Welcome to a sweet twist on homemade old fashioned lollipops! In this guide, let me show you a delightful way to craft these treats using pencils instead of traditional sticks, making them perfect for favors. Making hard candy suckers is EASY and fun.

Lollipop Supplies

Have you seen the ingenious Pencil Pops? This little piece of plastic molds in the lollipop in place of sucker sticks. When the lollipop is finished it then will fit onto a pencil. If you want to use lollipop molds like we did you must make sure to buy the molds that have a space made for the pencil pop. We used 3 sheets of heart hard candy molds, yielding 15 lollipops.

How to Make Old Fashioned Lollipops

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Lightly spray molds with cooking spray and insert pencil pops into your molds.

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In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil without stirring. This syrup gets very hot. Children must watch the next steps from afar!

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When the syrup temperature reaches 260°F, add the coloring. DO NOT STIR; boiling will incorporate the coloring into the syrup.

TIP: While you don’t want to stir a wet pastry brush dipped in water brushed along the sides of the pan will prevent the boiling sugar mixture from forming sugar crystals and ensure a smooth, perfect texture for your homemade lollipops.

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Remove from heat at 300° hard crack stage. Watch closely from 260° to 300°, the temperature will rise quickly. Remove from heat. When boiling has stopped, stir in flavoring. I then CAREFULLY pour the mixture into a heat-proof ceramic pitcher or glass batter bowl. This makes it easy to pour into the molds. It also allows you to be able to slightly reheat the mixture in the microwave if it cools too quickly. Immediately pour the syrup into the molds.

TIP: If you want pieces of candy instead of suckers the mixture can also be poured into an oiled baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Once cool the candy can be broken into pieces.

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After lollipops have cooled they may be removed from the molds. Stick pencil in pencil pop.

We wrapped our lollipops with sucker bags and ribbons for a sweet Valentine’s day treat kids loved!

homemade lollipop wrapped with pencil instead of a stick

Lollipop Recipe

homemade suckers

Old Fashioned Lollipops

Ingredients  

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 tsp Professional Strength Flavoring
  • ¼ tsp Liquid food coloring

Instructions 

  • Lightly spray molds with cooking spray and insert pencil pops into your molds.
  • In large heavy saucepan, mix together sugar, corn syrup and water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.Bring mixture to a boil without stirring. This syrup gets very hot. Children must watch the next steps from afar!
  • When syrup temperature reaches 260°F, add the coloring.DO NOT STIR; boiling will incorporate the coloring into the syrup.
  • Remove from heat at 300°. Watch closely from 260° to 300°, the temperature will rise quickly.Remove from heat.When boiling has stopped, stir in flavoring.
  • I then CAREFULLY pour the mixture into a heat proof ceramic pitcher or glass batter bowl.This makes it easy to pour into the molds.It also allows you to be able to slightly reheat the mixture in the microwave if it cools too quickly.
  • Immediately pour syrup into the molds.
  • After lollipops have cooled they may be removed from the molds.
  • Stick pencil in pencil pop.
Author: Cindy Hopper

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About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. Hi Marla, You might check your candy thermometer. If it is off they won’t turn out. Let me know specifically what went wrong and I can try to help.

  2. just wanted to say if you ever check back to this to the lady that they didn’t come out rite and were runny I have had this happen before you 1 either didn’t cook it long enough or if it is rainy and it is a bad time to make any candy good luck in your future candy making experiments!

  3. Thanks again for sharing. I made these for party favors for my grandson’s 2nd grade Valentine’s Party. Most importantly the children loved the pencil suckers! LorAnn Oils was a great business to deal with, I will be ordering from them again. Of course you can buy store bought candy cheaper, but homemade is always remembered!

  4. Hi there!
    I tried making these today and they didn’t harden. What did I do wrong? They are just like gooey hearts, no hard lollipops…I’m unsure what I did wrong as I followed your directions. Please help!!

  5. Very neat idea and would make super valentines for kiddies to take to school to exchange!

  6. I like to by a pencil pops, I will like to sorprise my only son. would you please send me some idea how can by this product . thank you very much. I sen you back my mail. <Thank you very much.

  7. OK, I want to order…How much of the flavoring did you buy? And where did you get the lollipop bags from…the same place? Sooo cute!

  8. I LOVE it! I am going to have to make these with the kids this weekend. You may make me the ‘cool mom’!

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