Mint Lollipops Recipes

Steps:

• Butter 10 assorted metal cookie cutters and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and cream of tartar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). , Remove from the heat. Stir in oil, keeping face away from mixture as odor is very strong. For each color of candy swirls, pour 1/4 cup sugar mixture into a ramekin or custard cup; tint red or green., Immediately pour remaining sugar mixture into prepared cookie cutters. Drizzle with colored mixtures as desired; cut through with a toothpick to swirl. Remove cutters just before lollipops are set; firmly press a lollipop stick into each. Sprinkle peppermint candies over tops if desired.

Steps:

• Lightly oil 2 large baking sheets.
• Bring water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then stir in mint and remove from heat. Cool slightly, about 2 minutes, then purée in a blender, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot liquids). Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with 2 layers of paper towel into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids (you should have at least 2/3 cup liquid).
• Have an ice bath ready.
• Heat sugar, corn syrup, and 2/3 cup mint liquid in cleaned saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat, without stirring, washing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water and skimming any foam from surface. Put thermometer into syrup and boil until it registers 300°F (hard-crack stage), then stir in mint extract. Immediately dip bottom of pan in ice bath to stop cooking.
• Pour a 2-inch pool of syrup onto 1 of the baking sheets and quickly put a lollipop stick in it. Continue making lollipops, spacing pools of syrup 2 inches apart. (If syrup becomes too thick to pour, heat to thin it.) Let lollipops cool and harden, about 15 minutes, then gently loosen with a thin metal spatula. If desired, individually wrap lollipops in cellophane wrappers.

Steps:

• Put the sugar and cream of tartar into a saucepan with 200ml hot water. Gently heat until the sugar has completely melted, then increase the heat and boil until the mixture reaches the 'hard crack' stage on a sugar thermometer (or a small spoonful dropped into cold water sets hard). Remove from heat immediately and swirl in peppermint essence and enough green colouring to give a pale green colour - start by adding just one drop at a time.
• Cover a heatproof surface with baking parchment. Using a metal spoon, carefully pour some peppermint syrup onto the paper - roughly ½-1 tbsp per lolly. Push a lolly stick into each. If the syrup becomes too thick, just put the pan back over a gentle heat briefly. But if the syrup is too hot and runny, the shapes won't be as even so set it aside for a minute. Set lollies until hard.
• To clean equipment after lollipop making drop everything back into the pan, fill with water and bring to the boil.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with 1 cup milk. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Spread half into a waxed paper-lined 8-in. square pan; chill for 10 minutes or until firm. , Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook and stir candy coating with remaining milk until coating is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in peppermint extract and food coloring. Spread over bottom layer; chill for 10 minutes or until firm. , Warm remaining chocolate mixture if necessary; spread over mint layer. Chill for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan; cut into 1-in. squares.