Make Burnt Sugar Lollipops

You do not need any fancy equipment to create burnt sugar lollipops. You can make these tasty treats in the comfort of your own kitchen with simple ingredients and everyday kitchen tools. Once you create the lollipops, you can package them in individual bags.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (400 grams) sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 mL) light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) filtered water
  • 24 cinnamon sticks, at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Steps

Cooking the Lollipop Mixture

  1. Prepare a baking sheet. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use a silicone baking mat. Put the lined baking sheet in the refrigerator. Chill the baking sheet for about 30 minutes.[1]
  2. Heat the sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar over medium heat. Place a medium sized saucepan on the stove. Turn the stove to medium heat and add the sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. Heat the ingredients over medium heat for 3 minutes.
  3. Turn the heat to medium-high. After heating the sugar, water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar over medium heat for 3 minutes, turn up the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, which should take about 5 minutes. If needed, use a wet pastry brush to wipe down the sides of the pan to remove any crystal sugars that may form.[2]
  4. Boil the mixture for 5-7 minutes. Once you bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, allow it to boil undisturbed for 5-7 minutes, or until it becomes a very light amber color. It is important that you do not stir the mixture during this time.[3]
  5. Pour the mixture into a saucepan with a pouring lip. Once the lollipop mixture turns light amber in color, turn the stove off and remove the saucepan from the burner. Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan that has a pouring lip. You can use a normal, medium sized saucepan if you don’t have one equipped with a pouring lip.[4]

Creating the Lollipops

  1. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. As soon as you pour the lollipop mixture into the second saucepan, remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. The baking sheet should be cold to the touch.[2]
  2. Pour 24 small circles of the mixture on to the baking sheet. Slowly pour 24 circles that are about 1.5 inches or 4 centimeters wide on to the baking sheet. Make sure you space the circles about 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters apart.[3]
  3. Press a cinnamon stick into every circle. Make sure the top of the cinnamon stick is near the top of each circle. The cinnamon sticks will serve as the lollipop sticks. [2]
  4. Drizzle a spoonful of lollipop mixture over each stick. Create a sandwich of lollipop mixture on either side of the cinnamon stick. Take a spoon and drizzle the mixture over the part of the cinnamon stick that is positioned in the candy circle. This will affix the stick to the lollipop and hold it in place.[1]
    • Make sure you don’t drizzle the mixture beyond the boundary of the original candy circle.
  5. Cool the lollipops at room temperature. It is important that you allow the lollipops to cool after you make them. Let the baking sheet sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Make sure you do not disturb the lollipops during this time.[3]

Packaging the Lollipops

  1. Break off any stray shards of candy. Before you place the lollipops in bags, you will want to remove any stray strands or shards of lollipop that might have formed while the lollipops were cooling. Use your hands to gently break these irregular pieces off.[1]
  2. Place each lollipop in a bag. You can buy bags made for lollipops, or you can use any small plastic bag. Aim for a bag that is about 2 inches by 4 inches or 5 centimeters by 10 centimeters. Place the lollipop in the bag, making sure the candy is entirely covered by the bag.[5]
  3. Secure the bag with a twist tie or ribbon. After you place the lollipop in the bag, fasten a twist tie around the base of the lollipop. You can also use ribbon or twine to secure the bag to the lollipop. For example, you can use red or green ribbon if you make lollipops for Christmas.

Things You’ll Need

  • Large baking sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • 2 medium saucepans
  • Pastry brush
  • Lollipop or cellophane bags
  • Twist ties

Sources and Citations

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