Hard Tack Candy

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 candy, 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 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, which is between 290-300º Fahrenheit.

What do I need to make candy?

There are a few key things you’ll need for this recipe:

1. 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.
2. Food Coloring: We used liquid food coloring. Just cheap store brand is fine for this recipe.
3. 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 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.

• 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 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.

Hard Tack Candy

4.80 from 80 votes

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 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Setting Time 30 minutes minutes

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Equipment

• candy thermometer
• parchment paper

Ingredients

 

• 1.75 pounds granulated sugar (about 3 ½ cups)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup corn syrup
• food coloring
• .125 ounces LorAnn Flavoring Oil
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Sugar: 56g | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Calories 214

Keyword candy, christmas, old fashioned recipe, vintage

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