October 30th is National Candy Corn Day. Yup, the most-beloved (or most hated, depending on which side you're on) Halloween candy actually has a whole day devoted to it.
Turns out, candy corn is actually pretty easy (and fun!) to make.
I had so much fun making the original candy corn, I decided to make a Neopolitan variation.
Using the instructions from the original recipe, I left one third of the dough plain-colored, but flavored it with vanilla extract, I added cocoa powder to one-third of the dough, and colored one-third of the dough pinkish-purple and flavored it with raspberry extract.
I have to say that I much prefer this version, which would be perfect for Christmas, Valentine's Day or any old time!
And it also tastes better way than store bought (no surprise there, because I flavored each color stripe of my Neopolitan version with a corresponding extract), although I'm not sure it's any more healthy!
Scroll down to the bottom for the printable recipe.
Homemade Neopolitan Candy Corn
1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
5 Tablespoons powdered milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
5 Tablespoons butter
Cocoa powder
Purple and pink food coloring
Vanilla and raspberry extract
Whisk the confectioners sugar and powdered milk in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a heavy saucepan or small pot, bring the granulated sugar, corn syrup and butter to a boil, stirring to melt the butter, and then heat to 245-250 degrees F without stirring. Once the sugar mixture reaches temperature, remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar mixture.
Turn the dough out onto a silpat sheet or parchment paper and divide into three equal sections. With a rubber spatula or your hands (the dough will still be pretty warm!), make your three dough flavors.
- Mix a few drops of the food coloring into one piece of the dough along with the a few drops of raspberry extract to make pinkish-purple.
- Mix some cocoa powder into a second piece.
- Mix a few drops of the vanilla extract into the final piece.
You'll now have three balls: one white, one pinkish-purple and one brown.
Divide each colored ball into three or four even pieces, and working with one piece of each color, cover the remaining dough you're not using with a damp kitchen towel. Roll each piece of dough into a thin rope, about 1/4" thick.
Line up the three ropes side by side, yellow on the bottom, orange in the middle, and white on the top. Pinch the ropes together (wet the sides with warm water if necessary to get them to stick together), then roll them with a rolling pin to flatten then into one tri-color strip.
Using a sharp knife, cut the strip into individual candies, angling the blade with each cut.
Let the candies dry on the silpat sheet over night and then store in a covered container.
Note: the dough will dry out fairly quickly and be impossible to roll. You can zap it in the microwave for 8-10 seconds to heat it up so you can mold it or set it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water to keep it warm.
This is a great project to do with kids, but since you are working with boiling sugar, it might be best to let little kids "play" with the dough once it's cooled and not have them actually be involved in the making of the candies which requires molding very warm dough.
Make the Dough
Color and Flavor the Dough
Shape the Dough
Cut your Candy Corn
