This old-fashioned recipe for hot Cinnamon Hard Candy is part of our holiday tradition. It's sweet and spicy and fun to share with others made from an old fashioned recipe with just cinnamon oil, sugar, syrup and food coloring!
Growing up there were a few things I could always count on my mom to make during the holidays. One of these things is her Homemade Cinnamon Candy.
Aside from working with boiling hot molten sugar lava, the recipe is pretty easy to make. I'm not sure if that makes you nervous, but I'm not a big risk-taker in the kitchen.
So I had my mom make it for me so I could take photos. Because if you're braver than me in the kitchen I don't want you to miss out on this brilliant hot cinnamon candy recipe!
You will see images with the candy-colored red and somewhere it is left as is. My mom and I can't agree on the best way to make it so this is a combination of both ways.
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Why This Recipe Works
Making hard candy requires using a candy thermometer to get the right consistency. But other than being patient and careful, this recipe really doesn't require any special skills.
The friends and family we've shared this with over the years are all big fans. And one batch makes a lot!
Related post: Candy Coated Cherry Jello Popcorn
You can keep some for your family and bag some up for dropping off with neighbors too. It's a perfect holiday treat.
The basic hard candy recipe can be used to make all kinds of flavor. The red food coloring and spicy cinnamon oil (this is why cinnamon oil is spicy!) makes this a fun treat to make each winter.
Ingredients
Just 4 ingredients (5, if you include red food coloring) is all you need to make this classic treat.
Since I use light corn syrup in my favorite Caramel Corn recipe, I usually have some in the cupboard.
And most of us have white sugar and water around.
The only thing you need to plan ahead for is cinnamon oil. I usually pick mine up on Amazon. But they also have it at the local craft store in the candy aisle.
Cinnamon oil is sold in a 1 dram sized bottle. We only used one bottle, but if you like your cinnamon light-your-tongue-on-fire hot, you may want to use some of the other bottle as well.
A note about cinnamon oil: IT'S STRONG! It can burn your eyes and nose if you inhale it too deeply. It's also supposed to be bad for dogs. If you're worried, do a little research before you start.
How to make hard candy
1. Mix together sugar, water and corn syrup
Add the white sugar, water, and corn syrup to a saucepan and mix them together.
2. Heat to 300 degrees
Turn the heat to medium and add a candy thermometer. The sugar needs to get up to 300 degrees.
This is called the Hard Crack stage if your thermometer has markings on it for things like sterilising jars, making jam, deep frying, and of course making candy!
Mix it often as it's cooking so it doesn't burn on the bottom.
It will take a while for the sugar to get to the right temperature. I think it took us about an hour.
Again, this is why this is a tradition that my mom makes for me. I prefer the ease of dump cake recipes.
And can we talk for a moment about how freaking clean my mom's stove top is? Gosh, I wish I got her cleaning gene.
3. Prepare a baking sheet
In the meantime, grease a baking sheet and set it aside.
This will help keep the hard candy recipe from sticking to the pan. Duh.
4. Add the cinnamon oil
Once the sugar reaches the hard crack stage or 300 degrees, remove the pan from heat and add your cinnamon oil.
DO NOT INHALE. I REPEAT, DO NOT INHALE! For real.
The cinnamon is potent. It will choke you. It will make your eyes water.
But it will taste SO good.
Stir to ensure it is mixed well throughout the sugar. Make sure that all the doors and windows are open. No joke.
5. Add coloring if using
If you are using red food coloring, this is when you would add that as well. Make sure to mix it well. My mom used a "few drops" when she made the red batch.
Start with a few drops and add more to get the desired red color that you would like.
6. Pour onto pan to harden
Carefully pour the candy onto the prepared sheet pan and let harden.
I would say it was really hard after a full hour.
We didn't put it in the fridge or anything like that. Just left it out on the counter.
7. Break up the candy
The fun part is cracking the Christmas candy into smaller, bite-sized pieces. This is what the whole sheet of candy looks like once it's cooled. And again this is without red food coloring.
Here's what the candy looks like with red food coloring. And, of course, this isn't the full batch, I just wanted to show the color.
Using a table knife, whack the cinnamon candy. Not too hard because pieces go flying all over the place. And it is really sharp. Much like glass shards. Use caution.
Also, can't you tell that some people call this glass candy? It totally looks like it.
I think the golden color (no food coloring) is really pretty.
But the red really does read more like cinnamon candy don't you think? Or you could really freak people out and make it green.
Then they would think they were going to be eating something lime or peppermint flavored. And then BAM! Cinnamon. Their taste buds won't know what to do!
How to store the candy
Store the candy in an air-tight container and it will last for at least a month.
The pieces may stick together but you can just break them apart.
The pieces can be really sharp so take care when giving this to children.
I just know you will love this! I'm sucking on some right now as a matter of fact. Thank you, mom, for helping me with this post. You're the best!
A few more easy recipes you might also enjoy!
- Old Fashioned Candied Walnuts with Cinnamon
- Candied Almonds with Cinnamon
- White Chocolate Popcorn Mix for Christmas
- How To Make White Wine Jello Shots
- How To Make Cinnamon Sugar Toast
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Cinnamon Hard Candy
Ingredients
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1 ½ cups light corn syrup
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 bottle cinnamon oil found at your local craft store
- Red food coloring start with a few drops and add more as needed to get the desired color
Instructions
- Mix water, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring often, until the candy thermometer temperature reaches 300 degrees.
- While waiting for the candy to boil, butter a cookie sheet and set it aside so it's ready when the candy reaches the correct temperature.
- Remove from heat.
- Add cinnamon oil and stir well (DO NOT SNIFF FUMES! HAVE DOORS AND WINDOWS OPEN!)
- If using food coloring, add it now and stir well.
- Pour on to a buttered cookie sheet.
- Let it sit until hardened and dry. (About an hour)
- Use the end of a butter knife to break the hard cinnamon candy into pieces.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Meems says
Hi Sharon, A Friendly note...
Thanks for posting a recipe for a favorite candy. I am glad to see your Mom stepped up & was the patient & careful maker here. That being said, SOMEWHERE in this posting your Mom should be given co-author status, & at the very least, mention her by first name. Also, if new processing photos are made, please show your Mom without her head cropped out of the photos. You will love seeing your Mom's face for your future nostalgia.
Sharon Garofalow says
She's a great mom. If you knew my mom you would know that she would kill me if I included her face. I totally understand what you are saying. I sneak photos of her when I can. :).
Michelle says
The hard candy recipe should include 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar. This aids in the thickening process.