Make Your Own Candy Corn!

When I saw a candy corn recipe (along with her totally cute pictures!)posted on Cakespy....
I knew I HAD to make my own!

It is really a pretty straight forward recipe, not a ton of ingredients and a short list of steps. Cutting each individual "kernel" can be a bit time consuming......but it was worth the effort. I thought I would share my tips on making candy corn in case you want to make your own!

Make sure you don't overcook!
I followed the recipe that says to bring to a boil and then lower to medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. (I had a candy thermometer and checked the ball stage and it went to a hard ball.)
I think my boil was too hot! Once I combined the ingredients and turned it out of the sauce pan to cool....I realized it was the wrong consistency.

So I made a second batch and this time I followed the candy thermometer instead of the clock. When it reached the soft ball stage I pulled it from the heat.You can see the difference in the candy.....soft ball on left ~ hard ball on right.
You don't want to play hard ball! Hee Hee
So I think it is worth it to pick up a candy thermometer if you don't have one. They aren't expensive and it can save you the guessing game and a second batch of candy!

Once the candy has cooled, divide into three equal parts and color with your choices. I used the familiar colors of white, orange and yellow. *But just think of the holiday options you have~ Christmas (red, green and white), Fourth of July (red, white and blue), Easter (pastels).....you get the idea!
I was even thinking of making some in our school colors!

Roll each color separately into their own rope then press them together side by side. I smoothed the top with my fingers. This will help the sections stick together. The candy should not be overly sticky but they will adhere to each other.
The bigger your ropes, the bigger your kernels.

Then taking a sharp knife, you want to cut alternating triangles out of your rope. So some will have white tops and yellow bottoms, while the others will have yellow tops with white bottoms. Once cut, I smoothed the edges a bit with my fingers.

See all the size options?

Click here for the link to the recipe at SeriousEats. And thanks for the idea Cakespy!