Ghoulipops
Mummypops
Our delicious and foolproof hard candy lollipop recipe, all tricked-out for Halloween, in either Ghoulipops or Mummypops. There's nothing like a good old-fashioned lollipops! This recipe will also give you techniques for making any lollipop, for flavoring and coloring the sugar syrup, and for decorating them with small candies and icing, too! This recipe will NOT dye your tongue black while eating the lollipops.
CANDY RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
When making candy recipes, always use a new bag of sugar!
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
food coloring See note 2, below.
1/4 teaspoon cherry candy oil or your choice; Flavoring See note 1, below.
1/8 teaspoon Citric acid (optional) dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water; See note 3, below.
NOTES
1. Food coloring: I like gel food colors. To make opaque colors add 1/2 teaspoon liquid white coloring (Liquid Whitener).
2. Flavoring: Use candy oils. Use about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon per recipe; 1/2 teaspoon is pretty strong. Use whatever flavor you desire.
3. Citric acid may be added to fruit flavors to add tartness. Use 1/8 teaspoon dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water. Add at same time as flavoring.
Ghoulipops:
10 lollipop sticks
1 package Wilton Icing Decorations – Skulls; This is what the package looks like. They are available, seasonally, at craft stores like Michael’s, or online.
Brown powdered food coloring
Black gel food coloring for skulls
Black gel food coloring: 10-15 drops for the lollipops
Mummypops:
16 lollipop sticks
1 recipe Royal Icing
1 disposable piping bag
1 small basket weave tip; I used Wilton #47
1 package Sugar Button Candy
1 black edible food marker
STEP I: PRE-PREP
Prepare the pouring surface:
Meanwhile, cover 2 baking sheets (turned over so the flat bottoms show if rimmed) or marble surface with silpat nonstick baking sheets or ungreased foil; do not use parchment or waxed paper.
SARAH SAYS: If you do not have silpat mats, you can prepare the baking sheet (or molds) first by greasing with cooking oil, butter, lard Crisco, etc. Wipe out excess spray with paper towel. (Some molds only need to be greased after every 2 to 3 uses).
Prepare the Skulls for the Ghoulipops:
Prepare the skulls before you make the candy.
Wilton makes skull shaped royal icing candy decorations that come in a package of 12. They are, however, pure white, and do not have a lot of definition.
For this project, we decided to ghoul them up a little more by accentuating the features with a little brown powdered food coloring and black gel food coloring.
1. Put a tiny amount of brown food coloring into the lid of the food coloring jar and dip a dry paint brush into it. Brush it in and over the recessed areas of the skull.
If you do not have brown powdered food color, you can just do the steps below, with the black food coloring, or you can choose to leave the skulls as is.
2. Then rub your finger over the surface to rub the color in and soften it. Don't worry if you get the coloring on the skull; it adds to the spooky appeal.
3. Put a small amount of black food coloring on a plate and add a little water to it to make a paint.
Brush it into the eye sockets, nose and across the teeth for a truly spooky look.
4. Set painted skull decorations aside, while you make the candy.
STEP II: MAKE THE CANDY LOLLIPOPS SUGAR SYRUP
MAKE SURE YOU PROTECT HANDS AND EYES AT ALL TIMES – SUGAR SYRUP IS VERY HOT AND IT WILL BURN! IT SOMETIMES SPLASHES, TOO!
1. Pour the water in a heavy-bottomed high-sided 2-quart pan.
2. Slowly pour the sugar dead-center in the middle of the water. Make sure you don't splatter sugar on the side of the pan. If the sugar mounds, gently push down on the mound with a spoon so that all the sugar is moistened.
3. Pour the corn syrup on top and stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Place on high heat and stir while bringing the mixture to a boil.
SARAH SAYS: Before the mixture boils, if necessary, wash the sides of the pan using a heat proof pastry brush dipped in clean water on the inside walls of the pot above the surface of the syrup. Dip the brush in water every time before washing the side of the pan. This step removes crystals that may have accumulated on the inside of the pot. If allowed to remain, these crystals might cause the resulting lollipops to become grainy from sugar crystallization.
4. When the mixture begins to boil, clamp on the Candy Thermometer.
5. Continue to cook on high heat WITHOUT STIRRING OR JARRING THE POT until mixture reaches 300 degrees F or the hard-crack stage. Immediately remove from heat.
6. Proceed with rest of the recipe, below.
MICROWAVE RECIPE: Mix all ingredients listed above in a 2 qt. microwaveable proof bowl (Pyrex). Cook on high for 3 minutes. Remove and stir. Cook additional 3 minutes; remove and stir. Start checking temperature with a candy thermometer when stirring the mixture the third or fourth time. Continue to check with each subsequent stirring. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 300 degrees F. Total cooking time approximately 16-20 min. Proceed with rest of the recipe, below.
STEP III: TINT AND FLAVOR THE SUGAR SYRUP
Work fast.
1. Allow the sugar syrup mixture to stand until its bubbles have settled down (approximately 265 degrees F).
Meanwhile, cover 2 baking sheets (turned over so the flat bottoms show if rimmed) or marble surface with silpat nonstick baking sheets or ungreased foil; do not use parchment or waxed paper.
SARAH SAYS: If you do not have silpat mats, you can prepare the baking sheet (or molds) first by greasing with cooking oil, butter, lard Crisco, etc. Wipe out excess spray with paper towel. (Some molds only need to be greased after every 2 to 3 uses).
2. Then add the coloring and stir until well blended.
NOTE: For this project, you will need 10-15 drops of black gel food coloring. Stir it in, then hold up the spatula to see if you need to add more. The pops will NOT be opaque, and will appear more purple, than black when held up to a light source.
If you add this amount of color, your recipients will not be stricken with the dreaded black tongue.
Feel free to add more, if you want a really deep black.
SARAH SAYS: Go easy as too much color can make the lollipops taste bitter.
3. Add the cherry candy oil flavor (if using) and stir.
SARAH SAYS: Be careful because too much flavor can make the lollipops taste soapy.
NOTE: Citric acid, if using, is also added at this time to fruit flavored lollipops to enhance the taste. (We did not add it in.)
SARAH SAYS: Be careful, as too much stirring will cause the syrup to solidify into a hard sugar lump and will cause small air bubbles to form.
4. Pour the sugar syrup into a large Pyrex glass measuring cup for more accurate pouring. The pouring spout helps A LOT!
STEP IV: MAKE THE GHOULIPOPS OR THE MUMMYPOPS
For the Ghoulipops:
If you want to add small candies, arrange them on the lollipops after pouring the sugar syrup and while the syrup is cooling.
1. Pour one sugar syrup free-form shape at a time onto a silpat mat or prepared baking sheet.
For the Ghoulipops, pour the candy in slightly triangular shape, onto a silicone baking liner. Make sure you do not have any pointed or sharp edges
2. After pouring each one, immediately insert the stick in the center, half-way up the lollipop, then give the stick a half turn, so it is completely covered in candy.
3. While the lollipops are still hot, you can add candy skull decorations and they will readily stick to the pop. Or, you can add any commercially made candy to the top surface of the lollipop. If the lollipops cool too much, just add a drop or more of corn syrup to the back of the piece of candy and it will stick to the pop.
For the Ghoulipops, place the painted skull near the top of the pop, then push it up slightly, so the candy mounds up at the top. This will give the candy a more shroud-like appearance.
BE CAREFUL – THE SUGAR SYRUP IS STILL HOT!
4. Allow to set until hardened which should take between 5 and 10 minutes to cool depending on air temperature, humidity, the surface the molds are set up on, etc. You can also refrigerate until firm, but do not leave lollipops there for long term storage, otherwise they will be ruined.
5. Remove lollipops from the mat by slowly raising the stick and lifting candy off.
NOTE: If using molds for simple shapes like the small rounds, they release very easily. More intricate shaped molds like the car or train molds, may take a little coaxing to remove from the lollipop
For the Mummypops:
1. To make Mummypops lollipops, you follow the same directions for making the candy but you pour 2 1/2-inch rounds, instead of the triangular shapes poured for the Ghoulipops.
2. While the lollipops are cooling, make the royal icing, to decorate the Mummypops. You want to use the royal icing UNTHINNED for this project.
3. Place some of the royal icing in a piping bag, fitted with a small basket weave tip. I used Wilton #47.
4. Remove the lollipop from the silpat mat liner by slowly raising the stick and lifting candy off.
Place one lollipop on another clean silpat silicone pan liner and begin piping random and overlapping bands of royal icing over the surface of the pop, leaving an area in the upper-center portion of the pop open.
The intention is to make it look like cloth, so make sure that the toothy side of the piping tip is up when you pipe.
Do not worry about the excess icing at the edges of the pop, it will be wiped off later.
3. Pick the lollipop up off the liner and run a finger around the edge of the pop to wipe off any excess frosting with your clean fingertip.
4. To make the eyes, draw pupils on sugar button candies with a black edible food marker.
You can make them appear to be looking in various directions, by placing the pupil in different spots on the candy.
5. Brush a little water on the back of the “eyes” and set them in place.
STORAGE
Place in plastic lollipop bags and tape shut or wrap each lollipop in plastic wrap. Store in a cool, dry place.
Ghoulipops
Mummypops
