20 Easy Candy Recipes Perfect for Beginners (2024)

Whether you are a seasoned pro in the kitchen, a curious new cook, or a budding scientist, candy making is a delicious and exciting educational experience. Plus, whipping up a batch of homemade candy is a labor of love that allows you to make thoughtful homemade gifts for friends and family. We promise you'll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after trying your hand at making the confections in this gallery.

These easy candy recipes run the gamut from a quick and tasty bark that’ll satisfy a sudden hankering for chocolate to immersive candy recipes like caramel-nougat swirl sticks. Once you've gotten the hang of making your favorite candies, you might even consider perfecting them for this year's round of holiday gifts. Candies have a longer shelf life and are usually easier to ship compared to baked goods. Plus, a recipe typically yields enough treats for many more recipients.

Without further ado, grab your candy thermometer, put on an apron, and start making some sweet confections.

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Easy Chocolate Fudge with Pretzels

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Your sweet tooth will thank you for making this velvety fudge with a salty pretzel crunch. The ingredient list is simple, and these are excellent party pleasers.

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Candied Meyer Lemon Peel

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For an unexpected twist that's equal parts tangy and sweet, look no further than this easy candy recipe for sugary, delightfully chewy lemon peels. All you need is sugar, Meyer lemons, and some cream of tartar. These add a nice touch to trail mix, as well.

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Spiced Cashew-Coconut Brittle

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You've had peanut brittle, but this creative recipe adds a little more oomph to your the candy making process. It's got that same decadent and nutty flavor, but with a pinch of black pepper, cinnamon, and coconut.

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Easy Fudge Bites

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These easy fudge bites are bound to be a hit at any gathering. The melt-in-your-mouth morsels combine marshmallows, milk, chocolate, and butter, and are topped with crushed peppermint candy, toasted walnut bits, and finely chopped pistachios.

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Fruit Jellies

If you're new to the art of making treats, start with an easy entry into the world of fruit-based candies. There's no better place to start than with these super-simple jellies that require only four ingredients and take less than half an hour to prep.

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Fruit Wraps

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This DIY version of a lunchbox favorite offers a more wholesome alternative to the store-bought stuff and is a great project to try with kids. The natural pectin found in the fruits helps to set it into a chewy fruit leather.

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Candied Citrus Peel

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Orange, lemon, and grapefruit peels are candied in sugar syrup and coated in sugar to add sparkle and crunch. The candied peels can be dipped partway in melted chocolate or enjoyed as-is with after-dinner coffee.

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Peanut Brittle

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After you master fruit-based candies, move on the world of brittle, bark, and toffee. We suggest you start with a classic: Peanut brittle is a crowd favorite and is great for holiday gift-giving. Package in decorative tins for a pretty presentation.

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Honeycomb Brittle

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This honey-sweetened brittle has all the appeal of peanut brittle and is a better choice for gifting when you don't know the allergy status of the recipients. Package the crunchy treat in a cellophane bag sealed with this festive fold-over "Seasons Eatings" gift label.

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Basic Bark

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Got 15 minutes? Then you can make this easy chocolate bark. That's a good thing as looking at these recipes may activate your sweet tooth all of a sudden! This recipe has a "choose your own adventure" topping style, taking it from basic to brilliant in no time at all.

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Fleur de Sel Toffee

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Toffee is sweet, snappy, and buttery. What more could a person want? The answer is a light sprinkling of flaky sea salt, which cuts through any hint of cloying sweetness and elevates this simple recipe into an elegant gift-worthy treat.

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Dipped Chocolate Truffles

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Trends come and go (cake pops, anyone?) but chocolate truffles will never go out of fashion. The rich ganache at the center of these chocolate-enrobed truffles is easy to make. You can always stop there and use this recipe to make simple truffle balls instead, or sharpen your chocolate-tempering skills to make a treat that rivals the finest store-bought chocolates.

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Chocolate-Dipped Luxardo Cherries

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The hidden gem found inside each of these chocolate-covered confections is a Luxardo cherry, store-bought Italian candied marasca cherries that are steeped in syrup. They're coated in tempered chocolate, a classic technique well-worth learning—it stabilizes the chocolate and creates a glossy sheen with a snappy texture.

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Classic Caramel Candies

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When it comes to making a caramel that will be firm enough to slice into bite-size, wrappable candies, taking the sugar to right temperature stage is critical. Make sure you have a good candy thermometer at the ready before you start, and head here for a step-by-step guide to everything caramel.

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Simple Chocolate Fudge

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If you didn't grow up eating fudge from the local candy shop, then you may not know that fudge isn't just a block of melted chocolate. In fact, it doesn't even need to have chocolate to be considered fudge, but we think it's awful nice when it does. Fudge has a creamy and smooth texture that results from manipulating the sugar crystals in the recipe through heat and stirring. Start with this beginner's recipe for fudge, then level up with our triple chocolate variation.

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Candy Gems

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These hard candies are a shining example of the many things you can make with just granulated sugar and a few other pantry ingredients.

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Citrus Zest Lollipops

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Here's another beautiful hard candy to try: The fresh citrus zest is what makes these treats really pop. Make quick work of zesting by using a microplane.

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Pistachio-Honey Torrone

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Italy's answer to nougat, that's torrone. The chewy, fluffy, whipped-like confection that's most famous in the States for its role in a Milky Way bar. Nuts are standard in a torrone, and you can go further—and make it festive for the holidays. Our cranberry-studded version is a guaranteed winner.

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Homemade Marshmallows

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While you can't beat the convenience of store-bought, whipping your very own marshmallows into existence is an experience worth trying at least once; plus, the creamy flavor and fluffy texture just can't be beat. Once you've mastered the mallow, try your hand at making your own Peeps!

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Caramel-Nougat Swirls

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If this collection of recipes is like a 101 class in candy, consider this recipe the final exam. These twists combine two candies in one, so while a little challenging, it won't be brand new if you have had success making caramels and nougat.

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20 Easy Candy Recipes Perfect for Beginners (2024)

FAQs

What are the basic ingredients in candy? ›

Sugar, mainly sucrose from sugar beets or sugarcane, is the major constituent of most candies. Other sweeteners employed in candy manufacture include corn syrup, corn sugar, honey, molasses, maple sugar, and noncaloric sweeteners. Sweeteners may be used in dry or liquid form.

What can I do with a lot of candy? ›

  1. Stir Them Into Your Ice Cream. ...
  2. Blend Them With Your Ice Cream Instead. ...
  3. Add Them to Your Trail Mix. ...
  4. Bake Them Into Cookies. ...
  5. Put Them in Your Lunch Box. ...
  6. Fold Into Your Granola. ...
  7. Freeze Them for Later.

How long does homemade candy last? ›

Most candies will keep 2 to 3 weeks (if not longer) if stored tightly covered in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. It's best to avoid storing different types of candy together in the same container because hard candies will become soft and sticky, and soft candies will dry out.

How to start a candy making business? ›

From the early stages of ideating to marketing your opening day, read the steps below on how to start a candy business:
  1. Create a Business Plan. ...
  2. Determine the Cost of Opening a Candy Store. ...
  3. Secure Funding for Your Candy Store. ...
  4. Acquire Candy Store Permits and Licenses. ...
  5. Invest in Candy Making Supplies.
Jun 8, 2022

What is candy made of for kids? ›

Principal Ingredients

The most commonly used is a sugar called sucrose, which is derived from sugarcane or sugar beets. Other sweeteners are honey, molasses, maple sugar, corn sugar, and corn syrup. Some candies are made with such artificial, noncaloric sweeteners as saccharin or aspartame.

What are the ingredients in Take 5 candy? ›

The "5" in the name refers to the combination of five ingredients: chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter, and pretzels. This unique combination of ingredients earned Reese's Take 5 top honors in the 2019 LA Times official candy bar power rankings.

Is it OK to eat a lot of candy? ›

The Bottom Line. Eating too much added sugar can have many negative health effects. An excess of sweetened foods and beverages can lead to weight gain, blood sugar problems, and an increased risk of heart disease, among other dangerous conditions.

How many candies a day is OK? ›

They won't notice if you eat one or two. Or two or three. But before you dive in, remember that you shouldn't get more than 10% of your daily calories from added sugar -- that's around 200 if you typically aim for 2,000 a day -- and candy is loaded with it.

Is a piece of candy a day OK? ›

Sweets can be part of a healthy, lifelong eating pattern. But for the least harm and -- don't forget this -- the fullest enjoyment, they should be eaten in moderation. That means in small amounts, or only a couple of times a week.

Can I eat candy from 2 years ago? ›

If it contains nuts or chocolate, it'll expire faster. If not, the less moisture and fat that type of candy has, the longer it will last. Upper end on lifespan for the most persevering candies is two years, but most are about 6 months.

Can you eat DIY candy? ›

Not only are you crafting adorable miniature versions of your favorite foods, but you are also preparing yourself a tasty treat to enjoy once the crafting fun is done. Made with edible ingredients, they are as safe to consume as they are delightful to craft and eat.

What makes candy go bad? ›

According to Blakeslee, if a candy appears extremely sticky or has a grainy texture, then it has most likely expired due to temperature abuse and the crystallization of sugar. As a result, she said, it may develop an off flavor, have a change in color or turn moldy if it contains fruits or nuts.

What is the most profitable candy of all time? ›

Top-selling chocolates and sweets. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the No. 1 selling candy brand in the United States, consisting of white fudge, milk, or dark chocolate cups filled with peanut butter. They were invented by H.B. Reese after he founded the H. B. Reese Candy Company in 1923.

How to make sweets at home and sell? ›

Ask how much money people are willing to spend if they offer to buy, and try to sell for more. Lower a bit if they aren't willing to spend as much, but try to stay in control of your prices. Buy more expensive sweets to sell at higher prices when your budget increases. This will increase your profits.

What is the richest candy company? ›

Global confectionery market: leading companies 2023, based on net sales. In 2023, Mars Incorporated was the world's leading confectionery company, with generated sales of around 22 billion U.S. dollars.

What are the two main ingredients in candy? ›

Candy is made by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup, which is boiled until it reaches the desired concentration or starts to caramelize. The type of candy depends on the ingredients and how long the mixture is boiled.

What are the most common ingredients in candy bars? ›

The ingredients include milk, sometimes sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, sugar, oil, whey, calcium carbonate, salt, flavor, butter, another type of fat such as vegetable oil, molasses, and corn starch.

What animal parts are in candy? ›

Gelatin comes from animal skin and bone

A very common ingredient in gummies and jellies is gelatin. It's extracted from the collagen in animal skin and bone, and gives gummy bears a delightfully bouncy texture.

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