Root Beer Candy Recipe

Learn how to make homemade root beer hard candy with my root beer candy recipe! Similar to classic root beer barrels, you’ll only need a handful of ingredients (and a good pair of gloves!) to make a batch of these old-fashioned sweets.

What Inspired This Root Beer Candy Recipe?

Root Beer Candy Ingredients

• Granulated Sugar – Cooked to hard crack stage, granulated sugar forms a thick sugar syrup. Once it cools slightly, the syrup will turn smooth and pliable, allowing you to pull it into ropes of hard candy. If using another white, grainy sugar (like caster or superfine) I recommend measuring by weight rather than volume to achieve correct proportions.
• Liquid Glucose – An invert sugar such as liquid glucose, light Karo Syrup, or corn syrup prevents the hard candy from crystallizing. Visit my guide to liquid sweeteners to learn more about invert sugars and how they work.

• Root Beer Flavoring – I flavored my root beer candy with Lorann Oils Super Strength Root Beer Flavor. For UK readers, l also tested a version of these candies with the Root Beer Food Flavouring Concentrate from Galaxy Flavours. If the flavoring you choose contains added color, you might find that you need to adjust the amount of gel food coloring to avoid making the finished candies too opaque.
• Gel Food Coloring – Chefmaster is my go-to brand; in this recipe, I’ve used Buckeye Brown. Make sure you’re using gel food coloring rather than water-based, which will add too much extra liquid to the sugar syrup.

Handling Hot Sugar

For sugarwork, most chefs will wear a pair of soft cotton gloves, with 1-2 pairs of rubber gloves layered over top. The cotton gloves protect your hands from the hot molten sugar, while the rubber gloves prevent the candy from sticking.

If you don’t have cotton and rubber gloves, I suggest buying a pair or two of each before making this root beer hard candy recipe. Both can be ordered from Amazon. Most supermarkets carry rubber gloves, and you can sometimes find white cotton gloves in the cosmetics or beauty aisle. If you can’t find cotton gloves at a big box store or supermarket, a Halloween or costume store will definitely sell them!

Root Beer Candy Recipe Tips and Tricks

• Start with a test batch. If you haven’t worked with pulled sugar before, I recommend first preparing a test batch with just sugar and water (no flavoring or coloring) to get a feel for the hot sugar.
• Spray your scissors. To prevent the pliable sugar syrup from sticking to your scissors as you cut the candy into pieces, spray the blades with plenty of nonstick spray, or rub with vegetable oil.
• Brush down the pan. While the sugar cooks on the stovetop, keep a dish of water and a natural-bristled pastry brush nearby. Brush down the sides of the pan every few minutes to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
• Work in small sections. When pulling and cutting the hot sugar, I suggest working in small sections rather than attempting to pull all of the sugar at once. Pull the ropes in 12-inch increments, and keep the remaining sugar in a large mass until ready to pull.
• Reheat as required. If the sugar cools too quickly, place the mass on a silicone baking mat and microwave very briefly (no more than five seconds at a time), warming it just long enough to make it pliable again. 

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Root Beer Candy

Recipe by becky

• Total Time45 minutes
• YieldApproximately 60 pieces 1x

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An old fashioned root beer candy recipe, similar to classic root beer barrels. You’ll only need a handful of ingredients (and a good pair of gloves!) to make a batch of these sweets.

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Vegetable oil or nonstick spray, for coating kitchen scissors
200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
120 milliliters water (1/2 cup)
20 grams liquid glucose, or corn syrup (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon root beer flavoring
2–3 drops brown gel food coloring, or as desired

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Instructions

Cover work surface with a silicone baking mat. Spray kitchen shears with nonstick cooking spray.

In medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine granulated sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.

Cook until sugar reaches 300° F (149° C) on a candy thermometer, periodically swirling the pan as needed, and brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization.*

Remove from heat. Swirl in root beer flavoring and brown gel food coloring.

Pour onto prepared silicone mat.

Put on your cotton gloves, then add a pair of rubber gloves over top.

Allow the sugar syrup to rest on the mat, periodically folding the mat over itself. As you do this, you’ll start to see the sugar sticking to itself and forming a mass, rather than immediately running back into a puddle.

You’ll know the sugar is ready to pull when it comes together into a ball, and does not lose its shape. It will still be hot and easily pliable, but no longer “gooey” or runny.

With gloved hands, fold the sugar over itself several times, until it starts to feel thicker and slightly less pliable. Do this 20-30 times, or until streaky and lighter in color. The longer you pull, the more opaque your candy will look, but it will also be harder to cut.

Pull hot sugar into a short, thick tube.

Working in small sections**, pull the tube into a long rope, about 1/2-inch in diameter. Use kitchen shears to cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces. Repeat until you’ve used all of the hot sugar.

Allow candy pieces to cool on the silicone mat.

Store root beer hard candy in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.

 

Equipment

brown gel food coloring

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digital thermometer

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root beer flavoring

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Notes

*Cooking the sugar will take about 15-20 minutes, so be patient!

**Work in small sections rather than pulling all of the sugar at once. Otherwise, the sugar will cool and become difficult to cut (or might even shatter when you try to cut it!) Pull the ropes in 12-inch increments, and keep the remaining sugar in a large mass/tube until ready to pull.

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Candy and Confectionery
• Method: Stovetop

Tools and Equipment for Making Homemade Root Beer Candy

• Silicone Mat –If you don’t already own one, a silicone baking mat comes in handy for candymaking and sugarwork, as well as for making chocolates, cookies, and more.  Silicone baking mats (a.k.a. silpats) perform well at high temperatures, make cleanup easy, and prevent molten sugar from sticking to your trays and countertops.
• Digital Thermometer – My go-to is this Taylor Instant Read Digital Thermometer. but any good-quality candy thermometer will work. Because your sugar temperatures must to be precise (otherwise you’ll end up with taffy or caramel!) I do not suggest making this hard candy recipe without a thermometer.
• Heavy-Bottomed Pan – For cooking the hot sugar. Opt for a metal pan, not one with nonstick coating; the high heats required for cooking the sugar syrup can damage the coating on a nonstick pan.
• Pastry Brush – To brush down the sides of the pan with water, helping to prevent crystallization.
• Gloves – You’ll need a pair of soft cotton gloves, as well as a pair of rubber gloves. See my notes above.
• Kitchen shears – For cutting the ropes of molten sugar into individual candy pieces, you’ll need a well-oiled pair of kitchen shears. Don’t use a knife—you should never cut directly on a silicone mat; cuts can damage the mat and release tiny fibers into your candy and baked goods.

Other Hard Candy Recipes You Might Enjoy

Lemon Drops Candy Recipe
Old-Fashioned Hard Candy Recipe
Caramel Apple Lollipops Recipe

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!