Create stunning edible decorations with this easy sugar glass recipe! Learn how to make clear, hard candy perfect for adding a unique touch to your desserts.
🪟 My Foolproof Glass Sugar Recipe
Have you ever been impressed and inspired by realistic looking desserts with candy windows or shards of glass? Yeah, me too!
This glass sugar recipe is my go-to when I want to make windows for gingerbread houses, creepy Halloween cupcakes with shards of broken glass, or even rock candy inspired by Breaking Bad. It’s an incredibly versatile recipe that can be colored and flavored in so many fun, beautiful, and tasty combinations!
It can also be shaped to fit your project needs. Pour it onto a flat surface to break into smaller pieces, shape it in a mold, or pour it directly into cut-out cookies or gingerbread house panels to make windows. The possibilities are endless!
💎 How to Make Flawless Sugar Glass
The good news: making edible sugar glass is actually pretty easy to do with a little expert guidance — even for beginning candy makers! To be successful you’ll need to:
- Read the recipe before beginning. This probably sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget to do this! When the candy hits a certain temperature you’ll need to move very fast. It’s critical to know what you need to do next, instead of getting stuck reading the next step.
- Use a candy thermometer. There will be more on this below, but this is your #1 tool for success.
- Avoid common mistakes: When people have trouble making glass candy, it is overwhelmingly caused by a few very common mistakes. Please take the time to read through the Tips for Success below to avoid them.
Table of Contents
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients
You’ll only a need a few ingredients to make beautiful edible sugar glass. Here’s a few tips to help you select the right items. Full ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Water
- Light corn syrup: Adding light corn syrup to the candy mixture helps prevent the sugar from crystallizing. You can also use golden syrup or glucose syrup if you can’t find it. Note: golden syrup has a yellow tinge and will influence the color of your candy.
- Granulated sugar: Surpisingly, not all sugar is created equal. Granulated sugar can be made from cane sugar or beets. I strongly prefer using 100% cane sugar — in my experience, it gives more reliable, consistent results. If your sugar package does not specify, it’s likely made from beet sugar or a mix of both.
- Flavoring extract: If your glass is just for show, don’t worry about adding flavoring. But if you think people might nibble on it, I recommend using a bit of clear extract when making your sugar glass. Here’s a few flavors to consider: Cool Crème de Menthe, Honey, Key Lime, Pineapple, Lemonade, and Wintergreen.
- Gel food coloring: If you plan to color your edible glass, it’s best to use gel food coloring because it’s highly concentrated. I love Americolor brand gel food coloring.
Equipment
You’ll likely have most of what you need in your home kitchen. Here’s a few tools to consider using for this project. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Baking sheet: Once the sugar syrup has come to the right temperature, it will be poured onto a flat surface like a standard baking sheet.
- Non-stick foil: To make removing the candy glass easy, make sure to line your baking sheet with non-stick foil or spray it well with non-stick spray.
- Medium saucepan: The sugar syrup will get very hot and will bubble up a bit. Use a medium saucepan (about 3-4 quarts) so that the syrup doesn’t boil over.
- Pastry brush: Make sure to have a pastry brush on hand so that you can wipe away sugar stuck to the sides of the pan. This is a really important step that helps to prevent crystallization.
- Candy thermometer: The most important tool for making this recipe is a candy thermometer. Getting the temperature correct for the sugar syrup will make or break your candy.
❤️ More Hard Candy Recipes
Leave a Review!
If you make this recipe, let us know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe below, and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram @elabau, or use #sugarhero on IG!
Edible Sugar Glass
Ingredients
- 4 fl oz water, (½ cup)
- 8.25 oz light corn syrup, (3/4 cup)
- 14 oz granulated sugar, (2 cups)
- 2 tsp clear flavoring extract, if desired
- Gel food coloring, optional, I use Americolor brand
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
- Prepare baking sheet: Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray, or use non-stick foil.
- Heat water, corn syrup, and sugar: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and granulated sugar. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Wipe pan with pastry brush: Once it comes to a simmer, brush down the inside walls of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Insert a candy thermometer.
- Cook without stirring: Continue to cook the candy without stirring until it reads 290° F (143° C) on the thermometer. Watch the temperature carefully–a lower temperature might produce sticky candy, while a higher temperature runs the risk of producing green candy!
- Remove from heat: Once at 290°, take the pan off the heat and let it sit for a few moments, until rapid bubbles stop breaking on the surface.
- Add flavoring and coloring: Add the flavoring and a drop or two of food coloring, and stir everything together.
- Pour candy to set: Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a thin layer. Alternately, pour the candy into a mold or the center of a cookie where you'd like a window. Let it set completely at room temperature.
- Break: Once set, break it into small pieces, remove it from the candy molds, or gently move the filled cookies to finish your project. Enjoy!
- Store: Place edible glass candy in an airtight container in a dry location. Store at room temperature for up to 7 days. In humid climates, silica gel packs can be placed in the container with the candy to help absorp excess moisture.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
📸 Photo Tutorial: How to Make Edible Sugar Glass
With this helpful photo tutorial, learn how to easily make Edible Sugar Glass at home. You can print these instructions from the recipe card above.
- Combine water and corn syrup: Add 1/2 c water and 3/4 c corn syrup to a medium saucepan, and place the saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add sugar: Pour in 2 c of granulated sugar, and stir until it fully dissolves. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Wipe pan with pastry brush: Once simmering, use a wet pastry brush to wipe down the inside walls of the pot. This helps prevent sugar crystals from forming on the sides of the pan and making the candy gritty.
- Cook without stirring: Insert a candy thermometer. Continue to cook the candy without stirring until it reads 290° F (143° C). Be precise with the temperature. Being off by a few degrees can make a big difference.
- Remove from heat: As soon as the mixture reaches 290° F, take the pan off the heat and wait until the rapid bubbles stop breaking on top of the syrup.
- Finish the candy: If desired, add the flavoring and a drop or two of food coloring. Stir to combine.
- Pour candy to set: Pour the candy onto a baking sheet lined with foil in a thin layer. Alternately, pour it into a mold or into the center of a cookie where you’d like a window. Let it sit at room temperature until completely set.
- Enjoy: Once set, break the candy glass into small pieces, pop out the candy molds, or gently move the filled cookies to finish your project. Enjoy!
💡FAQs for Success
Candy making is a precise art. These FAQs address the most common difficulties people have with making sugar glass. I recommend reading through the answers to these questions before getting started to give yourself a better chance of being successful right from the start.
If the candy is initially fine but later becomes sticky, the problem is probably humidity. Hard candy works best in a dry environment because sugar soaks up moisture from the air around it. You’ll notice that hard candy quickly becomes wet and sticky in humid environments. Don’t attempt to make glass candy on a humid or stormy day.
Edible glass candy should always be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, to keep it as dry as possible. You can also buy silica gel packets to store with your candy to absorb moisture and keep it from becoming sticky.
If the candy is too soft or won’t set, it has not been cooked long enough. If you used a candy thermometer and are still having problems, test the accuracy of your thermometer, and double-check that you used the correct ingredient quantities and cooking temperature.
If your glass candy is opaque instead of translucent, or crumbly/sandy instead of hard/crunchy, then it has crystallized during the cooking process. The candy is still edible and will taste fine, but the appearance and texture may not be what you want.
Crystallization happens when sugar crystals form during the cooking process. This can happen due to stirring too much while it cooks (once it comes to a boil, you should not be stirring it at all), or not wiping down the sides of the pan with a wet brush to remove the crystals, or just accidental stray sugar crystals on the candy thermometer, spatula, or pan. The corn syrup in the recipe helps prevent crystals from forming, so if you substitute other ingredients for the corn syrup, you might find that crystallization is more likely.
Sugar glass should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 7 days. I don’t recommend refrigerating or freezing edible glass because condensation can cause the candy to become sticky and gooey. If you live in a humid climate, you may find that the candy becomes sticky even at room temperature, in which case you should plan on eating it in 2-3 days. It can also be helpful to store the candy with silica gel packets in very humid climates to help absorb excess moisture.
