Homemade Candy Corn Recipe
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Although learning how to make candy corn from scratch might seem daunting, my homemade candy corn recipe is actually pretty straightforward. You certainly don’t need to be a master confectioner to whip up a batch. And with the exception of the dry milk powder, this homemade candy corn mostly contains ingredients you already have in the kitchen cabinet, like sugar, salt, butter, food coloring, and vanilla. Just cook the sugar into a pliable dough, use your hands to roll it into long ropes, smush the ropes together, cut into triangles, and voila! Homemade candy corn. Once you learn how to make candy corn from scratch, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff.
Why Did I Create This Homemade Candy Corn Recipe?
Candy corn often falls into the “love it or hate it” category, along with foods like cilantro, anchovies, olives, blue cheese, and Marmite. (These are all “love its” for me, by the way…) I’m firmly in the “love it” camp, and look forward to candy corn appearing on grocery store shelves every autumn. But even if candy corn is a “hate it” for you, I still suggest giving this recipe a chance. In my experience, even people who don’t care for candy corn enjoy the homemade version. Unlike the store-bought stuff (which always has that weird-slightly-unplaceable-highly-artificial flavor), this homemade candy corn tastes just like vanilla.
Key Ingredients
- Dry Milk Powder – Powdered milk gives homemade candy corn its distinctive taste and texture. You can find dry milk powder in most supermarkets (it’s usually in the aisle with the tea and coffee), or purchase it from Amazon or another online retailer. If you have some milk powder left over, save it to make your own hot cocoa mix.
- Sugars – Cooked together with corn syrup and butter until it reaches soft ball stage on a candy thermometer, granulated sugar creates the soft, taffy-like candy base, while confectioner’s sugar adds sweetness and body to the dough, making it pliable and easy to shape.
- Corn Syrup – A clear, invert sugar such as corn syrup prevents the candy from crystallizing. If you can’t find corn syrup (it’s much easier to find in the US than in other parts of the world) see my post on liquid sweeteners for acceptable substitutions. For example, I often make this recipe with liquid glucose when I’m in the UK.
- Gel Food Coloring – I recommend using gel food coloring to tint the dough, rather than the water-based colors you typically find in the baking aisle at the supermarket. Water based colors are not potent enough to achieve the vibrant shades shown here. I used the yellow and orange from Chefmaster’s Neon Brites collection for my test batch, but any good-quality gel colors will work.
Tips, Tricks, and Variations
- Do not skip the sugar sifting step! Using a mesh sieve to sift the confectioner’s sugar is very important. If there are lumps in your sugar, you’ll have visible white lumps in your candy corn, too.
- Don’t over-stir. When cooking the hot sugar mixture, stop stirring as soon as the sugar has dissolved. If you continue stirring, you risk causing the mixture to crystallize, leading to gritty candy corn. As a side note, the sugar will reach soft ball temperature fairly quickly (about 2 minutes) so don’t step away from the stove.
- Adults only. Because the sugar mixture is extremely hot, making candy corn is not a suitable project for very young children, but older kids and teens can definitely help with the shaping.
- Wear gloves. When working with hot sugar, I suggest donning a pair of soft cotton gloves, then layering a pair of rubber gloves over top. This combo protects your hands from heat, food coloring, and sticky substances. I highly suggest using this “double glove” method when making candy corn. You’ll be able to work with the dough while it is still hot, which also means it is more pliable—candy corn dough will stiffen as it cools.
- Reheat as required. If the dough is too cold, you’ll have trouble rolling, shaping, and cutting it. If this happens, microwave very briefly (5-10 seconds) to rewarm it just enough to manipulate.
- Use a bench scraper. I suggest cutting the homemade candy corn with a metal or sharp-edged plastic bench scraper. You can also use a paring knife, but you’ll first need to move the ropes of candy corn dough to a cutting board. Never cut directly on a silicone mat, as it can cause fibers from the mat to leech into your candy.
- Vary the colors and flavors. I made traditional candy corn, but one of the benefits of making candy corn from scratch is that you can choose any flavor you’d like! You could try marshmallow or almond, or make an autumn-inspired batch with pumpkin, cinnamon, or maple flavoring. Similarly, you can choose any colors you’d like! I stuck with the traditional “Halloween” color palette of yellow, orange, and white, but you could also make harvest corn, which includes a row of brown, chocolate-flavored dough. You can also make green and orange dough and shape the mixture into pumpkins. You can also customize this easy candy corn recipe for other holidays. Try red, white and green for Christmas; green and white for Saint Patrick’s Day; pink and red for Valentine’s Day; red, white, and blue for July 4th; or pastel colors for Easter.
How to Make Homemade Candy Corn
- Total Time45 minutes
- YieldAbout 100 - 115 pieces homemade candy corn 1x
An easy recipe for homemade candy corn in traditional Halloween (or Thanksgiving) colors.
Ingredients
135 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 cup)
15 grams dry milk powder (2 tablespoons)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
100 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
100 grams liquid glucose, or light corn syrup (1/3 cup)
30 grams unsalted butter (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Yellow gel food coloring
Orange gel food coloring
Instructions
Line a tray with a silicone baking mat.
Place a second large silicone mat on the countertop.
Sift the confectioner’s sugar to remove any lumps.*
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, milk powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large saucepan or heavy-bottomed stock pot, combine the granulated sugar, liquid glucose, and butter.
Stir until sugar dissolves and the butter melts, then stop stirring. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until mixture reaches 245° F (118° C) on a candy thermometer, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
With a heat-proof spoon or spatula, stir in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
Pour mixture out onto prepared silicone mat.
Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle.
While waiting for the batter to cool, put on your cotton gloves, with rubber gloves over top.
Divide the mixture into 3 portions. Tint one portion with orange gel food coloring, and a second yellow gel food coloring, and knead to distribute color evenly throughout the dough.
Divide each portion in half so you have 2 balls of orange dough, 2 of yellow, and 2 of white. Roll each ball into a rope, about 1/2-inch wide and 16-18 inches long.
With your fingers, push the ropes together. Use your fingertips to smooth the tops of the ropes, then flip them over and se a bench scraper to cut the ropes into triangles, each about 1/2 inch at the widest part.
Arrange on prepared tray and allow to dry, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Store homemade candy corn in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment or wax paper, for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
*Sifting is important to prevent lumpy candy corn. Do not skip this step!
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Candy and Confectionery
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Sweets
Ways to Use Homemade Candy Corn
Homemade candy corn is great for gifting! This recipe ships well (in the past, I’ve successfully mailed batches to nieces and nephews in various parts of the country) and stays fresh for several weeks. Package homemade candy corn in an airtight food storage container, or a cute Halloween-print cello bag tied with a big orange bow. This candy corn tastes great on its own, but you can also add it to other recipes, like Halloween chocolate bark, leftover Halloween candy cookies, or a Rice Krispie cornucopia for Thanksgiving.
Helpful Tools and Ingredients
- Bench Scraper – For cutting the strips of candy corn dough into triangles. (If you don’t have a bench scraper you can use a sharp knife, but you’ll need to transfer the ropes of dough to a cutting board. See my notes above.)
- Silicone Mats – You’ll need two silicone mats: One mat for pouring and rolling the hot sugar mixture, and a second mat for cooling the finished candy corn.
- Candy Thermometer – The temperature is very important in this candy corn recipe (too hot and you’ll make hard candy or caramel, rather than soft, chewy candy corn) so don’t guess. If you don’t have a thermometer, my go-to is this Taylor digital thermometer.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Homemade candy corn will stay fresh for 3-4 weeks when kept at room temperature in an airtight container. I suggest storing between layers of wax paper or baking parchment to prevent the pieces from sticking together.
Other Autumn Candy Recipes You Might Enjoy
Sea Salt Apple Cider Caramels
Spiced Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Caramel Apple Lollipops
Halloween Candy Bark
Ghost Marshmallows
And if you do make these, or if you make any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
