Old Fashioned Butterscotch Hard Candy is just like those butterscotch flavored hard candies that you used to find in your granny’s candy dish. I’m sharing the full recipe and keys to success so that you can make this candy at home.
Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.
Key to Success #1 – Use Concentrated Butterscotch Extract
This Butterscotch Hard Candy recipe has the delicious taste of butter, brown sugar, and vanilla.
You can get this flavor by using a good, high-quality butterscotch extract.
I use Lorann Super Strength Butterscotch Extract when I make this candy.
You can find this at your local craft store or on Amazon.com.
Since you’re using an extract instead of a flavoring oil, you will need to use more extract to get the same rich flavor.
I use a full 5 teaspoons of butterscotch extract for this recipe.
You can play around with the amount of extract that you need.
Key to Success #2 – Use a Good Candy Thermometer
It’s very important to use a candy thermometer so that you can know when your candy mixture reaches the proper temperature.
You’ll want to heat your candy to exactly 310 degrees F.
I like to use a candy thermometer with a pot clip and also one that prevents the thermometer bulb from sitting on the bottom of the pot.
This is the exact candy thermometer that I have and it works great for both candy and frying.
Once the candy reaches the proper temperature, remove the pot from the heat and mix in the food coloring.
I highly recommend using gel food coloring so that it will not water down your candy.
You should only need a few drops of food coloring to reach your desired shade.
I have this exact Americolor food coloring kit and it has great color choices for many different baking and candy making projects.
It’s been a great starter set for me.
We used about four drops of orange and two drops of yellow in this recipe.
Key to Success #3 – Cut While It’s Hot
When you get your food coloring and flavoring extract mixed in, pour out the candy mixture onto two rimmed baking sheets.
Be sure to butter both pans beforehand as well!
This butter on the pan adds an extra layer of flavor that you won’t want to miss.
Spread the butter all over the bottom and up the sides so that the candy won’t stick.
As soon as you get the candy poured into the pan, use a greased pizza wheel to cut score lines in the hot candy.
You want the candies to be about 1-inch square.
The first time you score the lines, the molten candy may be too hot to score but just keep going over it until you can see the lines in the candy.
This will make it much easier to break the candy into pieces after it cools.
After about an hour, the candy should be cool enough to break into pieces.
Other Hand Candy Flavors
You can make many varieties of hard candy with this same basic recipe.
Here are some of our other favorite flavors:
Peppermint Hard Candy
Butter Rum Hard Candy
Save this Butterscotch Hard Candy Recipe to your favorite Hard Candy board or your favorite Butterscotch board.
Butterscotch Hard Candy
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 4 cups light corn syrup
- 5 tsp butterscotch extract
- orange food coloring
- butter to grease pans
Instructions
- Butter two rimmed baking sheets well. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and corn syrup in large pot. Heat on high until the mixture comes to a boil then cover and boil for 3 minutes.
- Remove cover and reduce heat to medium-high. Continue cooking and stirring frequently until mixture reaches hard crack stage, 300-310 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
- Once thermometer reaches 310 degrees F, remove pot from heat and add food coloring. Stir well.
- Allow the sugar mixture to cool a moment then add butterscotch extract. (Be careful! The steam can be intense.) Stir very well.
- Continue stirring and pour butterscotch candy mixture into two prepared pans. Use buttered pizza wheel to cut score lines into candy. Allow to cool 30 – 60 minutes before breaking into pieces along score lines.
Kela
Monday 19th of October 2020
Is there a way to make these hard candies into a specific shape like a feather or a sea shell?
Jennifer Smith
Monday 19th of October 2020
@Kela, Yes! You can use any of the candy molds with this Butterscotch Hard Candy recipe. You can find the molds at your local craft store or on Amazon.
Here's a link to one example - https://amzn.to/37mNnJO
Instead of pouring the candy mixture out into a sheet pan, you would spoon or pour it into the candy molds. You could also do the molds where you add the lollipop sticks if you wanted to make butterscotch lollipops.