Hard Candy Stained Glass- Edible Science
- by KitchenPantryScientist
Most clear hard candy has what scientists call a glass structure. It’s a disorganized jumble of three kinds of sugar: glucose, fructose and sucrose, which can’t assemble into organized crystals, so it remains transparent when you melt it and allow it to re-harden.
![](https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IMG_1309.jpg)
Hard Candy Stained Glass “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018
To make stained glass for our gingerbread house windows, I adapted the crushed stained glass candy project from my book “STEAM Lab for Kids.” The challenge was figuring out how to create perfect rectangles. After some trial and error, I discovered that scoring the candy when it was still warm and soft created weak points, which allowed me to snap the candy into clean shapes once it had hardened.
![](https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IMG_1302.jpg)
Stained Glass Candy “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018
You’ll need:
-Jolly Ranchers, Life Savers or another clear, hard candy
-a baking sheet (spray or grease the baking sheet, if not using a silicon liner)
-a silicon liner for the baking sheet, if you have one
-a metal spatula or dough scraper
-an oven
Safety tip: Adult supervision recommended. Hot, melted candy can cause burns. Don’t touch it until it has cooled.
What to do:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
- Unwrap the candy and arrange the pieces on a baking sheet so that they’re close together, but not touching.
Stained Glass Candy “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018
- Bake the candy for 7 to 8 minutes, or until it has melted.
- Remove the candy from the oven. Tilt the baking sheet, if needed, to fill gaps.
- Use the spatula to score (make lines in) the candy, creating whatever shapes/sizes you need.
Stained Glass Candy “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018
- When the candy has cooled, snap it carefully along the lines you made. (See photo at the top of this post.)
- Eat your creations, or use them to decorate some edible architecture.
Stained Glass Candy “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018
- Try crushing the candy before you melt it for different visual effects. What else could you try?
Stained Glass Candy “STEAM Lab for Kids” Quarry Books 2018