Edible sea glass candy is super quick and easy to make, so it’s the perfect party favor for your next ocean or beach themed party! These may look like beautiful shards of tumbled sea glass, but they’re actually deliciously sweet hard candy (in apple, blackberry, and cotton candy flavors!)!
The idea of candy making can seem daunting and intimidating (I used to think so, too!), but it’s really much simpler than you might think! All it takes is sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, and a bit of patience. A candy thermometer and non-stick mat are also really helpful and highly recommended.
I made this edible sea glass candy using the same methods and recipe that I used to create our Patriotic 4th of July Lollipops awhile ago, and it really couldn’t be any easier.
What You’ll Need to Make Edible Sea Glass Candy:
- Sugar
- Light Corn Syrup
- Food Coloring
- Hard Candy Flavoring Oils
- Candy Thermometer
- (2) Large Pyrex Measuring Cups
- Non-Stick Mat
What You’ll Need:
- 2 cups Granulated White Sugar
- 3/4 cup Water
- 2/3 cup Light Corn Syrup
- Blue and Green Food Coloring
- Flavor Oil optional
Instructions:
- Stir together the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium sized saucepan.
- Clip the candy thermometer to the side of the pan, and boil over medium heat (stirring very frequently) until the temperature reaches 300 degrees.
- Remove from heat and CAREFULLY pour 1/3 of the the hot sugar mixture into each of the two Pyrex measuring cups. Immediately add food coloring and flavor oil to the remaining liquid in the saucepan as well as the measuring cups. Stir well.
- Pour the contents on to a non-stick mat and allow to cool completely.
- Use a food-safe hammer to break the hardened candy into smaller pieces.
- Put the pieces in a large plastic zipper bag along with the powdered sugar, and shake to coat. Use your fingers to brush off the excess sugar.
Note: when the sugar mixture has reached 300 degrees, you must work quickly and carefully because the liquid sugar will cool and become too thick to pour in about 4 minutes!
Use a mallet or a food-safe hammer to break the candy into small bite-sized pieces, and then use it to break off any sharp ends and edges.
Put the candy into a large plastic zipper bag along with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Shake well until all of the pieces are coated.
Pour the candy into a strainer or colander to get rid of the excess powdered sugar, and use your fingers to brush off any remaining clumps of sugar from the candies.
Isn’t it gorgeous? It really does look just like sea glass!
If you liked this quick and easy tutorial for DIY edible sea glass candy, you’re going to LOVE these other ocean themed foods from my #CreativeFoodies friends!
Octopus Pudding Cups by Mom Endeavors
Finding Dory Marshmallow Pops by See Vanessa Craft
Shark Frenzy Ice Cream by A Night Owl Blog
Ocean Water Mocktail by Spaceships & Laserbeams
Easy Finding Dory Cupcakes by Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Under the Sea Cake by Ashlee Marie
Ocean Friends Cupcakes by Mommy Hates Cooking
Liquid Sunshine Cocktail by Two Twenty One
Ocean Blue Lemonade Popsicles by Play Party Plan
Ocean Berry Icebox Cake by Printable Crush
Of course, these quick and easy octopus cupcakes are a TON of fun, too!
Don’t Forget To Pin This Edible Sea Glass Candy for Later!
Carmen says
The recipe isn’t as easy as it makes out to be, but if you’re diligent and not impatient, it works quite nicely. The candy thermometers DO get up to 300, but it takes awhile for sure. I would definitely suggest pouring into 1 Pyrex at a time (or avoid the pyrex entirely and pour from the pot directly (1 colour at a time)), as the candy cooled ridiculously fast (faster than 4 minutes) and did NOT pour like it was supposed to. I definitely plan to make more batches so I can perfect it. Thank you for creating this recipe!!
Susan says
Thanks so much for this amazing sea glass! I love it! Do you have any advice for cleaning the melted sugar off the Pyrex cups and pan? Yikes….what a mess to clean up! 🤪
Heidi says
It’s actually quite easy to clean up! Just run everything under the hottest water possible from the sink, and it should dissolve everything easy peasy! 🙂
Heidi says
Hey girl, do you think I can dip fruit in tho recipe? I was thinking of doing cotton candy coated fruit and this looks awesome
Diane says
Do you have to use oil or could you use flavored extract?
Heidi says
Yes, you can use extract, however, you may need to use more of it to get a more pronounced flavor.
Christine Sowell says
How do you get the edges of the “glass shards” rounded off to look worn? thank you!
Heidi says
I used the mallet to lightly tap at any sharp edges and round them off.
Jennifer says
What flavors have people made?
Elizabeth says
I made Butterscotch, Apple, and Creme de Menthe with my first attempt! They are all pretty yummy 🙂
Vanna Freese says
About how much candy does this make? We are making this for wedding favors and trying to figure out just how much of it will need to make.
Heidi says
I wish I could give you a more precise measurement, but the final result will depend upon how thick you pour the candy. For us, we were able to get one 6x9x2.5 Tupperware container almost completely full with the measurements from this recipe.
Carol Shields says
I cannot for the life of me get clear -no color candy. It is always turning yellow and the blue to green. I even bought a brand new thermometer. I follow your directions and the directions of 6 other cooks and the result is always the the same. I am using white cane sugar and light Karo corn syrup. I am so frustrated! I wanted to make this beautiful candy for my son’s beach wedding favors. I’ve gone through 5 bottles of corn syrup, two bags of cane sugar. I’ve tried liquid and gel coloring and I’m ready to throw everything out of the window. Please help if you can. I’ve been cooking for many, many years and have never been so frustrated with a project that was supposed to be so fast and easy! Thank you!
Heidi says
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling with this recipe, Carol! I suggest taking it VERY slow and using a lower temperature setting (every stove is different!) when bringing the sugar to temperature as the high heat is what is going to turn the candy yellowish as the sugar begins to caramelize. Also, once you coat the finished candy in powdered sugar dust to give it the frosted sea glass effect (just make sure to brush off ALL the excess sugar!), it will help make those slightly yellow pieces look more white.
Jess says
Hi Heidi!
How much food coloring do you use per batch? If I want to mix custom colors, should I follow the dye box instructions for Easter eggs, frosting, or cake?
Thanks!
Heidi says
You will be able to see the color change as you add the food coloring to the mixture (it will stay the same color as it cools), so add as much or as little as you want depending on your desired outcome. Start with just a couple of drops and add more as desired.
Denise says
This is a great idea and I can’t wait to try it out next week for our beach family reunion welcoming gifts. I was wondering if you could tell me what flavors have you found were the most delicious – and go with the sea glass colors?
Martha says
Can I just use a cookie sheet that is sprayed if I dong have a non stick mat??
Joanne says
Heidi,
Two questions! How long does it take to reach the 300 degrees? I finally turned the heat up and it turned amber meaning it was too hot. It still turned out. Next, how in the world do I clean the pan and 2 pyrex cups? What didn’t come out has hardened on the cups. I’m thinking I can’t remelt it and pour down the drain because it will harden. Help! It was a hit at my niece’s bridal shower!
Heidi says
It takes quite awhile to reach 300 degrees (I apologize, but I’ve never actually timed it). For clean up, simply soak in hot water! The hot water will dissolve all of the sugar and saturate it so that it won’t harden again in your pipes. 🙂
Elizabeth says
I’m so glad I read all the comments before I started mine! These were very helpful tips to keep in mind.
ALSO- It took a little longer than 30 minutes for mine to come to temp @ 300! I had it right on medium on my glass top stove. Hope that is helpful for any future inquirers. 🙂
Donna says
My mixture was taken off the burner at exactly 300 degrees. I wanted to try a blue color, but because the mixture was an amber color when it came off the stove, the blue, I’m assuming mixed with the amber color and turned it green. How do you get the white and blue colors? I did exactly what the recipe said. Did I do something wrong? I only had it on medium heat the whole time. It turned out ok, just didn’t turn the blue color I was hoping for.
Heidi says
Hi Donna,
It sounds like maybe your thermometer isn’t calibrated and reading correctly. The mixture should only start to turn amber colored if it gets too hot and starts to head towards caramelization.
Jess says
My candy is claer when I pour onto jelly pan but then clouds as hardens. What am I doing wrong?
Libby says
How many drops of oil flavoring do you add?
Heidi says
I use about half of a dram sized container for each batch. A little goes a long way!
Carolyn says
I seem to be having the same problem. My thermometer didn’t seem to want to go past 250 degrees so I figured that was good enough. But, no, I guess not. I’m still waiting for the candy to harden. Should I just scrap it all now, or just wait longer? Will it ever get hard enough to crack into pieces? Thanks in advance for your help.
Heidi says
So sorry, Carolyn, but if the candy mixture didn’t reach the proper temperature, it will not harden. Candy making is a fairly precise science, so it really does need to be exact and not “good enough.”
Pam says
How long can you make in advance to your party and how should you store to keep candy hard. Thank you.
Heidi says
Hi Pam,
I have made hard candy up to a week in advance of a party, and I store it in an air-tight container (like Tupperware) until the day of the party. Hard candy can last 6-9 months, though, so I’m sure you can make it even earlier if need be!
Lynn S says
I am making this for a party in 2 weeks. Will the powdered sugar coating melt or get tacky with the humidity of the summer months? If so, will it fare better for the 2 weeks in the refrigerator?
Natalie says
These are adorable! I just attempted to make this for my son’s ocean-themed birthday party. The mixture is currently “cooling”. I say that because it’s been in the cooling stage for hours. It’s still a little gooey, not dripping, but not hard. Could it be I did something wrong? Or does it just takes really long time to harden? i didn’t have a thermometer but the mixture was boiling when I poured it. Any help would be appreciated! I’ve never done anything like this before.
Heidi says
Hi Natalie, it sounds to me like your sugar mixture didn’t get hot enough to set properly. Once the sugar mixture boils, it still takes quite awhile before it reaches the “hard crack” stage of candy making (300-310 degrees F). It should only take the candy a few minutes to harden completely once you pour it. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can use this chart along with a glass of cold water to test and see which stage your mixture is in during the cooking process.
Natalie says
Thank you SO much! I didn’t realize what a science candy making is. I will try again!
Diane Burgess Forgus says
Can i use powdered sugar
Heidi says
Powdered sugar will not work for creating hard candy. It is only used in this recipe as a light dusting to give the candy its sea glass-like frosty appearance.
Brooke says
These turned out gorgeous, thanks for the inspiration