Who Wants to Make (Easy) Lollipops?

Do you have any hard candies lying around? Maybe in that hidden bag of Halloween candy that you forgot about? (Until I reminded you...sorry) If not, next time you hit the supermarket, use your gloved/sanitized hand to grab a bag of hard candy! Many of you probably remember being a kid and making stained-glass cookies where you crush hard candies and melt them inside a cutout cookie frame. That was my entry into the world of (easy) candymaking with store-bought candy…and I was hooked!
When trying this with kids, adults should handle the hot work of candy shaping but kids can have fun arranging the unmelted candies on a cool baking sheet and then seeing what results. You’ll never quite know how your melted candy will turn out, since happy (and, well, not-so-happy) accidents can happen! Flowers are lots of fun to create and organic shapes are forgiving! For this project, over-melting and under-melting yield interesting and pretty surprises!
TIPS:
- The candies can become very hot and you can easily get burned. Before touching hot sugar, always wait at least thirty seconds to one minute after taking it out of the oven. Then reshape it by pushing it with the flat front of your fingernail. Wearing dishwashing gloves while shaping the hot candy can help. Have an oven mitt handy to shield your other hand from the hot baking sheet. (This part is for adults only!)

- The temperature and timing will vary with different ovens and the size of the candies you are melting.

- Always use a kitchen timer and stay near the oven to frequently check the progress of the melting candies which happens quickly!

Here are a few ideas for candy arrangements! Place the leaves on partway through the melting process (per step 4, below) since they are small and will melt quickly. Lifesavers take longer to melt than Jolly Ranchers which ended up being ok and looking kind of cool!
supplies
- parchment paper
- Jolly Rancher, Lifesavers, or other hard candies in flower and leaf colors
- stick (can be a wooden skewer with the pointy end cut off or a lollipop stick or a popsicle stick)

1. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put candies on the baking sheet in a flower shape.
3. Place in the oven for about 4 minutes. Remove and let cool for 1 minute.
4. Shape the candies (adults only), if desired and add the stick by putting it on the bottom and twisting to coat with candy. Add a small piece of green candy next to the stick for a leaf if you’d like.
5. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes to melt and smooth.

I hope you enjoy this craft! If you try it, please tag me @supermakeit so I can see!