Hard Candy Jewels

Edible gems.
We’ve been talking a lot around here about fun things we could cook that would be a little different. And, as we got further into the conversation what with the Holidays coming, the timing couldn’t have been better, we realized that some of our ideas would make great party favors or small gifts.

My nephew asked if I knew how to make rock candy. That’s when my sister yelled out “candy jewelry!” She hit upon something classic. The idea of trying to update this kids classic was daunting, but I think I rose to the challenge quite nicely.
It has been over 17 years since I last tried my hand at hard candies. Making them now, I’m reminded of my tiny kitchen in my first non-roommate apartment with no counter and only a small foldout table. There was a point during that early attempt, where I had the trays laid out on our 7 foot mustard yellow thrift store couch. In hindsight, this could have been a huge sugary disaster, but hey, I was young, you did whatever you had to do to get by.

Speaking of which, I’m realizing now, that I’m heading back to that devil-may-care attitude these days. I’m so enamored with posting everything that I make right now, that I’m pushing myself to find the time and creativity to make something new and better each time.

Hard Candy Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup light Corn Syrup¼ cup Water
• ¾ tsp extract of choice (I used lemon)Food coloring

Special Equipment:

• Parchment paper
• Non-stick Cooking Spray
• Lollipop and Hard Candy Molds
• Quilter’s PinsDisposable Sheet Pans
• Candy Thermometer
• Colorful Thread for stringing

Method:

• Lay down parchment paper on your work surface, it will make clean up so much easier.
• Put pins in the molds and attach the molds to the sheet pans.Spray the molds with the non-stick cooking spray.
• Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan.Place the pan over medium-heat and insert the candy thermometer.
• Do not stir.Heat the mixture to 295 degrees and remove the pan from the heat.
• Stir in extract and food coloring at this point.Fill the candy molds with the mixture. I used metal spoons, but if you can create some kind of piping method, that would be great.
• Allow the hard candies to cool completely.Carefully remove the candies from the molds.
• Immediately thread a needle and string the candies as a pendant.
• Package individually in waxed paper or small glassine envelopes.

• Lay down parchment paper on your work surface, it will make clean up so much easier.
• Put pins in the molds and attach the molds to the sheet pans.
• Spray the molds with the non-stick cooking spray.

The most challenging part was to figure out how to get a hole into the hard candy. After a bit of research, I located the hard candy molds at Sur La Table and started experimenting. The solution was simple.

The molds are just pliable enough to allow a pin to be pushed into it. There needs to be enough space between the pin and the edge of the mold so that syrup can be poured behind the pin to ensure that the candy won’t break when the pin is removed. It's a good idea to also wiggle the pins a bit so the hole is large enough to get a needle through.

To balance the molds, I placed them on top of the disposable sheet pans and pushed the pins through the pans. The sheet pans also allow the air to circulate which helps the candies cool more quickly.

Next step was to coat the molds and pins with the non-stick cooking spray. The spray is kind of messy, so make sure that you keep a damp cloth on hand to wipe up any extra.
 

• Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan.
• Place the pan over medium-heat and insert the candy thermometer.
• Do not stir.
• Heat the mixture to 295 degrees and remove the pan from the heat.

It took less time for the sugar/corn syrup to mix and reach the desired temperature than I thought it would, so have all of your molds completely ready before you start the sugar syrup procedure

Once the mixture has reached 295 degrees, add the food coloring and flavor extract

• Fill the candy molds with the mixture. I used metal spoons, but if you can create some kind of piping method, that would be great.

Once the syrup has reached the desired 295 degrees temperature, get the molds filled as quickly as possible. The syrup hardens very quickly. Do not reheat the mixture, I tried it and the resulting candies were very acrid tasting. They’re the darker brown ones in the pictures.

The candies are really fragile. Make sure the candies harden completely before removing them from the molds. When you do remove them, pull the pins out very carefully.

• Allow the hard candies to cool completely.
• Carefully remove the candies from the molds.

You should be ready to thread them onto the string immediately because it’s a little tricky to keep track of where the hole is in the candy.
Make the string long enough to fit over your head when it's tied.

Package the necklaces individually in waxed paper or glassine envelopes.
These make great party favors or small Holiday gifts.

Enjoy!