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Candied Strawberries

Have you ever had candied strawberries? They're even tastier than chocolate covered strawberries. They have a clear crunchy candy coating and a soft, juicy strawberry inside. These strawberries make the perfect Valentine's Day Candy. If you want more candy, check out my rock candy recipe.


This candied strawberries recipe will make anyone a lover of strawberries. My son who has never really loved strawberries really got into these. It's candy coated. What kid wouldn't dig that?

I attempted to make candied blood orange slices too. I dried them off because I knew that the hot sugar would likely roll off a damp slice of orange. I stuck it with a skewer and gave it a dip. It was a giant fail. The sugar still didn't stick.

I know that orange slices can be simmered in sugar water until they rinds are translucent as a way to candy them, but I wanted an actual candy coating that made the blood orange slices glisten.

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Tips for making Candied Strawberries

  • Wash and thoroughly dry the strawberries before starting your hard candy recipe.
  • To avoid burning your fingers, place a skewer in the top of the strawberry and dip in the hard candy mixture. - The downside to this way is that the hull or green leafy top tips to also get coated in the hard candy mixture.
  • To avoid the hull getting dipped in sugar, pull it back while holding the skewer or very, very carefully hold the hull to dip it. - Keep in mind I managed to get candy coat my fingernail a couple of times doing this and hot sugar is no joke.
  • Have parchment paper or wax paper laid out before starting the hard candy recipe.
  • Make room next to the parchment paper to set the hot pan or have the parchment paper sitting next to the stove where the hot sugar is cooking. -This will keep things moving quickly and as safely as possible.

How to make Candied Strawberries

Start by washing and drying your strawberries and preparing your workspace. Get out the skewers, lay out the parchment paper/wax paper and whatever else you need to have ready before making these.

Next, add the sugar, corn syrup, and water into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Use an accurate candy thermometer to make sure the sugar reaches 300 degrees.

Turn the heat off. I usually leave the hot sugar on the same burner I cooked it on to keep it from cooling off faster than it already will.

Working very quickly, poke a skewer into the top of the strawberry, hold the skewer and the hull and carefully dip in the sugar. Give your wrist of the hand holding the strawberries a few taps and quickly place it on the parchment paper/wax paper.

I did find that some of the strawberries have extra sugar on the bottoms of them where the hard candy didn't have time to drop all the way off, but I didn't want to waste a bunch of time trying to get the excess sugar off the strawberry and risk my sugar getting hard in the pan.

If you want to cut the recipe in half and work in small batches, you could probably take a little extra time to allow the sugar to drip off.

Can I make these Candied Strawberries without a candy thermometer?

This isn't actually the most accurate way to check the sugar, but my mom always used to drop a little hot sugar mixture into a mug of very cold water. Once the sugar has reached the hard crack stage, the hot sugar you drop into the cold water will become hard after a few seconds. If it's not quite ready, the sugar will still be chewy like taffy.

Can I add flavoring to the hard candy recipe? Yes! This recipe is actually my rock candy recipe that's so popular during the holidays. I didn't add any to mine, but you can if you want.

I recommend using an oil flavoring instead of an alcohol base extract to flavor it. My go-to brand is LorAnn Oils.

Can I cut this candied strawberry recipe in half? YES! In fact, if you want to work with a smaller batch of strawberries I highly recommend that you do cut the recipe in half.

How to Store Candied Strawberries

The short answer to this is, you don't. Eat them immediately or within the next couple of hours. After about 4 or 5 hours of sitting in the fridge in a wax paper lined airtight container, the candy will begin to soften and leave puddles around the strawberries.

holding candied strawberries

Candied Strawberries

These Candied Strawberries have a clear crunchy candy coating and a soft, juicy strawberry inside.
4.45 from 18 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 30 strawberries
Calories 67 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ยฝ cup light corn syrup
  • ยฝ cup water
  • 25 - 30 fresh strawberries

Instructions

  • Wash and dry the strawberries. Lay parchment paper/wax paper down on a clean counter.
  • In a large saucepan, add in the sugar, corn syrup, and water.
  • Over medium heat, stir until combined and let it cook to 300 degrees. I would highly recommend using a candy thermometer for this.
  • After the sugar mixture has reached 300 degrees, turn the heat off.
  • Push a skewer through the tops of the strawberries. Hold the skewer and the leafy green tops and carefully dip the strawberries into the hot sugar.
  • Give the wrist holding the skewer/strawberry a few gentle taps to remove any excess sugar.
  • Place onto the parchment paper/wax paper to cool and harden.
  • I recommend serving them/eating them on the same day.
  • Store in the fridge in an airtight container lined with wax paper for no longer than 4 to 5 hours. The candy coating will get soft and form puddles around the strawberries after the 4 or 5-hour mark or so.

Notes

Storage: Store these candied strawberries in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a day. The candy coating can start to melt.

Nutrition

Calories: 67kcalCarbohydrates: 17gSodium: 3mgSugar: 17gCalcium: 1mg

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

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17 Comments

  1. I used to eat these as a child. We would spend summers in Italy (lived in London back then), and a guy would always walk the beaches selling skewers of candied fruit. But they were grapes and oranges and they were absolutely delicious. Other things they sold on the beach were gelato and custard filled doughnuts. But the fruit was out of this world. I never saw them again until 2005 (at least 40 years later) and in China of all places. A vendor was selling them out of a cart in Beijing. I didnโ€™t try them because we were advised to stay away from fruit/water, but they sure looked good. Ah! Memories!

  2. What a GREAT idea!
    I do have an idea though. What about using a pair of tongs - or tweezers to hold the stem. I think it'd be a whole lot easier than putting skewers in, and that way no hole either. And your fingers would still be away from the hot sugar.
    Season's greetings to all!

    1. Thanks for the tip Anna! Sorry your berries stuck to the waxed paper. I have never had an issue but a silicone baking mat would work well too. The berries definitely shouldn't stick to a baking mat. Hope you give them a try again!

    1. Hi Sasha- I'll keep your request in mind! Hope you enjoy some other recipes on our site

    2. Pretty sure this doesnโ€™t deserve a poor rating since itโ€™s a candy coating. Not their fault you didnโ€™t want to go to the grocery store

  3. Congratulations! I'll be featuring this delicious strawberry treat at Merry Monday tonight. Hope to see you at the party!

    1. I made these to go with my strawberry parfait. They were fun but the coating started melting off in a very short time, 1 hour. What remained was enjoyed.3 stars

      1. Hi Nina! I'm glad that they were enjoyed before all the candy coating melted. They do not last long and are definitely best when enjoyed right away. The moisture from the berries melts the sugar coating every time! I hope you make them again as they are tasty when fresh.

  4. I haven't had candied strawberries, but I've had a dessert that had this sugar coating. It was delicious on the dessert, so I'm sure it's great on strawberries too. Thanks for sharing on MM. Pinned and featuring this recipe.

  5. How fabulous do these look!!
    Thanks for sharing the recipe at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week Miranda. I'm delighted to be featuring your candied strawberries at tonight's party and pinning too!
    Hugs,
    Kerryanne5 stars

  6. We are going to love your Candied Strawberries! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and you have a great week!
    Miz Helen5 stars

  7. I've never had or head or candied strawberries, but that sounds so good. We love love love strawberries at our house. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday

4.45 from 18 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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