Best Lemon Drop Hard Candy Recipes

LEMON DROP CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• Squeeze lemons until you get 1 cup of fresh juice.
• Combine lemon juice and sugar and stir to dissolve.
• Boil mixture until thick and syrupy-about 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly. Test the syrup by dropping a small bit into cold water-if it crystallizes and becomes brittle, it's ready!
• Spray down a mini muffin tin or silicone mold with cooking spray and add heated mixture to the tin/mold. Fill each mini muffin cup less than halfway full, or fill small silicone molds about ¾ full. (I used a cooking syringe to help transfer my syrup into the silicone molds.)
• Transfer filled molds to the fridge to cool until hardened, ~1-2 hours.
• Pop out and enjoy!
• Yields 30 homemade lemon drop hard candies.

LEMON DROP CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• Juice and zest the lemon with a fine grater.
• Measure the water and sugar into a saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the lemon zest and bring to a rolling boil or until it reaches 250 degrees F.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the lemon juice, honey, and food coloring if desired. Stir together.
• Return to the heat until the mixture comes to another boil.
• Strain out the lemon rind. Pour the candy mixture onto a lightly greased baking tray.
• Allow it to cool for a few minutes, just until it's cool enough to touch.
• Use a spoon or clean fingers and pull out small pieces 1 at a time. Roll into a ball and dust with icing sugar.
• Serve and enjoy.

HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Fill a 15x10x1-in. pan with confectioners' sugar to a depth of 1/2 in. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a continuous curved-line indentation in the sugar; set pan aside. , In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and continue cooking for 3 minutes to dissolve any sugar crystals., Uncover and cook on medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring if desired. , Carefully pour into a glass measuring cup. Working quickly, pour into prepared indentation in pan. Cover candy with confectioners' sugar. When candy is cool enough to handle, cut into pieces with a scissors. Store in a covered container.

LEMON DROP CANDY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• In mixing bowl cream sugar, shortening and eggs; add extracts.
• Stir in dry ingredients, lemon zest and crushed lemon drops.
• Roll into 1-inch balls, flatten slightly and bake on parchment-lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes.
• Note: Cooking spray works well too.
• Let cool slightly on pan 1 to 2 minutes.
• Make a glaze by mixing powdered sugar with lemon juice; then brush lightly over cookie tops. Let cookies cool completely.