How to Make Homemade Candy Corn

Make your very own version of this iconic Halloween candy ~ how to make homemade Candy Corn.

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Sing it with now ... "It's the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer!"  ... Oh, wait! Wrong time of the year. So it may not be Christmas time, but it is  the time of year when candy corn is everywhere. You can't turn around in a store without seeing a bagful of this iconic Fall candy.

But did you know you can make your very own homemade Candy Corn? You sure can!

Now the next question you're probably thinking is ... Is making homemade Candy Corn worth the effort?

My honest assessment and answer to that question is -- Yes, it is worth it. Maybe once or twice in your life, or as a fun Halloween/fall project with the kids. But definitely not  all the time.

Plan to make homemade candy corn when you have a nice chunk of time to do it. It's not something to cram into a 30-minute block of time.

Making homemade candy corn is quite a tedious process -- but it's also fun.

As I described it to my husband, making homemade candy corn is sort of like playing with edible Play-dough. Which to me, is relaxing. Just plan to make homemade Candy Corn when you have a nice chunk of time to do it. It's not something to cram into a 30-minute block of time.

What about taste?

Homemade candy corn tastes really good! In my opinion, it's better than the store-bought stuff -- with a bit more of a vanilla taste than its store-bought counterpart.

And as for its look? With a bit of patience, it sure can look just like the stuff from the bag.

How to Make Homemade Candy Corn

Begin making your very own homemade Candy Corn by cooking up a sugar syrup-based dough. Combine some granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook this mixture for about 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and then stir in some butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. At this point, you need to watch the sugar syrup's temperature very closely. -- Not reaching 240 degrees makes the dough too soft, while going over 240 degrees causes a dry, grainy texture.

Remove the cooked sugar syrup from the heat and stir in a bit of vanilla extract. Then add confectioners' sugar, nonfat dry milk, and a small touch of kosher salt, stirring with a firm silicone or plastic spatula until everything's well combined.

As for its look? With a bit of patience, homemade candy corn sure can look just like the stuff from the bag.

Next, divide the dough into three pieces and add food coloring to create the traditional candy corn colors -- white, orange, and yellow. I find it easiest to knead the food coloring into the dough with a dough scraper, but your hands work just fine too.

If you're worried about getting food coloring on the counters? -- Knead the dough on top of a piece of parchment paper lining a baking sheet or placed directly on the counter.

Once the dough is colored, it's time to form and cut the candy corn. There are 2 ways to go with this ...

Method #1 for Forming & Cutting Homemade Candy Corn - Dough Ropes

The first method for forming and cutting homemade Candy Corn involves putting together a rope of each color into long tri-colored strips.

Then, once the tri-colored strips are formed, you use a pizza cutter of sharp chef's knife to cut the dough strip into triangles. To keep the triangle shape going, alternate cutting angled to the left and then angled to the right as you work down the dough strip.

This first cutting method creates candy corn that has half of the candies following the traditional color pattern of a white tip, orange in the middle, and yellow at the wide end -- and half with the colors reversed. (Which drives some people nuts!)

Method #2 for Forming & Cutting Homemade Candy Corn - Dough Discs

Want to keep all of your candies following the traditional candy corn color pattern of a white tip? -- Then use this second method for forming the homemade candy corn.

To use the "dough disc" method, first make a small disc of white dough. Then surround the white dough with an orange strip and then a yellow strip to create a "bulls-eye" disc. Use a pizza cutter or sharp chef's knife to cut the "bulls-eye" into eight pieces, pizza-style.

This second cutting method works like a charm to keep the traditional candy corn color pattern. It is, however, a bit more of a tedious process than method #1.

Once cut, place the cut candies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and allow to dry, uncovered, overnight.

Making Non-Traditional Colored Candy Corn

Now, when I make homemade candy corn, I like to have a little fun playing around and working up some different colors. Candy corn doesn't have to be limited to just Halloween fall colors, right?

How about red & green candy corn for Christmas?

Or red, white, & blue candy corn for 4th of July? Why not, right?

How to Keep Homemade Candy Corn from Sticking Together

When making candy corn yourself, I do have a word of caution about stickiness. Unlike the store-bought stuff, homemade candy corn ... even after it's dried ... stays sticky. -- Very  sticky.

As in, after I piled the homemade candy corn into this little jar for a photo:

... I ended up with clumped-together sticky lumps of candy corn mess.

But there is a solution to the stickiness that is homemade candy corn. -- Cornstarch.

Dusting the finished candy with cornstarch and tossing it gently to get all its surfaces covered will take away the stickiness.

Cornstarch does dull the candy corn colors, but the colors will brighten back up the more and more the cornstarch works in.

So while homemade Candy Corn is indeed a tad of a tedious task to take on, it's a kitchen adventure worth experiencing at least once in your lifetime -- and an adventure I think older kids would love. 

And how cool is it to say you've made your very own homemade version of this iconic candy?

Just do allow yourself a good chunk of time when you make it. And then relax away with your homemade candy corn adventure.

Check out these other classic candy treats:

• Martha Washington Candy
• Homemade Marshmallows
• Homemade Chocolate Marshmallows
• Peanut Butter Buckeyes
• Crunchy Buckeyes
• Homemade Andes Mints
• Easy Pretzel Kiss Candies
• Krispie Treats Lumps of Coal
• More cookie & candy recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground.  We'd love to have you back soon!

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Candy

Yield: varies

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Homemade Candy Corn

Make your very own homemade version of this iconic Halloween candy.

prep time: 1 hourcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 1 H & 10 M

ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 T. nonfat dry milk
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. light corn syrup
• 2 1/2 T. water
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• yellow & red food coloring
• cornstarch (for dusting)

instructions:

How to make Homemade Candy Corn

1. Sift together confectioner's sugar, nonfat dry milk, and salt (sifting helps ensure there are no lumps in the finished candy). Set aside.
2. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Stir in butter. 
3. Insert a candy thermometer and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. (Watch the sugar syrup's temperature closely. Not reaching 240 degrees makes the dough too soft, while going over 240 degrees causes a dry grainy texture.)
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
5. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Stir with a firm silicone or plastic spatula until well combined. 
6. Pour mixture onto a parchment-lined jelly roll pan or baking sheet. Allow to stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
7. Divide dough into three equal pieces. Set aside one piece to remain white. 
8. Make a well in the center of each of the 2 remaining pieces. Place 5 drops of yellow food coloring in the well of one piece to make yellow dough. In the other, place 7 drops of yellow food coloring and 2 drops of red food coloring to make orange dough. 
9. Use your hands or a dough scraper to knead the yellow and orange dough pieces until uniform in color.
10. To form candy corn, pinch off a small piece from each dough. With your hands, roll each into a rope about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick. Lay the ropes side-by-side to form a strip with yellow on the bottom, orange in the middle, and white on top. Gently press ropes with your fingers so they stick together. Flatten the top of the pressed-together ropes by lightly rolling with a rolling pin, smoothing out the curved edges.
11. Use a pizza cutter of sharp chef's knife to cut the dough strip into triangles. Alternate cutting angled to the left and then angled to the right as you work down the strip. 
12. Repeat rolling ropes and cutting with remaining dough.
13. Lay cut candy corn on a parchment-lined baking pan in a single layer, separating to prevent sticking. Allow to dry uncovered overnight.
14. To prevent sticking, once candy corn has dried over night lightly dust with cornstarch and gently rub onto the top surface of the corn with your fingers. Once the top surface is coated, gently toss corn with your fingers to coat all sides. (This will dull the colors but they'll brighten back up as the cornstarch works in.)
15. Store in an airtight container.

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