Our Homemade Candy Corn is a delightful replica of the Halloween classic treat. Sweet, chewy, and perfect for snacking or decorating. Crafting your own candy has never been this fun!
Homemade Candy Corn
Our Homemade Candy Corn recipe creates sweet, bright, and chewy kernels, just like the classic candy for fall and Halloween, but these triangular treats are even better because they’re made without a bunch of preservatives or ingredients I can’t pronounce.
Making homemade candy corn is surprisingly easy to make: it starts by bringing sugar syrup to a boil, mixing in powdered sugar, and shaping it into a workable Play-Doh-like dough. The dough is then divided, colored, and cut into the traditional triangle shape.
Have you ever tried to follow Alton Brown’s candy recipe and found it too confusing? Making candy in your kitchen should be fun and stress-free; that’s why I have tweaked those steps so that you’ll never fail and your candy corn will have the ideal taste and texture every time!
Why We Love Homemade Candy Corn Recipes
- Quick and easy to make at home with my simple steps.
- Uses a handful of kitchen-staple ingredients.
- It tastes just like classic candy but even better because it’s filled with sweet flavor without the preservatives.
- DIY fall candy is a fun activity for kids.
- A perfect treat for Halloween parties, seasonal dessert platters, or packaging in bags for gifts.
Homemade Candy Corn Ingredients
- Powdered sugar
- Powdered milk (also called nonfat dry milk)
- Salt
- White granulated sugar
- Light corn syrup
- Unsalted butter
- Orange and yellow food coloring drops
Substitutions and Additions
- Customize The Colors: You can easily change the color of the candy dough for any holiday or celebration. Use red and green food coloring for Christmas, red and blue for the 4th of July, pastel colors for Easter, or even your favorite team colors for game day.
Recommended Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Stovetop pot
- Rubber spatula
- Candy thermometer
- Silpat mat
- Rolling pin
- Sharp knife or a pizza cutter
- Baking sheet
How to Make Homemade Candy Corn
- Make The Powdered Sugar Mixture: Mix together the powdered sugar, powdered milk, and salt. Set aside.
- Boil: Bring the sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a boil, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 350 – 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the heat.
Pro Tip: Be sure not to overcook or brown this mixture. It should remain white and will begin to thicken. - Make The Candy Mixture: Mix the powdered sugar mixture into the corn syrup mixture for about 4-5 minutes. Allow the mixture to sit in the pot for about 5 minutes or until it thickens slightly.
Pro Tip: It is ready to transfer once you can mix it easily with a spoon, but the peaks take slightly longer to descend. - Cut The Candy: Allow the mixture to rest on a silpat mat for a minute before cutting it into three even pieces.
Pro Tip: It may be sticky but shouldn’t stick to the mat. Use your fingers to remove the cut portions away from the knife’s edge to separate them. - Color The Candy: Mix in 2 drops of yellow and 1 drop of red to one piece, folding the mixture on top of itself for about 3 minutes until the color is solid. Mix 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring to another piece.
- Roll: Roll each color into small round logs, ¼ – ½ inch round. Place three logs side by side in the order of white > orange > yellow and pinch them together. Slightly flatten with a rolling pin. Allow the logs to sit until they have fully reached room temperature.
- Cut Into Candy Corn: Cut 45 degree lines (in a zig-zag) pattern across each log. Separate the triangles from one another and allow the pieces to sit overnight to harden and dry out.
- Serve: Enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Homemade Candy Corn
- BE SURE NOT TO BURN THE CORN SYRUP MIXTURE. If you notice any “browning” while cooking, this mixture is burnt, and there is little saving.
- The corn syrup mixture slightly thickens as it gets close to being done.
- Do not use your hands until after the dye is added. The mixture will be very hot.
- Let these sit out at room temperature overnight. They need to dry out and harden so they do not need to go inside the refrigerator or soak up moisture. They also do not need to sit out in the heat or a warmer environment. This can cause the texture to change and get “sticky”.
- Use a wooden straight-edge spoon (a large wooden cooking spoon with a straight-edged head) to help straighten the edges of the logs before cutting. Tap the spoon again on the white tops and the yellow bottom. This will help create smoother pieces and smoother edges.
- Half of the candy corn pieces will have the traditional pattern of a white tip, orange middle, and yellow bottom. Then the remaining half will have a yellow tip and reverse order. This is due to how you cut them.
How to Store Homemade Candy Corn
- To Store: Store your candy corn in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks or until they become too dry to chew.
More Easy Halloween Recipes
Other Easy Halloween REcipes
Homemade Candy Corn
Serves — 3
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Cool Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons powdered milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- ⅔ cup light corn syrup
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- Orange and yellow food coloring drops
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl (like the size of a cereal bowl) mix together the powdered sugar, powdered milk, and salt. Set aside.2 cups powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons powdered milk, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a medium stovetop pot, add sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat.1 cup white sugar, ⅔ cup light corn syrup, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Boil for about 3-5 minutes stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Use a candy thermometer to bring the mixture to 350 – 360 degrees F. Be sure not to overcook or brown this mixture. It should remain white and will begin to thicken.
- When the mixture has reached the needed temperature and consistency, remove immediately from heat.
- Add in the powdered sugar mixture and mix together with the rubber spatula for about 4-5 minutes until it’s fully incorporated in. It will be thick and difficult at first.
- Once fully mixed in, allow the mixture to sit in the pot for about 5 minutes or until it begins to thicken slightly. It is ready to transfer once you can mix it easily with a spoon but the peaks take slightly longer to descend.
- When ready, use your rubber spatula to pour out the mixture onto a silpat mat. Allow it to rest here for another minute.
- Use a sharp knife to divide the mixture into 3 even portions. It may be sticky but it shouldn’t stick to the mat. Use your fingers to remove the cut portions away from the knife’s edge to separate them.
- Using food coloring drops, add 2 drops of yellow and 1 drop of red to one of the three portions. Use the back of a spoon to mix the color in. Continue to mix, folding the mixture on top of itself for about 3 minutes until the color is solid and fully mixed in.Orange and yellow food coloring drops
- Repeat this method for another section of the mixing, adding 2-3 drops of yellow food coloring.
- Remaining on the silpat mat, roll each color of the mixture into small round logs using your hands. You will want to pinch off a small handful to do this. Each log should be ¼ – ½ inch round.
- Place three logs side by side in the order of white > orange > yellow. Pinch together the logs so they stick to one another. Then take a rolling pin and roll gently on top of the full log. This will help combine the colors together further.
- Use your fingers to press downward on the white side creating a wedge shape of the logs. Your log may have a few curves on the edges, see notes for tips on how to clean them up before cutting.
- Repeat steps 12-14 for all remaining mixture.
- Allow these logs to sit until they have fully reached room temperature.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the candy corn from the logs. You will want to cut 45 degree lines (in a zig-zag) pattern across each log. See photos for example.
- Gently separate the triangles from one another. They shouldn’t be sticky.
- Allow all candy corn pieces to sit on a baking sheet (you can transfer your silpat mat to the baking sheet if easier) overnight to harden and dry out. See notes for additional tips.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Store your candy corn in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks or until they become too dry to chew.
- BE SURE NOT TO BURN THE CORN SYRUP MIXTURE. If you notice any “browning” while cooking, this mixture is burnt and there is little saving.
- You will notice the corn syrup mixture slightly thicken as it gets close to being done.
- Do not use your hands until after the dye is added. The mixture will be very hot.
- Let these sit out at room temperature overnight. They need to dry out and harden so they do not need to go inside the refrigerator or soak up in moisture. They also do not need to sit out in the heat or a warmer environment. This can cause the texture to change and get “sticky”.
- Use a wooden straight edge spoon (a large wooden cooking spoon with a straight-edged head) to help straighten the edges of the logs before cutting. Tap the spoon again the white tops and again the yellow bottom. This will help create smoother pieces and smoother edges.
- Half of the candy corn pieces will have the traditional pattern of a white tip, orange middle, and bottom yellow. Then the remaining half will have a yellow tip and reverse order. This is due to how you cut them.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 966kcal | Carbohydrates: 208g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 282mg | Potassium: 141mg | Sugar: 207g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 0.1mg
