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Magic Candy Recipe

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★★★★★

4.9 from 96 reviews

This Magic Candy Recipe creates beautiful, homemade hard candy shards with customizable flavors and colors. Utilizing simple pantry ingredients like sugar, corn syrup, and water, this recipe guides you through boiling the syrup to the perfect hard crack stage before adding your favorite flavor extracts and food coloring. Once cooled, the candy is broken into delightful pieces perfect for snacking or decorating desserts.

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup light corn syrup
  • ½ cup water
  • Powdered sugar (for dusting)
  • Candy sprinkles or edible glitter (optional)

Flavor & Color

  • ½ to 1 tsp flavoring extract (such as strawberry, cotton candy, or peppermint)
  • Gel or liquid food coloring (optional)

Other

  • Cooking spray or neutral oil (to prep pan)

Instructions

  1. Prep the Pan: Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray to prevent the candy from sticking.
  2. Combine Sugar, Water & Syrup: In a medium saucepan, gently stir together the granulated sugar, light corn syrup, and water before placing the pan over heat.
  3. Boil Without Stirring: Heat the mixture over medium-high heat and allow it to boil without stirring until it reaches 300°F, the hard crack stage, which takes about 15–20 minutes. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test by dropping a small amount into cold water—it should snap when cooled.
  4. Add Color & Flavor: Remove the saucepan from heat immediately upon reaching 300°F. Quickly stir in your chosen flavor extract and food coloring while the syrup may steam, then promptly pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  5. Cool Completely: Let the candy cool and harden at room temperature for about 45 minutes, allowing it to set fully.
  6. Break & Dust: Once the candy is completely firm, lift it out of the pan using the parchment paper and break it into shards with a mallet or the back of a spoon. Dust with powdered sugar if desired to prevent the pieces from sticking, and optionally decorate with candy sprinkles or edible glitter.

Notes

  • Make sure to use a candy thermometer for best results to avoid under- or over-cooking the syrup.
  • The flavor extracts can be mixed and matched to create custom candy flavors.
  • Work quickly when adding color and flavor as the syrup hardens fast once removed from heat.
  • If the candy sticks to your hands, dust with powdered sugar to reduce stickiness.
  • Store the candy shards in an airtight container at room temperature to keep them crisp.

Keywords: hard candy, homemade candy, candy shards, flavored candy, sugar candy, easy candy recipe

Find it online: https://ricoloranz.com/magic-candy-recipe/