Homemade Candy Corn

Recipe Source: Hannah Hoskins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fat-free powdered milk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 10 drops of Red food coloring
• 10 drops of Yellow food coloring

Directions:

1. Sift the confectioner’s sugar, powdered milk, and salt together.
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a pan set over medium heat.
3. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
4. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat and place it near the stove.
5. Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan. Let the syrup come to a full boil.
6. Continue cooking without stirring until reaches 250 degrees F. If you go over the temperature, add a few tablespoons of water to the pan to reduce it, and continue heating until it reaches 250 degrees F.
7. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the temperature. Add the vanilla to the syrup.
8. Add the dry ingredients to the syrup and stir with a heatproof spatula until it forms a paste-like dough.
9. Pour all the dough onto the baking sheet. Let it cool for at least 5 minutes, until you can touch it without burning your hands.
10. Don’t let it cool for too long as it gets harder as it cools.
11. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 3 pieces. Make a well in the center of one piece and add 10 drops yellow food coloring and 5 drops of red food coloring to make the orange section.
12. Make a well in the center of another piece of dough and add 10 drops of yellow food coloring to make the yellow section.
13. Knead both pieces of dough until their color is uniform, and make sure you knead on the baking mat to avoid dying anything. Adjust the color as you wish with more food coloring.
14. Pinch a ping pong ball size piece of dough from each section. Roll each ball into a sausage shape, ¼-inch thick.
15. Lay the ropes side by side in yellow-orange-white format. Pinch them together so they stick to each other.
16. Use your rolling pin to gently roll over the ropes to flatten them. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the candy into triangles.
17. Repeat the rolling and cutting with the remainder of the dough.
18. If the dough becomes too hard to work with, microwave it for 5 seconds until it’s soft again.
19. Place all the candies on the baking sheet to dry for several hours. They will last in an airtight container for several weeks.