This is my first tutorial so please be gentle :-).  I’m going to show and tell how to make lollipops.  It’s easier than it seems.  Trust me!  Not all the steps are photographed.  I was the only one home and you have to move quickly toward the end.  Don’t worry directions and the recipe will follow!

First, put sugar, corn syrup, and water into a heavy-duty saucepan.  Do not use a coated pan.  The coating will come off.  Hard candy has to reach a temperature of 310 degrees Farenheit.  That’s a lot of degrees!  Ok, so you have your ingredients in your pan.  Turn your stove top to medium and whisk the ingredients together.

When the mixture begins to boil… 

cover it with the lid… and set your timer to 3 minutes. 

While magical things are going on in the pot, set up your assembly line.  Yes, I am painfully aware of the little counter space I have but you work with what you have, right?  Use hard candy molds, spray them with cooking spray, and set your pop sticks in the molds…

When the timer rings, take the lid off of your pot and set the stove top to medium-high.  DO NOT STIR your mixture after this part.  Place your candy thermometer into the pot and let it alone.

Let your pot do the work!  It takes about 20-25 minutes from this point.  You will hear the crackling of the hot sugar mixture getting all over your stove top but don’t worry, it cleans up easily!  Then you will hear the crackling get softer and softer.  This is when you realize you are getting close to that special temp of 310.  Please do not go passed this temp, the sugar mixture will start to turn brown and then it’s scorched which means you’re done.  You can’t use it once it’s scorched.  At 310, take the pot off the burner and put in the magical flavoring and coloring.  For these pops, I used cinnamon oil (I like LorAnn oils) and red food coloring (do not use the gels, liquid color is best for this project).  Be aware that it will splatter so don’t have an expensive electronic around :-)!  Also please be careful to tilt the pot away from your face.  The oil at this temperature can be very intense and feel like it is burning the hair right out of your nose.  Ok, so you’ve stirred in your flavor and color and it looks lovely.  Now it’s onto the pouring.

You must work quickly here.  As the hot mixture cools, it will harden.  You need to get it into the molds so it, well, molds to the shape you want instead of sticking in the pan.  Take a metal spoon and spoon it into your molds.  Do all the molds and then go back to make sure your sticks are in the candy instead of just laying on top.  And be prepared…you will make a mess!

It’s not really pretty at this point.  But in about 20-30 minutes you will have hard lollipops and they will taste and look fantastic!

The hard candy molds can go right into the dishwasher too!  Unfortunately, your hands can’t…

I told you about the splatter.  It does sting a bit.  Just be careful that the actual candy mixture doesn’t get on your skin…it can leave scars…I know, unfortunately.

On a good note, the color does wear off your skin…in a few days!

Also, just a quick note, you don’t necessarily need coloring.  Some flavors, such as rootbeer, are already the color you need. 

Complete recipe…

2 cup white sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/2 tsp coloring

1/2 to 1 tsp flavoring oil

In a heavy-duty pot, bring to a boil the sugar, water, and corn syrup over medium heat.  Cover and boil for 3 minutes.  Remove lid, adjust stove top to medium-high heat, and insert candy thermometer.  Let the mixture reach a temp of 310 degrees farenheit.  Remove from heat.  Add the flavor and color and stir until uniform.  Working quickly pour mixture into prepared hard candy molds and let set.  Pop out of the molds and enjoy!