot, simply fill it with water and boil it on the stove for a few minutes to melt the residue.
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Homemade Spiced Apple Rings (For Canning)
Red Hot Cinnamon Pickles (Canning Recipe)