Did you know that it was National Lollipop Day on the 20th July? It may be slightly belated, but these Sprinkle Lollipops are super quick and fun to make and the perfect lolly to celebrate the creation of one of the best sweets ever to be made! It’s thought that lollies may have been invented and reinvented many times, but Geroge Smith created lollipops as we know them back in 1908 and trademarked the name in 1931.
These may be easy to make, and they are, but you do have to work pretty quickly with the mixture once it’s at the right temperature. Get that small step right and you are well on your way to creating these Sprinkle Lollipops!
My best friend was saying they would be perfect for our wedding party too; they genuinely are perfect for any celebration! I kind of feel that way about all sprinkles though… you can never have enough and they are appropriate for everything!
Now, these did take a few attempts to get right. The first batch turned into caramel, the second batch I tried adding vanilla into and they crystallized… but they say third times the charm, right? And indeed, these lollies turned out perfectly the third time.
I’ve made those mistakes, so you don’t have to!
I decided to make a mixture of lollipops; some with sprinkles and some with hundreds and thousands. So I headed to my local Hobbycraft to stock up on sprinkles and lolly sticks.
I found my lolly moulds on eBay as I couldn’t find any plain ones in the shops near me; it was under £5 and is quite tough plastic, so it will last for years. It was definitely a great investment and I know I will be using it for years to come!
I created these Sprinkle Lollipops to celebrate National Lollipop day, but they are super versatile. You can colour them with food colouring, add flavours to them and make them with any colour sprinkles you like. Got a baby shower? Make them pink and blue; wedding? Make them your wedding colours (I definitely want to do this!) and for birthdays and general celebrations? I feel like rainbow sprinkles are the way to go!
Why not play around with different shape sprinkles and nonpareils too? I have a unicorn mixture with stars in and I’m eager to make these again with that sprinkle mix!
Due to the molten sugar, I wouldn’t advise the kids get involved with the actual lollipop making process, but they can definitely go crazy with the sprinkles; I honestly think I’m just a big child sometimes because I get way too excited over sprinkles…
Anyway, I’m off to enjoy another one of these fun lollipops, enjoy!
Sprinkle Lollipops
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb (225g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) water
- 2 tbsp sprinkles/funfetti
- 2 tbsp hundreds and thousands, you can use any sprinkles you like, but you'll need a total of a 1/4 cup to do them all.
- 12 lolly sticks, mine were 4.5 inches long
- A lolly mould; mine was a plain round mould - each hole is 4cm in diameter
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
- Spray your lolly moulds lightly with cooking spray (I used Wilton Bake Easy) and place your lolly sticks into the mould.
- Sprinkle a few of your nonpareils into each lolly hole and leave to one side.
- Place sugar, cream of tartar and water into a small saucepan with a candy thermometer attached. - I tried making these in a medium sized saucepan, but the thermometer didn't go into the mixture far enough to accurately measure.
- Bring to a boil on a low-medium heat, stir it a couple of times just to make sure the sugar doesn't clump up or stick anywhere. Once boiling, do not stir again!
- When your mixture is boiling, turn the heat up to medium and watch it like a hawk! Leave to boil until the thermometer reaches halfway between soft and hard crack, around 143C/289F. (The mixture will continue to bubble and cook after you remove from heat, hence why you remove it slightly early. First time round I heated it until hard crack and it continued on to become caramel!)
- Remove from the heat and wait until the mixture has stopped rapidly bubbling and is clear and glossy. It should now read around 146C/295F on your candy thermometer.
- Now you need to work quickly to spoon the mixture into your lolly mould, using a metal spoon and filling them level, but being careful not to over fill them so they spread. I used a level dessert spoon and this was the perfect amount to fill my moulds level.
- Sprinkle each lolly with more nonpareils and leave to set; around 2 hours.
- Gently remove the lollies from the mould and either serve or place in small lolly bags and use a pretty tie to do up the bag. Sprinkle Lollipops will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature for a week.
Notes
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