Lollipops
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When Bruce and I started out in this business eleven years ago, we quickly reached that dreaded moment when we didn't have two nickels to rub together. Between us.
Maybe you know that moment (although I hope you don't): take a cash advance on one credit card to pay off a bit of another. Then try to forget about the next month for a few days.
Let's just say the holidays were pretty slim that year. We'd gotten a left-over tree from a holiday concert at which we'd sung. And we figured we had a budget of about $20 to decorate it. For lights and ornaments.
With the tiny apartment completely rearranged and the tree in place, I went down to the corner hardware store. It was typical New York: dusty, cluttered, and run by an eighty-something Russian man and his hulking, middle-aged son who swept the floors with a straw-bald broom. There were no prices on anything. You walked up to the counter where the old man conjured an amount on the spot. And rarely a round number. "Four fifty-three," he'd say for a box of nails. No tax, by the way. It was just an all-inclusive price out of the air.
That day, I approached him with a few packages of Christmas lights and my twenty-dollar bill. I had no idea what to expect.
"Sixteen twenty-seven," he said.
I had enough left over for ornaments!
But not many. So Bruce had this brilliant solution that we should spend the remainder on a five-pound bag of sugar. Mind you, I'm not opposed to sugar in any form. But were we going to throw it on the tree?
No, he said we'd make lollipops as our ornaments. He'd been collecting the molds for years: bought them at antique stores, got them at flea markets, and had them sent from online candy suppliers like Kitchen Krafts (which you can find here).
We made as many as that bag of sugar could produce. I can't put the lie to the tale and say we were never happier. Economic stress and the imminent threat of downward mobility are bad companions any time of year. But we did have a beautiful tree. And we've made lollipops every year since. Here's how.
First off, you will need lollipop molds. They can be these old-fashioned kind--or they can be rings with holes for the sticks.
Which you'll need as well. All of these things can be found from various online suppliers.
Spray the molds or the rings with nonstick spray. If you're using those rings, set them on a silicone baking mat on top of a turned-upside-down baking sheet. You'll also attach the lollipop sticks to the ring molds at this point, using the little clip at their base. If you're using the old-fashioned, metal molds as we do, put them directly on the granite--or if you have laminate counters, set them on a wooden cutting board so they don't scorch the counter surface when the way-hot sugar syrup gets poured in.
Stir 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup light corn syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Then clip a candy thermometer to the inside of the pan and continue heating the mixture undisturbed until it reaches 300F. A crazy-high temperature. Be careful.
Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat, keep the candy thermometer in the mixture, and let the temperature fall to 270F.
Why? Because you're about to add flavorings. And at the higher temperature, they'll volatilize and be lost in steam.
Stir in about 1 teaspoon of candy flavoring. Again, check them out from online suppliers. You'll be amazed at what you can find: cherry, marshmallow, coffee, grape, nutmeg, lemon, chocolate, cheesecake, you name it. Be brave. Ours here are cherry. But there's no reason to stand on ceremony. And if you feel the color's a tad weak, you can add a drop or two of food coloring.
Now fill the molds or the rings, pouring the hot (hot, hot!) syrup into each in a thin, steady stream. It takes a calm hand. Bruce now has this fancy copper saucepan with a pouring spout. But years ago, I watched him do it from a regular saucepan. It's all about practice and patience. Like any relationship.
Once you get them all filled, work quickly to insert the sticks. The candy is setting up and turning hard as it cools. That said, there's of course no need to worry about this task if you've used ring molds since the sticks are attached at the set-up.
Cool for about 10 minutes or so, then unmold them and set them aside on a cutting board to cool fully, about 1 hour. Wrap them in little bags or plastic wrap and seal closed. They're a real treat for the holidays, no matter what else is going on in your life.
Reader Comments (1)
I really do need to hire a private jet to get to your house -- lollipops, popcorn brittle AND marshmallows? Your house is a regular Candy Land for the senses. I bet Santa is already staking out his snack for when he visits.