Whether you pick a familiar flavor like watermelon or strawberry, or perhaps venture into experimental territory with lemon grass or pumpkin pie, this DIY recipe allows you to customize to your heart’s content. Watching your glycemic index? Find out how to get the same sweet flavor with a few easy substitutes.
Ingredients
- Regular:
- 350g (1½ cups) Sugar
- 115g (¾ Cup) Glucose DE42 Powder
- 115g (½ cup) Water
- 10g (1 Tbsp) Citric Acid
- ½ Dram Flavor Drops
- Food Coloring (optional)
- Sugar Free:
- 350g (1¾ cups) Isomalt
- 115g (1 Cup) Xylitol
- 115g (½ cup) Water
- 10g (1 Tbsp) Citric Acid
- ½ Dram Flavor Drops
- Food Coloring (optional)
Equipment
- Heavy Bottom Pot
- Pastry Brush
- Silicone Molds
- Instant-Read Thermometer/Candy Thermometer
Timing
Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield
20 – 30 Hard Candies
-
Create Candy Base
For regular hard candies mix together the sugar, glucose powder, and water in a small heavy bottom sauce pot.
Sugar free candies will follow the same steps, just mix together the Isomalt, Xylitol, and water in a small heavy bottom sauce pot.
Heat the mixture to a boil and brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any excess sugar crystals.
Heat the regular hard candie mixture to 290°F – 300°F to reach hard crack texture.
The sugar free mixture will need to be heated to 360°F – 375°F to achieve the same texture.
-
Flavor Candy Base
Remove the mixture from the heat and add the citric acid and the flavor drops, mix well.
Depending on the flavor we suggest starting with ½ dram of the flavor drops, if you prefer a more intense flavor you could use a full dram.
Add food coloring (optional)
-
Set Candy in Molds
Pour the mixture into the desired high temperature silicone molds.
Cool the candies and pop them out of the molds. The candies can be individually wrapped in wax paper or stored in a cool dry place in an air-tight jar.
Summary
Recipe Name
Flavortastic Hard Candies
Author Name
Modernist Pantry
Published On
Preparation Time
Total Time
Average Rating
Based on 1 Review(s)
Comments (7)
August 11, 2020 9:31 am
[…] Recipe Link: Flavortastic Hard Candies […]
December 4, 2021 8:45 pm
Should I cool the candies in refrigerator or room temperature??
December 8, 2021 4:37 pm
you can cool them at room temperature no problem!
December 14, 2021 7:51 pm
Hi cole, tried these candies yesterday. The flavor was good.. but it jus sticks to the teeth. What can be done to avoid that??
December 17, 2021 4:38 pm
you can attempt to heat the candy to a slightly higher temperature before it begins to brown and caramelize, but this tackiness is always going to be a property when dealing with hard candies
January 7, 2022 4:41 pm
I want to make sugar-free lozenges using isomalt, but I don’t want to use xylitol because I have dogs in the house. Can I omit the xylitol or substitute it with another sweetener?
January 10, 2022 9:24 am
You could increase the isomalt to accomplish this, but the exact amount would require testing. As for substitutes, you could use sorbitol, but again would require testing to get the exact sweetness and texture you’re looking for.