Line a tray with a silicone baking mat.

Place a second large silicone mat on the countertop.

Sieve 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 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 6 portions. Tint two with the orange and yellow gel food coloring, and knead until the color is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Working in small batches, roll two ropes of each color. Each rope should be 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.

Transfer candy corn pieces to 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 two weeks.