This weekend the kids and I made Christmas gifts for their friends.
My daughter saw me looking at Pinterest, saw these lollipops, and
insisted that we make some. We got all the supplies and sat down to make
them. That's when I realized I don't have a candy thermometer. I wasn't
sure what to do next, so I turned to my good friend the internet. Did
you know you can make hard candy in the microwave?? I know. I blew my
mind as well. That solved our problem because you don't need a candy thermometer in the microwave. This is how the first batch turned out:
The kids were in charge of sprinkles and sticks. They did a pretty good job, huh?
After
we made the first batch, we tired using some white peppermint chocolate
instead. The first batch was prettier, but the second batch tasted
better (in my opinion).
The kids of course had to sample both kinds.
It was hard convincing them to only eat one of each kind. There was some grumping involved (especially from the youngest one). Then I had an idea: Bananas on sticks dipped in sprinkles! They like the banana lollipops just as much as the chocolate!
Looks like fun! FYI, if you ever want to make candy again and still don't have a thermometer, you can use a bowl of cold water. Put a bit of the candy in the bowl. If you can make it into a squishy ball, it's "soft ball" stage, if it's more of a bouncy ball, its "hard ball". For lollipops, it's probably "hard crack." You put it in the cold water and it hardens and cracks.
ReplyDeleteBut it sounds pretty easy in the microwave...I may have to try that sometime.
You are so smart April! Thanks!
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