Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2013

I used to make this when I was a kid and sell it on the school bus. Lost the recipe years ago and was very thrilled to find it here again. I made this for Christmas, Red-Cinnamon and Green-Peppermint and gave them out for gifts. The only thing I did differently was I poured them out on a cookie sheet and cut into squares just before hardening and didn't use as much powdered sugar. Thanks for sharing this! :)

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Reviewer:

KimmerZ

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Garden Grove, California, USA

Living In: Littleton, Colorado, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2012

I never knew I could make hard candy. I have tried several times in the past and had nothing but a stack of pots that needed de-sugaring. I found this recipe and decided to try one more time. It looks and tastes like I have been making candy for years. I used one dram of Cinnamon oil and red food coloring. It looks and tastes just like the old Jolly Rancher cinnamon sticks. Remember those? A bonus is the cinnamon oil makes your house smell awesome, just don't stand over it when you pour it in.... lesson learned.

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Reviewer:

Blue_Banana

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Seaside Park, New Jersey, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2012

I have made 7 batches of this for Christmas this year. I tried Peppermint, Root beer, Cinnamon and raspberry. I put 1 tablespoon in each and they are perfect. I found that the 1/2 teaspoon called for was not enough. I have already shared with friends and family and they loved it. My husband said it is the best peppermint candy he has had and he is not a fan of peppermint. My favorite is by far the root beer. Thanks for the recipe as it is easy to make.

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momcop4ever

Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2012

We've been making this candy at Christmas time for years, if you want a stronger flavor, you must use an oil based flavoring, an alcohol based flavoring will work, but it won't be as strong of a flavor. Our local Kroger store keeps these oil flavorings at the Pharmacy counter of all places. They are called LorAnn oils (they have a web site) and they come in little bottles,(1.25 oz) and each batch we used one bottle. We made cinnamon, peppermint, cherry and vanilla buttermint, all were delicious! We store the candy in Mason jars and they look awesome in our kitchen.

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TERRIS911

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Troy, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2012

I poured it onto cookie sheet that was covered lightly with powdered sugar. when it got hard I took a kitchen hammer and broke it up. no sticking and no greasy candy.

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JANEDANSBURY

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Palmyra, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Woodbury, New Jersey, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2012

I have never made hard candy before and was a little nervous. I did as one of the reviews I read said to do....add 1 Tbsp of extract (cherry), and I ended up adding 4 drops of coloring. I buttered the pan before starting to avoid any sugar crystalizing and used the Reynolds wrap no stick version and nothing stuck! I did use pizza cutter, nice recommendation. The flavor was still very light even with the increase to 1 Tbsp but it may vary from brands. I enjoyed making this recipe and look forward to making it again with many other flavors to give as gifts for Christmas. Thanks for sharing!

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Terri13

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Nov. 4, 2012

This Recipe worked really good but it didn't give any sort of time frame on how long it took to cool. It didn't take long to boil though. Overall this recipe worked great! I made Cinnamon, Raspberry and Lemon. On Cinnamon and other Strong flavors I recommend that you only use 1/4 of a teaspoon instead of half. And for the less strong flavors like the Lemon and the Raspberry you should use 2 teaspoons for full flavor and also add some sour flavor enhancer to make the candy sour. And instead of cutting it with shears i just let it harden and beat it with a meat mallet.

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Reviewer:

Pooh's Corner

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2012

It took me a few tries to get this one right, but I don't have a candy thermometer, so I was guessing the temperature (and undercooked a few times). If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can dip a fork into the candy mixture, and then dip the fork into cool water. If the candy hardens on the tines, then it's the right temperature. I also had a dilemma of flavoring oils vs. flavor extract. I learned that, if you can, oils are better (stronger flavor that holds up to boiling better), but you CAN use extract, but it takes about 4x as much. Also, another reviewer suggested using a pizza cutter to cut these: Definitely do that! So much better than trying to work quickly with scissors and hot sugar!

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