Homemade Lollipops

You will need: 

2/3 cup corn syrup

2 cups Sugar

Candy sticks

Oil flavoring

just a little bit of water

and a thermometer

(I did not end up using those blossoms in the candy, they were too delicate)

I bought this Oil flavor at Michael's for $2.99

I bought this Candy & Deep Fry Thermometer at Walmart for $3.50

I bought this corn syrup at Walmart for $3 something

And these sticks at Michael's for 4.99 (But I used a coupon, always use a coupon)

It is really important that all of your ingredients, and everything is ready to go, because hot sugar cools quickly and you will not have time to set up once you boil the sugar.

Put your sugar, corn syrup and water into a sauce pan.

Do not stir it too much, but mix it a little, so the liquids soak into the sugar.

Put it on medium heat. At first it will look like this.

Once it starts boiling, put in the thermometer. It is important that the thermometer is not touching the bottom or the sides of the pot, that will give you a wrong reading. Make sure the thermometer is in the middle of the mixture.

Now you will need to wait until the temperature reaches 310 F, that is called the hard crack stage. What I learned after a few tries (or maybe my thermometer is a little off) is that even though you take it off the heat, it keeps cooking and the temperature rises and the sugar ends up burnt. So I started taking mine off somewhere around 290 degrees, that way by the time I start pouring, it is about 310.

I didn't take a picture of this step because I was trying to work fast, but after I took the mixture off the heat, I poured it into my measuring cup. This way it is easier to pour, and the sugar is out off the hot pot and not heating anymore. 

Put 1-2 drops of the oil flavoring (it is so concentrated that 3 drops might be too much). I stirred it in with a spoon and started pouring circles onto either parchment paper, or the non-stick sheets that you use for cookies. Aluminum foil works too.

After that, put the stick in and decorate the lollipop. You can use sprinkles, or edible flowers (I will have a link at the bottom of edible flowers). Here I just put a little flower petal for looks. I did not add coloring into the sugar because I wanted them transparent, but you can add regular food coloring or special oil kind.

Wrap them up in a cute little bag and bow and voila, you have yourself a cute homemade gift!

No corn syrup, try this recipe:  http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lollipops

Original recipe: http://www.justataste.com/2012/12/easy-homemade-holiday-candy-lollipops-recipe/

Edible Flowers: http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm