Candy Corn Recipe

With children getting ready with their costumes why don't you complete the fun of Halloween by making candy corn? These triangles of white, orange and yellow have been around for over 100 years, so much so that it has become synonymous with Halloween in North America. This popular confection is said to have been made for the first time in the United States some time in the 1880s by George Renninger of the now defunct Wunderlee Candy Company. It was then made by hand using sugar syrup, fondant and marshmallows. However, candy corn is today commercially made by "Jelly Belly" following the same candy corn recipe that was used when they took over the Wunderlee Candy Company under the name Goelitz Candy Company.

Homemade Recipe for Candy Corn
To make about a pound of candy corn, follow this easy recipe:

Ingredients

• Granulated sugar - 1 cup
• Corn syrup - 2/3 cup
• Butter - 1/3 cup (2-1/2 oz)
• Powdered icing sugar - 2 1/2 cups
• Powdered milk - 1/3 cup
• Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
• Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• Red and yellow food coloring

Procedure

Take a large saucepan and add granulated sugar, butter and corn syrup. Mix them together and while stirring continuously bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium and continue to heat for another 5 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally during this stage. Add the vanilla extract and stir it. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl mix powdered milk, powdered icing sugar and salt together. Add it to the mixture prepared in the saucepan in the previous step. Mix the two thoroughly and let the dough further cool.

Once the dough has become cold enough to be handled with one's hands, divide it into three equal parts. Keep each part in a separate mixing bowl. Prepare orange color by mixing the red and yellow food coloring. Add the orange color that you have made to one part of dough. Add yellow food coloring to the second part. Leave the third part as it is. Do not add any color to it. Now knead each dough in their respective bowls till the color spreads throughout the dough evenly. Ensure that color of one ball of dough does not get transferred to the others. Knead the dough until it becomes stiff enough to hold shape.

Now roll each portion of dough into thin long ropes. Spread a strip of waxed paper over the tabletop. Place the ropes side by side on the waxed paper with the orange rope in between the other two. Ensure that the ropes are of equal length. You can take care of it while rolling out the ropes. Or just cut out the extra length of ropes when you place them side by side to get all ropes of equal length. Press the ropes slightly together so that they form a compact narrow rectangle. Roll a rolling pin gently along the entire length of the rectangle formed from the ropes. This helps to press the edges of the different ropes together. However, do not use too much pressure as that might flatten your candy and rob it of its plump look.

Now take a sharp knife and cut triangular pieces from the rectangular strip. Gently shape the edges of each triangle to make them look like plump colorful kernels. That's all! Here is a ready-to-serve pound of candy corn to complete the celebrations of Halloween!

Easy Marshmallow Flavored Recipe of Candy Corn

Ingredients

• Miniature marshmallows - 8 ounces
• Powdered sugar - 1 cup (some extra for dusting)
• Red and yellow food coloring
• Water - 2 tablespoons

Procedure

Mix water and marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it on high for a minute. The marshmallows should expand and become puffy due to this treatment. Now stir the marshmallows till they have melted and formed a smooth paste. In case pieces of marshmallows still remain, microwave it for another 30-45 seconds.

Add powdered sugar to the molten marshmallow liquid. Stir it well till the sugar begins to be incorporated in the marshmallow paste and you cannot stir it anymore. Sprinkle some powdered sugar on the table top and transfer the marshmallow-sugar mixture onto your working surface. This mixture will be sticky with lots of sugar that hasn't been incorporated. Knead this lump working the unincorporated sugar into the fondant. Knead till the fondant loses its stickiness and becomes smooth.

Now divide the fondant into three equal parts. Add orange food color (by mixing red and yellow food color) to one part and yellow food color to the other. Don't add any color to the third ball. This would be the white part of the candy corn. Knead each ball till the color spreads evenly all throughout the balls.

Now roll out each ball into thin ropes of equal length and place them side by side with the orange rope lying in the middle. The fondant ropes would be sticky enough to form a rectangular piece when they are pressed together. In case they do not stick well, brush them with a little water using a pastry brush. You can cut the rectangular strip of the three ropes into triangular pieces at this stage. This would give candy corn with rounded surface along each differently colored strip. For flatter candy corns, roll a rolling pin gently over the rectangular tri-colored strip of fondant before cutting it. Round off the edges of each candy corn if you wish to. Here you have candy corns ready for the Halloween.

These candy corn recipes are easy to follow. They can be made in large amounts at home and if stored properly in air tight containers, marshmallows can last for about a month or two.