How to Make Watermelon Lollipops

While some more advanced bakers and confectioners might feel comfortable skimming through a recipe and then diving right in, a few more details can often prove helpful when making a new recipe or trying a technique for the first time.

Below is the first in a series of tutorial posts. In each post I’ll break down a recipe in great detail, including photographs of each step. Tutorials will feature a common pâtisserie tool, recipe, or technique, such as making pastry cream, or preparing a bain marie.

In the tutorial below we’ll work with a digital thermometer, learning how to cook sugar to hard crack stage in order to make homemade watermelon lollipops.

If you are already familiar with cooking sugar and using a candy thermometer, feel free to skip directly to the recipe! I’ve included a more challenging version which requires tempering your white chocolate, and also a temper-free shortcut for less experienced chefs.

How to Make Watermelon Lollipops: A Step-by-Step Guide

Getting Ready

First, gather the items you’ll need to make the lollipops. This recipe requires several special tools and ingredients that you may not already have on hand. These include:

Tools

Silicone lollipop mould
A silicone mould specifically designed for making homemade lollipops.

Lollipop sticks
Lollipop moulds come in a variety of sizes, so be sure to choose sticks which will fit easily into your mould!

Candy thermometer
There are a wide range of candy thermometers available. I alternate between a laser thermometer and a digital thermometer. For cooking sugar, you’ll definitely want to use a probe-style thermometer rather than a laser. For ease of use, I’d suggest buying one that clips to the side of your pan, although a hand-held digital thermometer will also work. (I’d also suggest avoiding glass thermometers, which can break easily and run your batch of candy in the process!)

Disposable piping bags
These clear bags are my go-to.

Parchment paper
Non-stick baking parchment. Easily available on Amazon or at most grocery stores. Do not use wax paper.

Cello bags
Clear bags for storing or gifting your finished pops.

Ingredients for Watermelon Lollipops

Watermelon candy flavoring
Choose a strong watermelon flavoring specifically made for candy and confectionery, rather than the extracts you might find in a grocery store. My preferred supplier for flavorings is Lorann Oils.

Red gel-based food coloring
My go-to gel colors are these Liqua-Gel colors by Chefmaster. These are useful in many pastry applications, so purchasing a wide range of colors is a good idea if you don’t already own a set.

White chocolate couverture (or, candy melts for less experienced chefs)
I generally make lollipops and other chocolate candies using a high-quality chocolate couverture. However, couvertures require tempering (a process of heating and cooling the chocolate to specific temperatures) prior to use.

If you aren’t familiar with tempering, I suggest using green and white candy melts in this recipe instead. Unlike couverture, candy melts (also known by a range of other names such as melting chocolate, coating chocolate,melting wafers, confectionery coating, candy wafers, or dipping chocolate) is pre-tempered and will work straight out of the bag.

Green oil-based candy coloring (if working with couverture)

Each of the items above is readily available from Amazon, or a baking supplier such as Chef Rubber or Bake Deco. If your city has a baking shop (like NY Cake in New York City) you’ll be able to find most things there as well. However, most of these items will not be available in a grocery or big box store, so it is important to plan ahead.

Making the Lollipops

Prepare the silicone lollipop mould by spritzing lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Add lollipop sticks and set aside.

Next, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan.

Bring sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Do not stir your sugar mixture while it boils, as stirring will promote crystallisation and produce a grainy finished product.

Using a candy thermometer, boil mixture until it reaches 300° F / 150° C.

Sugar temperatures must be precise—too low and your candy won’t harden; too high and you’ll end up with caramel! So, pay close attention to your thermometer, be patient, and do not walk away while your sugar is cooking, no matter how tempting it might be to multitask!

When the proper temperature has been reached, remove pan from heat. Stir in watermelon flavoring and pink gel food coloring.

Spoon (or carefully pour!) molten sugar mixture into lollipop moulds. Allow candy to cool completely. Lollipops will set and harden as they cool. (This will happen quickly, about fifteen minutes).

When lollipops have set, pop them from the mold onto a clean sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Decorating with Chocolate

Next, we’ll add our chocolate decorations to the lollipops.

(Note: If you are experienced with chocolatework and feel comfortable tempering white chocolate, skip to the recipe below. I’ve included instructions for decorating with white chocolate couverture rather than candy melts.)

Begin by melting green candy melts or pre-tempered confectioner’s coating in the microwave, or over a double boiler, following the manufacturer’s instructions on the package.

Working quickly, dip the top half of each lollipop in the green coating, then transfer to silicone mat or parchment and allow chocolate to harden.

While green chocolate hardens, melt a small amount of dark chocolate in the microwave, or over a double boiler.

Transfer to a piping bag and pipe a few “seeds” onto each watermelon lollipop.

While dark chocolate hardens, melt a small amount of white candy melts in the microwave or over a double boiler.

Working quickly, transfer chocolate to a piping bag and pipe a thin line underneath the green chocolate.

Allow chocolate piping to set completely.

Once set, wrap lollipops in individual cello bags or transfer to a storage container. If storing in a container, place wax paper or parchment between layers to prevent your lollipops from sticking together.

Store lollipops in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one month.

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