It’s fast approaching time to make gifts for the holiday and obviously, my go-to gift is homemade treats from my kitchen. Normally I go all out and make cookies, bread or rolls. This year I wanted something a bit more simple, but still festive red and bursting with flavor. I’m making old-fashion Cinnamon Rock Candy (also known as Cinnamon Hard Candy) this year to add some sweetness to my holiday gifts.
Homemade Cinnamon Candy
I’ve been making these candies since I was a teen. I have both a sweet tooth and a fondness for cinnamon, so I love this candy. 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 may sugar candy. No matter what you call these colorful 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 wouldn’t love this sweet gift 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 six ingredients to make this homemade cinnamon hard candy recipe
- Sugar
- Water
- Light Corn Syrup
- Cinnamon Oil
- Red Food Color
- Powdered Sugar
How to make Cinnamon Rock Candy
Step 1
You definitely need a candy thermometer to make these treats. To make the candy you simply add water, sugar and white corn syrup and bring to a hard crack stage which is 300 degrees F. This does take some time, but make sure you watch your thermometer constantly. This is not a good time to go put a load of laundry, so hang out in your kitchen while this syrup cooks. Maybe put on some holiday music?
Step 2
Once your sugar syrup reaches that magic boiling point, turn off the heat and add red food coloring and the cinnamon oil. Use caution! The sugar syrup and the pans are blazing hot so use a wooden spoon or a heavy-duty spatula to stir in the last two ingredients. Make sure to put the empty pan back on the burner so it can cool. And if you have kids or pets, you might send them out of the kitchen while you’re making candy.
Step 3
Pour your colored and flavored syrup onto a 13 x 9 parchment-lined cookie sheet and spread close to the edge. Let the candy sit for at least four hours to harden.
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 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!
Here is your pin to save this cinnamon candy recipe to your favorite Pinterest Board
Here is your Cinnamon Candy Recipe
Cinnamon Rock Candy
Equipment
- Mason Jars
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
Broken Cinnamon Candy
They are hard to resist
It’s time for a cup of tea with some candy. A perfect afternoon treat.
Here are some essential items you might need for candy making.
I will also include the link for the other flavors of LorAnn’s Oils and Americolor food coloring.
Blessings
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!
We packaged up four jars and nibbled on candy the whole time.
I have never tried making my own candy, but I am definitely thinking about doing it now! This looks so perfect!!
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.
It is fun making this candy. It’s hard to believe how easy it is to make.
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.
Hi Deborah, vegan sugar is new to me and I just googled it to read about it. Very, very interesting.
I love how simple this is, but still looking super fancy. Adding cinnamon makes it extra festive for the Holidays.
This candy really is super simple to make. This year I’m making it green and minty.
Oh my goodness! I haven’t made or had rock candy since I was a kid. This brought back some great memories!
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.
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!
My kids grew up making this candy for there teachers for so many years. Everyone loved them.
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!
This is such a unique candy and can be made in so many different flavors.
So colourful and I love the idea of the cinnamon flavour. The perfect gift 🙂
This is fantastic. I love the colour and the flavour – a great option for grown-up palates.
Cinnamon rock candy sounds great flavorful candy…perfect for the festive season…your candy got gorgeous color
This is perfect for the holidays, everyone loves the bright red color.
Such a lovely special treat to make as Christmas gifts. I know my kids would love to do this.
I actually started making this when I was a kid.
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.