Make Ahead

Homemade Candy Corn

by:
October 22, 2015
5
1 Ratings
Homemade Candy Corn
Photo by Miranda Keyes
  • Makes 120 pieces
Author Notes

You don't have to limit your candy corn consumption to Halloween—you can make them yourself!

Tip: Feel free to add a different flavor of extract—coconut, almond, or mint work well! You can also mix up the colors! —Miranda Keyes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup instant skim milk powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 drops orange food color
  • 1 to 2 drops yellow food colour
Directions
  1. Place a Silicone baking mat on a large baking sheet.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk powder, and salt, set aside.
  3. In a small pot, mix together sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter. Place on high heat and stir with a Silicone spatula until everything has melted together and the sugar has dissolved.
  4. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Boil the corn syrup mixture, without stirring, until it reaches 240° F, about 2 to 3 minutes. (In candy-making terms, this is the soft ball stage).
  5. Quickly remove from heat and mix in the vanilla extract. Be careful, as it may sputter a bit. Pour the syrup into the bowl with the confectioners' sugar and milk powder. Using your Silicone spatula, mix until everything is combined and the mixture forms into a ball.
  6. Dump the candy corn dough onto the prepared Silicone baking mat. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Split the candy corn dough into three equal-sized pieces. Color one orange by adding a few drops of orange food color, and color the other piece yellow. Knead the food color into the candy corn dough until it is thoroughly mixed in.
  7. Remove about 2 tablespoons of each color candy corn and roll into thin strands (about the width of a pencil). Wrap the remaining pieces in plastic wrap and set aside.
  8. Stack the strips on top of one another starting with the white and followed by the orange and then the yellow. Press them together so they make one tri-colored strip.
  9. Using a small paring knife cut triangles out of the strip to form your candy corn. Continue with remaining mixture. Leave candy corn pieces on the Silicone baking mat until dry, about 2 hours. Keep in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.
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5 Reviews

Hila
Hila September 22, 2016
Hey,
Can I make these guys with regular milk powder instead of skim?
That's what I have on hand now - and I still want to give it a try.
Thanks.
 
Claudia G.
Claudia G. December 25, 2015
I haven't tried making this but seems like it would be fun to experiment with making the three layers different flavors, by adding a drop of orange flavor to the orange layer and a drop of lemon flavor to the yellow layer. Maybe vanilla or coconut for the white layer.
 
Tammy
Tammy October 31, 2015
I second the previous comment (which I wish I had seen *before* I tried this recipe). This recipe does not work. By the time I kneaded the food coloring into the dough, it was too hard to work with. The best I could do was tear the dough into little pieces that dried into bits of candy impossible to chew.
 
Dennis R.
Dennis R. October 29, 2015
There is something wrong with recipe. It is too dry, not enough fluid/corn syrup. I made it specifications 5 times, and each time it was unworkable. Fond a different recipe online: far more corn syrup and powdered sugar, and it worked as described.
 
Miranda K.
Miranda K. October 31, 2015
Thanks for the feedback. Sometimes if the candy mixture is cooked a few degrees over 240F it can most definitely become hard or crumbly. I'd also recommend trying to microwave the candy on 5-10 second bursts to soften it slightly to make it more workable. Candy making can sometimes be tricky and it most likely comes down to a variance in temperature!