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Hard Candy Ornaments Recipe

Hard Candy Ornaments

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Average Rating:

Total Reviews: 27

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  • on December 21, 2009

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    Of course, it looked so easy on TV, but out of the 9 I made, not one survived. My sister did come up with the idea of making a small hole at the top with the pointed end of a meat thermometer before it cools completely instead of cake decorating tips, which I refused to buy just for this. You just have to make sure that the hole doesn't close up if the candy is still to warm. I didn't use cooking spray, I used extra light olive oil (any will do, I'm sure spread over the surface of the cookie cutter with my finger tip. I didn't think about the bitter taste that someone else mentioned here. To break the candy from the outside of the cutter, I used needle-nose pliers. That candy can cut! It worked really well. Also used Jolly Ranchers AND every time I broke an ornament, I broke the pieces into smaller pieces and reused them. By the time you've melted it a few times, you have some really nice pink, purple, orange, and other colors that don't actually come in the bag! BTW, put oil or cooking spray on ANY surface that will touch the warm/hot candy or it will stick (knives, meat thermometers, cake decorating tips, etc.. THANKS EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THE GREAT TIPS! I will try these again tomorrow because I REALLY want to bring these to our family Christmas celebration!

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  • on December 20, 2009

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    My mom, my three year old, and myself made these today. I read all the comments before making and I am sure that helped with the success we had. I thought it went really well. I only broke one, and that was my fault. The edges are a little messuy, but with practice they would be perfect. I think they are adorable! Thank you so much for the recipe.

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  • on December 20, 2009

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    Saw this on TV and thought what terrific gift tags they would make. I got my silver and gold paint markers ready and dove right in trying all shapes of cookie cutters. Not only did I waste 3 bags of hard candy (so glad I bought no frills first for experimenting most of cooking spray, and half the morning but I sustained quite a few cuts on my fingers trying to crack the excess candy away from the cutters. I didn't realize how sharp and dangerous hard candy could be! Next time I'll stick to the perfume. One of my favorite scents!
    Sorry Pat and Gina. I think your the most adorable cooking couple on Food network but next time share even more advice so we can be as successful as you the first time. Making it look so easy doesn't help the rest of us here trying to duplicate your stained glass candy ornies. OH and FYI the worst was trying these with a star shaped cookie cutter. Next year I'll try again now that I've read all the helpful hints here.
    Nanette

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  • on December 18, 2009

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    While I love Gina and Pat I have to admit this is the worst recipe I have tried. Gina made it look so easy while she was removing them from the cutters. I wonder how many takes with the camera it took before the ornaments came out perfect. It took us 4 attempts and finally got some to come out of the cutters that didn't break or shatter. I would not allow this recipe to defeat me. For us it was many trials and many errors before we got the hang of it. Even tho it was a bit nerve wracking it was still fun and a challenge.

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  • on December 18, 2009

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    I agree that this is not as easy as Gina made it looked. We did this as a school project and it was a disaster. I have to take some of the blame because I didn't try it at home first. The candy melted out all around the cookie cutter, thus making them very thin so they cracked as you tried to get them out. We only got four perfect ones out of 16. That's when we quit. The ones that did come out were very nice. I will use all of the tips provided by the previous people and try it again but not until next year.
    I love your show Gina and Pat. Merry Christmas and continued success.

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  • on December 17, 2009

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    I tried this recipie after seeing Gina do it on the show and it's not quite as simple as she makes it look. It took me three tries but I finally got it right. For starters, use no less than 4 candies and I agree that Jolly Ranchers are best for the job and be sure to use kind of a liberal spritzing of the non-stick spray. Depending on your oven, try pulling them out at about five minutes don't let the candy bubble. Let them cool for about a minute and then, take a butter knife and go around the edges of the cookie cutters and get rid of the excess. Work quickly and be careful to protect your finger tips it will be hot. I also agree that you should not let them cool completely before removing the ornaments from the cookie cutters. I couldn't find any decorating tips small enough so right before I went to remove them I took my butter knife and made little holes. They're very pretty when they're done but I wouldn't eat them because the non-stick leaves a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth.

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  • on December 16, 2009

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    I have scheduled a ornament party with my 7 grandchildren ranging from 6 to 15 . I have been experimenting all this week to get it right so I can give clear instructions on Saturday. I have tried jolly ranchers, ribbon candy , xmas candy, and the best one was jolly ranchers. Thank you for sharing your family tradition.

    Linda
    Tempe, AZ

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  • on December 15, 2009

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    I just made these and came out terrible... One one thing when I sprayed the cookie cutters and the candy had melted it left a greasy looking brown then it was very hard to get out and they broke. I wouldn't make these again. Plus candy isn't cheap to buy.. This is called stress.. Blessings sisterbrenda

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  • on December 12, 2009

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    Today we did this recipe with our boys and it was a huge success. I would like to say thank you to everyone who tried it before me because I was able to put all of the advice to use and we had a great turn out. Out of the 20 that we made, only two broke and that was because we baked them too long and most of the candy seeped out. The cooking spray works great if you use enough and the only other advice that I can add would be that "Jolly Ranchers" work really great and so do the lifesavers if you put enough in. Great Holiday recipe!

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  • on December 22, 2008

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    Well I read all the prior reviews and I was a bit concerned but I decided to try anyway and I am glad I did. Ok here's the deal depending on the size of your cookie cutters there is a delicate balance between putting too much candy in the cutters probably on average I would say between 4 and 5 pieces. If they are too thin they will break if they are too thick they are hard to get out of the cutter.
    1. make sure you use a lot of cooking spray on everything (cutter, pan etc.
    2. Don't even try to use the cake tips they get stuck and they don't stand up properly.
    3. once ornaments come out take a knife and cut excess around them.
    then as they cool just a little use a point from a meat thermometer to start you ribbon hole. Just keep making your holes because the heat will make them close again (stick the point in a make small circles until your hole if visible.
    good luck! it is a great recipe with practice.
    Oh yeah and you could spray a pointy knife and loosen up the sides of the ornament before trying to remove them.

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