How to Make Lollipops

There is something so magical about making beautiful treats from what seems like nothing!  One of our Valentine’s Day treats this year is an assortment of homemade lollipops.  We dyed these lollipops red and flavored them with cinnamon – yum!  With the right kitchen tool this takes very little time.

Lollipops

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon oil flavoring
• food coloring

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat in a heavy duty pan.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Use a heat resistant brush dipped in water to clean sugar crystals off the side of the pan.  Cook to hard crack, 300 F.*  Remove from heat, add flavoring and food color. Pour into metal molds arranged on a cookie sheet or marble slab.   Molds and cookie sheet would be greased with spray shortening.  Makes approximately 30 small heart shaped lollipops.

Keep reading for details on how to make lollipops

Step 1:  How to make lollipops – Supplies needed

The main ingredients for the lollipops are simple – sugar, water and corn syrup.  You may need to go to a specialty craft store or shop online for the molds and lollipop sticks.  

Here is a checklist to go over before starting this project:

• sugar
• corn syrup
• metal lollipop molds
• shortening or vegetable oil cooking spray
• lollipop sticks
• food coloring
• oil flavor for candy
• candy thermometer
• small 2 inch by 4 inch bags for lollipops

Once you have the supplies, be sure to calibrate your thermometer.  After several failed attempts at caramel I realized that at an altitude of 5000ft I had to adjust the cooking temperature.  To calibrate your thermometer place it in a pot of water and turn the burner to high heat.  Watch as the temperature rises and place close attention to the point where it reaches a rapid boil.  Keep the thermometer in the boiling water for five minutes and note the temperature.  At sea level, water boils at 212 F.  Even if you are working at a lower elevation make sure your thermometer is accurate.  When I checked my thermometer, I found that water boiled at 202 F instead of the expected 212 F.  In this case, my candy reaches hard crack stage at 10 degrees lower than stated in the recipe.  Because of the high elevation of Salt Lake City, I found that my candy only needs to reach 290 F to reach the hard crack stage.  So for any candy recipe in the future, I will simply subtract 10 degrees from the temperature stated in the recipe.  Do yourself a favor and please please calibrate your candy thermometer before you make lollipops.

Step 2: How to make lollipops – Assemble molds

Once you start making the lollipops everything moves very quickly.  Set up the molds with the sticks in place before you start heating the sugar.  Spray with vegetable oil or shortening.

Preheat the oven to 250 F and warm a 2 cup glass measuring cup that will be used for pouring.  The measuring cup has to be hot so that it does not crack when adding the hot sugar.  I prefer to pour out of the measuring cup when making lollipops because it is less messy.

Step 3: How to make lollipops – Cook the sugar mixture to the hard crack stage

Mix the sugar, corn syrup and water on medium high heat.  Stir until the sugar dissolves.  Be sure to clean the crystals off the sides of the pan as you go using a heat resistant brush dipped in water.  If any sugar crystals remain this may cause small clumps in the lollipops or bits of burnt sugar.  Once the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a rapid boil stop stirring and watch as the temperature rises.  When the thermometer is a one or two degrees from the desired temperature remove the pot from the heat.  It will mostly likely get there in moments.

Watch temperature closely.  The temperature seems to jump quickly once the candy mixture reaches 250 F. Always use caution when working with hot syrup.

Step 4 : How to make lollipops – Add flavor, food dye, & pour into molds

Once the sugar mixture for the lollipops has reached the hard crack stage you must work very quickly as it starts to thicken and set up as it cools.  Add the flavor and food coloring and place the entire pot into a sink full of cool water.  Stir for about 15 seconds.  The cool water is not necessary but it helps to remove bubbles.  This must be done very very quickly.  Take the warm measuring cup out of the oven and carefully pour the hot syrup into this warm measuring cup.  Next very carefully pour the sugar mixture into the lollipop molds.  The faster you can work the better.  As the sugar starts to set up it becomes increasingly difficult to pour.

 

Step 5 : How to make lollipops – Place in bags & add ribbon

The last step is easy!  Find small bags to place around each lollipop.  I use “sucker bags” that are two inches by four inches.  Baker’s twine or ribbon will give the lollipops the final touch needed for gifting.  We are making these for all our kids’ classmates this year.  Kids love making lollipops from scratch.  Using a thermometer in this recipe teaches skills used later on in a science labs.  I loved the way this made my house smell – like a candy factory.  Happy Valentines Day!