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How to melt boiled sweets
A handful of boiled sweets, a rolling pin and a hot oven can turn plain biscuits into little stained glass windows. Here is how to melt boiled sweets safely, the classic stained glass biscuit method, and why the sweets turn back into glass as they cool.
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Boiled sweets are sugar that has been boiled until almost all the water is gone, then cooled into a hard, clear glass. They are nearly 100% sugar, with only a little colour and flavour. Heat them again and that glass softens and flows, which is what makes them fun to melt: see how are boiled sweets made?
A word on safety
Melted sugar is extremely hot, and it stays hot for a while after it comes out of the oven. An adult should handle the oven and the trays, and everyone should let the sweets cool completely before touching them.
Crush them first
Both recipes here crush the sweets first. Nottinghamshire County Council's school meals recipe separates the sweets by colour, puts each colour in its own plastic bag and bashes them with a rolling pin until they are in small pieces. Keeping the colours apart keeps each window bright.
Stained glass biscuits
This is the classic way to melt boiled sweets. The council's version makes Christmas decorations that can be hung on the tree.
- Make and cut the biscuits. Roll out a biscuit dough and cut out shapes. Cut a smaller shape out of the middle of each one, to make a window.
- Fill the windows. Put about half a teaspoon of crushed sweets into each window, on a lined baking tray.
- Bake. Bake at 180°C, 160°C fan, or gas mark 4. The Great British Bake Off's recipe bakes them for 7 to 8 minutes, and the council's for 8 to 12 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and the sweets have melted.
- Cool. Leave them on the tray for about 10 minutes, then cool them completely before moving them, as the melted sugar needs time to set.
If you want to hang them up, make a small hole near the top of each biscuit before baking, and thread ribbon through once they are cool.
Why they set like glass
Sweets like these are non crystalline: the sugar sets as a smooth, clear mass rather than as crystals. As the melted sugar cools, it sets hard and see through again, which is why the windows look like stained glass: see what are boiled sweets?
Keeping them clear
Sugar glass takes up water from the air, so melted sweet windows can turn sticky in a damp kitchen. Keep finished biscuits in an airtight tin: see how long do sweets last?
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
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Questions and answers
How do you melt boiled sweets?
Crush them in a bag, keeping the colours separate, then melt them in the oven, for example in the middle of a biscuit at 180°C, 160°C fan or gas mark 4, until the sweets have melted. Let them cool completely before moving them.
Why do melted boiled sweets set hard again?
Boiled sweets are almost pure sugar with very little water, a sugar glass. Heat makes the glass flow, and as it cools it sets hard and clear again.
How do you make stained glass biscuits?
Cut a window out of each biscuit, fill it with about half a teaspoon of crushed boiled sweets, and bake until the biscuit is golden and the sweets have melted into a clear pane. Cool them on the tray before lifting them off.
Sources
- Stained glass star Christmas decorations, Nottinghamshire County Council
- Stained glass ginger biscuits, The Great British Bake Off
- Hard candy, Wikipedia
- Candy, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Questions people askWhat are boiled sweets?Boiled sweets are hard sweets made by boiling sugar syrup until almost no water is left. They set into a glassy solid that dissolves slowly as you suck it.
- How it is madeHow are boiled sweets made?Boiled sweets are sugar syrup boiled to around 160°C, flavoured, coloured and shaped while warm, then set into a glassy solid about 98 per cent sugar.
- Questions people askWhy are boiled sweets called boiled sweets?Because they are made by boiling sugar syrup until almost no water is left. Strictly it is the water that boils, not the sugar, so the name is a misnomer.
- History and originsThe history of Christmas sweetsBritish Christmas sweets run from Twelfth Day sweet jars and Tom Smith's crackers to candy canes, chocolate coins, sugar mice and the Chocolate Orange.
- Questions people askHow long do sweets last?Sweets last a long time because they hold so little water, but each kind ages differently. Jellies harden, boiled sweets go sticky and chocolate can bloom.
- Diet, allergens and labelsHard sweets and young childrenThe NHS says not to give young children hard foods such as boiled sweets or whole nuts, because of choking. What to watch for, and what to do if a child chokes.