Do you like to give homemade gifts from your kitchen? Normally we think of cookies, bread, or rolls to bake, but sometimes, something a bit more simple, but still festive that is red and bursting with flavor is perfect Making old-fashion Cinnamon Rock Candy (also known as Cinnamon Hard Candy) will add some sweetness to your holiday gifts.
I’ve been making these candies since I was a teen. I have both a sweet tooth and a fondness for cinnamon, so this candy is a favorite. The way it looks in a glass jar, bright red and dusted with snow-white powdered sugar, will make you love it too!
Besides being called rock candy, you may be familiar with these sweet treats being called hard candy, broken glass candy, or maybe sugar candy. No matter what you call them they are all sweet and delicious.
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These pretty little candies look so festive in decorative mason jars or sitting on a buffet table for the holidays. If you manage not to eat them all, they make the perfect gifts for teachers, coworkers, the next-door neighbor, or even the dog walker. Who doesn’t love a gift of candy for the holidays?
Can you make other flavors of rock candy?
Why yes, you can! There are endless possibilities. I recommend using LorAnn's Flavoring Oils. There are so many flavors to choose from. Make sure to change the food coloring to match the flavor.
- Orange
- Strawberry
- Peppermint
- Cherry
- Grape
- Lemon
- and more….
You only need six ingredients
- Granulated Sugar
- Water
- Light Corn Syrup
- Cinnamon Oil
- Red Food Color
- Powdered Sugar
What is cinnamon oil?
- Made straight from cinnamon bark this is a highly concentrated oil.
- Compared to cinnamon extract, the oil is four times stronger than the extract.
- Cinnamon extract is made by dissolving cinnamon oil in alcohol and is useful for use in baking cookies, cake, icings, and cream desserts.
- It is better to use cinnamon oil in candy making because of the high heat that is required to make candy, the extract flavor will not hold up.
- I use LorAnn's Cinnamon Oil
Let’s make candy
Step 1. You definitely need a
Step. 2 Once your syrup reaches that magic boiling point, turn off the heat and add 
Step 4. Once the candy is hardened sprinkle with powdered sugar, then put a piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the powdered sugar layer and flip the hard sheet of candy over. Remove the parchment paper and sprinkle more powdered sugar on top.
Step 5. Now for the fun part. Grab a heavy-duty spoon and tap on the candy sheet to break it into small pieces. This is my favorite part of making this candy.
Step 6. The final step is packaging up the candies. My favorite way is to put the candies in decorative mason jars with a red ribbon. These jars look pretty sitting on a holiday table or you can seal with the lid and give them as gifts.
The great thing about making this Cinnamon Rock Candy is that it leaves your kitchen smelling like….cinnamon!
More cinnamon-flavored desserts and treats
Caramel Apple Popcorn with Cinnamon – this sweet corn has bits of crispy apples throughout.
Try the Apple Cider Baked Apples with a rich cinnamon glaze for a special dessert.
Cinnamon Crescent Rolls are made with cottage cheese for a tender pastry.
Cinnamon Rock Candy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon oil
- 1/2 tsp. liquid red food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare a 13" x 9" cookie sheet. Grease the pan then put a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom and then grease the top of the parchment paper. Can use cooking spray.
- In a heavy saucepan combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once this mixture boils cover and cook for 3 minutes.
- Insert a candy thermometer to the pan and bring this mixture to 300 to 310 degrees F. This is the candy hard crack stage. This step will take around 30 minutes, but make sure you are watching the pan.
- Once the temperature is reached, turn off the heat, remove the thermometer (it will be very hot.) Add the cinnamon oil and red food coloring. Stir to combine.
- Pour the hot syrup onto the cookie sheet and spread close to the edges. Allow to cool for 4 hours.
- NOTE: the saucepan will be very hot. It is best to put the pan back on the stove burner to cool off.
- Sprinkle the candy with powdered sugar then lay a piece of parchment on top, flip over, remove the wax paper and sprinkle with more powdered sugar.
- With a heavy spoon, hit the candy to break into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Alternative for sprinkling with powdered sugar
- Break up the hardened candy sheet into desired sized pieces. Place in a plastic bag, add powdered sugar and shake to coat.
Notes
Nutrition
Wishing you a glorious holiday filled with all things sweet.
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About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
Laciie
My mother used to make this every Christmas for me to take to my teachers since I was like 8 yrs old , I remember my childhood friends always looking forward to Xmas to have the candy. Question I have is – I’m a Realtor and I do little “ pop-by” which is I literally “pop by” my seller & buyers house once a month w/ cute little things to stay top of mind. Well – I want to make Rock Candy for my neighborhood which is 200 neighborhoods – would anyone want to guess how much I should get?
Jere Cassidy
That’s a big neighborhood and lucky them to get treats. This recipe makes a lot of pieces of candy so it depends on how much you want to give. I would make three batches and then divide that up.
Lorie
Looks super. I was wondering if cinnamon extract is the same thing as cinnamon oil.
Nicky
Does the candy have to be removed and cracked at 4 hours? I chose creme de menthe with green food coloring. This is going to be so much fun to taste.
Jere Cassidy
You just need to wait for it to be totally cooled. It doesn’t necessarily need four hours, it does depend on the humidity and heat of the kitchen. I have sprinkled the powdered sugar on the candy sheet before and thought it was done only to find the center was still to soft to crack.
Barbara
It was so easy to make. I had an aunt that use to make this candy in all kinds of flavors for Xmas gifts. She somehow use to let it cool some and take pieces and roll it like a snake and then cut with scissors. I will definitely make more.
Jere Cassidy
That’s a fun aunt making different flavors, and rolling the candy up like a snake is fun too!
Jenni LeBaron
This cinnamon rock candy is so fun! I can imagine that these are tremendous to add to a gift basket for friends and family and even better to keep on hand for snacking!
Jere Cassidy
We packaged up four jars and nibbled on candy the whole time.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I have never tried making my own candy, but I am definitely thinking about doing it now! This looks so perfect!!
Amy
I’ve made a version of this years back when doing a cake project. It’s so fun and amazing how the candy comes together! Love your flavors that are perfect for the season.
Jere Cassidy
It is fun making this candy. It’s hard to believe how easy it is to make.
Deborah
OMG< if you use vegan sugar it's vegan, yay! I used to love this stuff when I was a kid. I never dreamed you could actually make it from home. Thanks for sharing.
Jere Cassidy
Hi Deborah, vegan sugar is new to me and I just googled it to read about it. Very, very interesting.
Stine Mari
I love how simple this is, but still looking super fancy. Adding cinnamon makes it extra festive for the Holidays.
Jere Cassidy
This candy really is super simple to make. This year I’m making it green and minty.
Constance Smith
Oh my goodness! I haven’t made or had rock candy since I was a kid. This brought back some great memories!
Jere Cassidy
I made it all the time when I was in school then stopped for years, then realized how much fun it is to make so this candy is now a yearly treat.
Jacqui Debono
Such a good idea for gifts! Anything that is fun to do with the kids and that they can give to relatives and neighbours is a winner!
Jere Cassidy
My kids grew up making this candy for there teachers for so many years. Everyone loved them.
Amanda
I love the idea of giving this as a gift for Christmas! You see all other types of candy gifts, but rock candy is such a unique idea. Thanks for the great recipe!
Jere Cassidy
This is such a unique candy and can be made in so many different flavors.
Cat | Curly's Cooking
So colourful and I love the idea of the cinnamon flavour. The perfect gift 🙂
Lucy Parissi
This is fantastic. I love the colour and the flavour – a great option for grown-up palates.
Lathiya
Cinnamon rock candy sounds great flavorful candy…perfect for the festive season…your candy got gorgeous color
Jere Cassidy
This is perfect for the holidays, everyone loves the bright red color.
Mandy
Such a lovely special treat to make as Christmas gifts. I know my kids would love to do this.
Jere Cassidy
I actually started making this when I was a kid.
Mayuri Patel
So festive, anyone would be tempted to try a couple of the sweet cinnamon flavored candy. I had no idea that one could buy cinnamon oil.