Hard Candy Lollipops

Making Hard Candy Lollipops is pretty easy.  You can also make hard candy pieces, like a Jolly Rancher, at home yourself.  These are great to make for parties, events, the holidays, or as gifts.  The best part of making your own candy, is you know exactly what is in it.  Hard candy lollipops are delicious.  My friends and family tell me it is the best lollipop they have ever had.  My favorite is cinnamon.

To make hard candy, it has to heat up to a hard crack.  Some people have asked me if they really need a candy thermometer that clips to the pot.  The answer is yes.  The pot is small and it is so hot, it is very hard and hot to hold a digital thermometer over the liquid as it heats.  So just clip it and watch it.

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In this post, I made hard candy lollipops for a baby shower.  I made cinnamon, blueberry, strawberry and raspberry flavors.  Then I put them in a tealight glass with some paper grass, and this was the party favor.  I will post how I did this in a future post. For now, I will blog how I made the candy.

NOTE:  If you have never worked with very hot sugar before, be very careful.  Hot sugar is extremely hot and will burn you severely.  So make sure no children or pets are around that can get hurt.  It hurts 10x worse than a hot glue gun burn, if you have ever got one of these.

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Ingredients

Yield: You can make about 6-12 suckers per batch but it all depends on how big or thick your molds are.  I make in small batches so that I have enough time to pour into the molds before the candy hardens.  The most I would ever do is doubling the batch but you would have to pour fast.

• 1 cup of white granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup of light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup of Hot water
• 4-5 drops of gel food coloring – add more or less depending on how deep you want the color.  For example, for pink it is 3-4 drops.  For red, it is 5-8 drops.
• Super strength flavoring (you will use one bottle per batch) or 1/2 teaspoon for larger bottles of flavoring.  So if you are making a lot of lollipops, each batch makes 6-7 aluminum mold lollipops and 10-12 white mold (tray)lollipops.

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Supplies

• Baking Sheet
• Glass Measuring Cup
• Measuring Spoons
• Candy Thermometer – I also use a digital thermometer to double check the temperature but this is optional.  I have made plenty of batches without it.
• Small 1 quart pan
• Wood spoon or silicone small spatula – these can take the high heat
• Hard candy molds – must be hard candy high temperature molds and not chocolate molds.  Chocolate molds are usually clear plastic molds.  I used vintage aluminum molds in this post but have used silicone and the white molds for other themes.
• 4-6 inch lollipop sticks – I like to use 6 inch for aluminum molds
• 3-3.5 inch Treat bags
• 1/8 inch ribbon in the color of your choice
• 65 lb white card stock
• 1 1/2 inch circle craft punch

 

Directions For Hard Candy Lollipops

• Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  So if you spray too much, wipe off with a paper towel.  If you are using mold trays, lightly coat the mold with spray vegetable oil, and wipe out any excess.
• Then, put the molds together if you are using aluminum molds or place the candy stick on the mold.

 

• Next, pour the sugar into the pan and then the corn syrup.
• Heat up the water in a microwave safe measuring cup for 1 minute, and then pour into the pan.
• Then turn on the heat on high, and place on the thermometer.

 

• Slowly stir the sugar, corn syrup and water to dissolve.  It is very important that you stir slowly and try to keep sugar off the sides of the pan.  This is because if the sugar gets on the sides, it will burn and little burnt pieces will end up in your mixture.
• DO NOT add in the food coloring or flavoring yet.
• Once the mixture starts to boil, do not stir again.  So if your mixture dissolves before it starts to boil, do not mix anymore.
• The mixture will start to boil, watch the thermometer until it reaches 300° Fahrenheit (Hard Crack).  This process will take at least 10 minutes, so be patient and don’t stir.

 

• Once the temperature reaches 300° F, which is a hard crack,  remove the pot from the heat.
• Then remove the thermometer and wait a few minutes.  Do not place the thermometer in cold water or you will break it.
• After about 2-3 minutes, the bubbles would have settled down.

 

• Now add in the flavoring and food coloring.  Then slowly stir.  The color will deepen once you stir.

 

• Next slowly pour into the molds.

 

• Then allow the molds to set for 10-15 minutes before removing the hard candy lollipops from the mold.
• Place in treat bags and tie with ribbon.

 

 

• I choose to make ingredient labels and flavor labels.  I will be posting a link on how I made the favors soon.

 

• Also, these hard candy lollipops will store up to 2 months, so they are great to make ahead.

 

A few things to remember…

• Do not stir the mixture once it starts to boil.
• Do not cool the suckers in the refrigerator or freezer.  Allow them to harden at room temperature for 10-15 minutes or more.
• Don’t forget to oil the molds or spray the baking sheet if you are using aluminum molds.
• Cleaning the pan, spoon and thermometer – fill the pan with warm water and allow it to soak.  Do not put the thermometer in cold water after just removing it from the pot.  Allow it to cool down first on a spoon tray or cutting board.  Then, you can soak it in the pot filled with water.  So you may have to empty the pot several times before all the sugar mixture dissolves.  It is just like sucking on a lollipop.
• Watch out for humidity.  It is best to make homemade suckers on days that the weather is dry. Making them on humid days can cause the suckers to absorb extra moisture from the air and cause the lollipops to not harden completely.
• Wrap them in treat bags and store them in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. Do not store them in the fridge or freezer. If stored correctly, they can last for a few months.

 

 

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