Lollipop, lollipop, oh my little lollipop

 I spotted these little lollipops  sold by Sweet Style in Australia and was charmed by their simplicity and size. I did a little searching and wasn’t able to find them available stateside, so I thought “what the heck, the laundry can wait another day, I’m making lollipops!” There are a lot awesome things about making these yourself – you can control the color, size and most importantly what goes in them. I am not a fan of artificial flavorings, so I used Boyajian natural orange oil that made these taste as good as they look. I added a pinch of Disco Dust to add a little sparkle (fullfilling my New Year’s resolution to be more sparkley).

A few words about working with really hot sugar: Working with sugar is super fun, but can also be a bit dangerous (maybe that’s why I like it!). This recipe is best attempted when you can give it your full attention – no kiddos running underfoot or multitasking on your Iphone. When you get about 10° below the desired temperature, do not take your eyes of the thermometer, because it will go rather fast. Take care not to get touch the very hot sugar – there’s nothing worse than a sugar burn!

 

Handmade Swirl lollipops – yield 12-18 lollipops depending on size.
Recipe adapted from here
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1/2 cup of water
1/4 tsp. of cream of tartar
½ tsp. of natural flavored oil (or ¾ tsp extract)
¼ tsp of citric acid
2 drops of gel food coloring
1 pinch of Disco Dust (if desired)
White lollipop sticks

1. Add the sugar, corn syrup, water and cream of tartar into a large saucepan. Stir the mixture together until it is well combined, and the sugar is dissolved completely.

2. Insert the candy thermometer into the mixture and cook the mixture until the temperature on the candy thermometer reads 265 degrees F. Do not stir the mixture while it is cooking.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the food color, flavoring, citric acid and disco dust (if using), stir to incorporate.
4. Pour the hot candy mixture onto a sheet pan covered with a Silpat (preferably) or sprayed parchment paper. As the candy cools, gently fold it on itself with a heat proof spatula.
5. When the candy is cool enough to touch, lightly spray your hands with pan spray and pull off a small portion of the candy mixture. Kneed the candy until it is opaque and roll it into a rope.
6. Create the circle swirl shape by coiling the candy rope around itself until you've achieved the desired size.
7. Place the candy swirl onto another Silpat covered sheet pan and press a lollipop stick firmly into the candy. Repeat with remaining candy. If it becomes to hard to work with, microwave a bit at a time for 5 seconds or until pliable.
8. Allow the candy to cool completely, until it is hard and set, then enjoy!