Learn how to make blue “crystal meth” rock candy inspired by Breaking Bad. It’s easier than you think, and the results look AND taste delicious. Perfect for costume and viewing parties!
💙 How to make blue rock candy
This rock candy recipe is inspired by the television show Breaking Bad. As any viewer knows, the plot revolves around the blue-tinged crystal meth created by chemistry teacher Walter White and his student-turned-partner Jesse Pinkman. The meth is so pure, so potent, that it changes the entire southwestern drug trade and, eventually, the very lives of its creators.
As a fan of both sugar and television, imagine my delight when I found out that the “meth” used in the show is actually rock candy. Too perfect! So way back in 2012, at the height of Breaking Bad mania, I decided to create my own rock candy recipe, modeled after the Breaking Bad drug, for a viewing party with friends. Since it was first posted a decade ago, hundreds of people have made it for parties and Halloween costumes. Here is just a small sampling of the readers who have made it, loved it, and sent in pictures:
Although Breaking Bad is now off the air, this recipe remains a popular one, so it seemed overdue for an update. I’ve revised the post and recipe to make it more thorough, detailed, and helpful for YOU, my budding little Heisenbergs!
How to rock your candy-making
Rock candy is not difficult to make, and even beginning candy makers can do it successfully on their first try. Here are a few things you can do to ensure success:
- Read the recipe before beginning. This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised! Once the candy hits a certain temperature things move very fast, and you want to be prepared to act right away, not be stuck reading the next step.
- Use a candy thermometer. More on this below, but it is the #1 tool that will guarantee you success.
- Read the Tips & Troubleshooting sections right before the recipe. Overwhelmingly, when people have trouble with this recipe, it is caused by a few very common mistakes, and knowing what these are in advance will help you avoid them.
Table of Contents
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients & Equipment
Here’s what you need to know as you gather your candy-making supplies. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Corn syrup: Light corn syrup helps prevent the sugar from crystallizing. If you are not able to easily find it, golden syrup or glucose syrup is a good substitute. Note that golden syrup has a yellow tinge and is likely to turn your finished candy greenish-blue.
- Granulated sugar: Not all sugar is created equal. Some granulated sugar is made from cane sugar, and some comes from beets. My strong preference is to use 100% cane sugar — in my experience, this gives more reliable, consistent results. If your sugar package does not specify, chances are that it is beet sugar or a mix of both.
- Clear flavoring extract: If getting a blue color, like on the show, is important to you, you’ll want to be sure you’re using clear flavoring extract. Brown extracts like vanilla will give your candy a yellowish tinge. See the Flavoring section below for a list of clear flavoring suggestions.
- Blue gel food coloring: I always make my candy with Americolor Sky Blue gel coloring, and feel confident recommending this brand and color. Liquid food coloring (ie, the type found in most grocery stores) might not produce the color results you’re after.
- Candy thermometer Not optional! A candy thermometer is the #1 tool you will need to make perfect rock candy. You can buy an inexpensive one from the grocery store (like this model). If you will be making candy regularly, it’s worth it to invest in a nicer thermometer. I have and love the ChefAlarm, because it alerts me when I’m nearing my finished temperature. A thermometer helps you monitor the temperature of the frying oil, so you’ll have successful doughnuts every time. If you are new to using a thermometer, check out my guides for how to use a thermometer and how to test and calibrate a thermometer correctly.
📋 How to Make Rock Candy
Here’s an overview of how to make this blue rock candy, and full instructions are included in the recipe card down below.
Make the sugar syrup
- Combine water, light corn syrup, and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Stir until the sugar is moistened and dissolves.
- Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush – this will remove any stray sugar crystals. Sugar crystals in the pan can cause your whole batch to crystallize.
- Once it comes to a boil, insert a candy thermometer. From this point on, do not stir the candy.
Cook and add coloring
- Cook the candy until it reaches 290 F on the thermometer. It should be a light yellowish color.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Let it sit for a minute, until the rapid bubbling stops, then add flavoring extract and blue gel food coloring.
- Stir well until the color is evenly distributed.
Pour and cool
- Pour the hot candy out onto a baking sheet covered with foil. You can spread it into a thinner layer with the spatula if you’d like.
- Let the candy cool completely at room temperature, until it is set and hard.
- Use a knife or kitchen mallet to smash it up into smaller pieces.
- This candy is easiest to eat in large pieces, so some people prefer to leave it in big chunks. If you want to be more accurate to the show, you can crush it up into smaller chunks.
- For optimal awesomeness, I recommend serving this in small baggies at a Breaking Bad viewing party.
😋 Flavoring Recommendations
Clear flavoring is a must if you want your candy to stay clear and blue. You can always use clear vanilla, which is often available at cake and candy supply stores, and some larger grocery stores. It is imitation vanilla, so the flavor isn’t as great as real vanilla extract, but if you want vanilla candy, it’s your best bet.
My personal favorite is fruit flavors, since it seems like such a natural choice for hard candy. Here’s a partial list of clear candy flavorings. I like LorAnn because I think the quality, consistency, and flavors are great, but you can of course use any clear flavoring or extract brand that you like. Many of the larger LorAnn bottles are tinted so you can’t tell the color inside, but most of the 1-dram bottles are clear, so you can either view them online to check the color, or order them as an experiment before committing to a larger bottle.
💡 Tips
Safely working with hot sugar
Hot sugar can be extremely dangerous — the temperature gets very high (290° F in this recipe!) and because it is a thick and sticky substance, if you accidentally get some on your skin, it doesn’t rinse off quickly, which can lead to serious burns.
Because of this, this is not a good recipe to make with smaller children. It’s also a good idea to have a bowl of ice water handy while the sugar syrup is cooking, so if you’re accidentally burned, you can immediately dunk your hand and stop further burning. And as always, be alert, deliberate, and careful with your movements in the kitchen.
Testing your candy thermometer
It’s important to regularly test your candy thermometer for accuracy. Testing is especially important if you live at a higher altitude, but even at sea level, thermometers can become inaccurate over time. Having an accurate thermometer is essential to successful candy-making.
To test your thermometer, bring a pot of water to a boil, insert the candy thermometer for a minute, and then take a reading. At sea level, water boils at 212° F. If your thermometer doesn’t show 212°, calculate what the difference is. For example, if your thermometer reads 208° in boiling water, you know that you have a difference of -4 degrees in your thermometer. Going forward, you should subtract 4 degrees from any temperature written so that yours is accurate. In this example, if something needs to be cooked to 300° F, you only need to cook it to 296° F on your thermometer to get the right result.
The secret to easy candy removal
This isn’t a necessity like a candy thermometer, but it is a tip that can make your life a little easier! When making hard candy, I like to cover my baking sheets with non-stick foil. Hard candy can be sticky and difficult to remove from regular foil, but non-stick foil is magic, and the candy peels right off!
Other alternatives are to use a silicone baking mat, or spray regular or heavy-duty foil with nonstick cooking spray before beginning.
💡 Troubleshooting
Here are some common questions/difficulties people have had with this recipe, and my suggestions for how to prevent them.
This is the #1 problem people have with this recipe. There are 2 possible culprits: overcooking the candy, and using the wrong food coloring.
First, overcooking. The sugar syrup, if allowed to cook to a high temperature, will eventually turn yellow, then amber, then brown. This recipe calls for syrup to be cooked to 290 F, which should produce a near-colorless mixture that will not interfere with food coloring. (It will have a slight yellowish tinge.) If your candy is already a yellow or brown color when you’re adding the food coloring, chances are you have overcooked it, and the yellow color of the candy will mix with the blue dye and turn your candy green. The solution is to check to make sure your thermometer is accurate (see the Tips above) and to watch the candy like a hawk when it’s cooking.
Secondly, using the wrong food coloring. I have made this several times with Americolor Sky Blue, and have always had the color turn out well. I can’t guarantee other colors or brands will turn out the same. Liquid coloring, especially, can be weaker and can produce a greenish shade.
Here are a few colorings other readers have recommended: one reader says that the neon blue McCormick’s liquid food coloring produced a great blue color. She also recommends using a packet of Duncan Hines Frosting Creations in Cotton Candy, stirring it in at the very end and omitting any other flavoring and coloring. Another reader had great success with Adeco brand Electric Blue, and recommends using 5 drops for a great blue color.
If the candy is too soft or doesn’t set, it has not been cooked enough. This recipe really, truly should be measured using a candy thermometer, and if you are using one and still having problems with soft candy, test the accuracy of your thermometer, and double-check that you used the correct quantities and temperature the recipe calls for.
If the candy is initially fine but quickly becomes sticky, humidity is probably the problem. Hard candy works best in a dry environment–sugar soaks up moisture from the air around it, and hard candy quickly becomes wet and sticky in the humidity. Don’t attempt this candy on a humid or stormy day. It 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 your candy is crumbly or sandy instead of hard and crunchy, or opaque instead of translucent, then it has crystallized during the cooking process. Nothing is wrong with it, and it will still 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 accidentally having stray 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.
This candy won’t spoil, but the texture will become softer and stickier over time. For the best results, store your candy in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks. If you live in a humid climate, consider picking up some food-safe silica gel packets to store with the candy, to absorb moisture from the air and keep your candy fresh.
🍬 More Candies You’ll Love
Now that you’re a candy-making expert, put those skills to good use and try one of our other popular candy recipes!
DIY Candy Shot Glasses
Easy Homemade Lollipops
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!
Breaking Bad Blue Rock Candy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water, (4 fl oz)
- 8.25 oz light corn syrup, (3/4 cup)
- 14 oz granulated sugar, (2 cups)
- 2 tsp clear flavoring extract
- blue gel food coloring, I used Americolor brand
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray, or use non-stick foil.
- 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.
- Once it comes to a simmer, brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Insert a candy thermometer.
- Continue to cook the candy without stirring until it reads 290 degrees Fahrenheit (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!
- 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 the flavoring and a drop or two of food coloring, and stir everything together.
- Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a thin layer. Let it set completely at room temperature.
- Once set, break it into small pieces. For the complete Breaking Bad experience, place the pieces in a large zip-top bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they are crushed, and place in small baggies to serve.
- Store the candy in an airtight container at room temperature.
Video
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
Hi,
Thanks for posting this awesome recipe, but i have a question. As we are speaking, my candy has been on the counter for 30 minutes. It has become a little thicker, but does not seem to set.
You said before, that might be because it is undercooked, but my mixture also turned out a little green, which indicates overcooking..?
im confused, would it help to set by putting the mix in a fridge/freezer?
Hi Lily, If the candy’s not set after 30 minutes, then it’s not going to set–chilling it won’t help much. You should start to see it set around the edges within 5 or 6 minutes, and it should be entirely hard after 30 minutes. It is definitely undercooked. If you have a greenish tinge, then perhaps it was cooked over too high a flame, and some of the sugar scorched/discolored due to the heat, while still not reaching the proper temperature. What did the thermometer say when you took the candy off the heat?
I’d recommend trying again, over a burner that’s just a smidge over medium heat–slow and steady. It might take 30 minutes or more to get up to the right temp. And definitely use a candy thermometer! If you do it again and still have trouble, feel free to email me (elizabeth at sugarhero.com) with specific info about your setup and what temperature you’re cooking to, and I can help you troubleshoot further. Good luck!
Refrigeration will cause hard candy to crystallize and turn opaque, so do not chill it!
Humidity isn’t the problem when the candy doesn’t harden right away. Undercooking is the problem. Humidity can soften the candy but it takes much longer than a half hour—many hours, even a day or two.
You can test the temp with ice water instead of a candy thermometer. Drop a little of the candy syrup into a cereal bowl of ice water. At the “hard crack” stage, it will form brittle threads that crack instead of bending. You do have to work quickly ith this test method but it’s fun to do. Also it’s good for illustrating the consistency of the candy at lower temps so you understand the cooking process better.
I almost got arrested by the police, but otherwise, we had a blast eating this while watching breaking bad.
Sounds like you have a story to share!
They thought it was legit drugs when I handed some over to my friend on the street, I started laughing immediately when the police came to me. 😛
I used 1/4 of a cup of honey instead of the corn syrup and they turned out very slightly green, just throwing this out for you guys who have trouble getting corn syrup
Thanks for the tip, Lisa! Glad to know honey will work in a pinch. 🙂
Elizebeth,just checking back here to see if my photo was up yet,it isn’t but that’s OK.
I have been making lots of rock candy. I made Red Dyed Peppermint Rocks for Xmas gifts and ran out of the Karo Light Syrup. I went to the store and it seems all that is available anywhere is the Light Karo Syrup with real vanilla. Will this change the outcome when adding the flavors.I want to make Orange Rocks next and was just curious if you had any answers for me.
Hi Cynthia, So sorry about that! I had a bunch to do all at once and yours got lost in the shuffle–it’s up now! The karo with vanilla sounds fine, especially since you’ll be adding orange food coloring, so any sort of light tint the corn syrup has will be obscured by the coloring. Glad that the rock candy recipe is working for you!
Super easy to make but I agree that you need a candy thermometer to make any kind of candy. I used clear cotton candy flavouring for the taste and everyone came back for more. Who wouldn’t, it’s candy
Hi Rebecca. Thanks for leaving a comment. I’m glad the recipe worked so well for you!
Chuckles as a joke food, though I hope no one hands it out in little baggies to kiddies at Halloween.
Awesome! I actually stumbled upon this while I was looking for how to make ‘ice’ for my daughter’s Frozen themed birthday party! Haha Thank you!!
My candy turned green, i added powdered citrus acid, is that the problem?
Hi Damien, How much citric acid did you add, and when did you add it? What temperature did you cook the candy to? My guess is that the acid is not the problem–most likely the candy was cooked a little too long. From the troubleshooting section above:
The sugar syrup, if allowed to cook to a high temperature, will eventually turn yellow, then amber, then brown. This recipe calls for syrup to be cooked to 290-295 F, which should produce a near-colorless mixture that will not interfere with food coloring. (It may have a very slight yellowish tinge.) If your candy is already a yellowish color when you’re adding the food coloring, chances are you have overcooked it, and the yellow color of the candy will mix with the blue dye and turn your candy green. The solution is to check to make sure your thermometer is accurate, and to watch the candy like a hawk when it’s cooking.
hello Elizabeth, thank you for the help, I added a teaspoon of it along with the flavouring and the dye. I cooked it until it was 144.5 C, I think that’s the problem. Thank you so much for your help, I’ll keep this in mind the next time I cook.
Glad to help, please let me know how it turns out if you give it another try!
Are there any other alternatives to corn syrup?
Hi Braden, If you have access to glucose syrup, that is a great alternative to corn syrup. You can also use golden syrup, but because it has a distinctive flavor and golden color, the candy will taste like golden syrup and will lean more green/teal than blue.
I am SO glad that meth can be used as a party theme. Because meth is just awesome!
-eyeroll-
Yep, the awesomeness of meth is pretty much the entire point of Breaking Bad. So glad you’re on board!
Does anyone know how to make the candy look exactly like it does on the show? Because it’s always too turquoise or teal, and never the slightly cloudy but good shade of blue
Hi Jared, to make it cloudy, you can try adding a small drop of white food coloring, which makes candies opaque. (Americolor is one brand that makes white.) The color is trickier, but in general cooking it to lower temperatures will get you a purer blue, so you can experiment with the final temp to try and get a color you like better.
What temperature would you say is best to get the slightly cloudy but deep blue? And thank you for the help!
Jared, so sorry about the late reply, somehow I didn’t notice this comment slipping through. In case it’s not too late, try 285 F for a brighter blue color.