Happy National Lollipop Day

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Happy National Lollipop Day! To celebrate the quintessential candy on a stick, we’ve pulled some favorite lollipops from our recipe archives, including the homemade root beer and vanilla lollipops above. You can find the recipes below.

ALSO, FREE LOLLIPOPS: See’s Candies is celebrating the holiday by giving away a free gourmet lollipop to customers at more than 200 retail locations across the U.S., including signature chocolate, vanilla, café latte and butterscotch flavors. Lollipop lovers can also enter See’s Candies’ National Lollipop Day sweepstakes for a chance at prizes including a behind-the-scenes tour of See’s lollipop factory in Burlingame, Calif. The candy store will also attempt to break a Guinness World Record by creating the world’s largest lollipop. Weighing in at 7,000 pounds, it will be on display to the public in San Francisco in honor of National Lollipop Day.

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Root beer and vanilla bean lollipops Total time: 1 hour

Servings: Makes 48 small lollipops

Note: From Scooter Kanfer-Cartmill. Candy oils are available at Surfas in Culver City, Gloria’s Cake and Candy Supplies in West Los Angeles, Jane’s Cakes and Chocolates in Montrose, Cake Palace in Carson and online at www.getsuckered.com. In addition to root beer, we recommend tangerine and grapefruit flavors. You will need plastic candy molds or a Silpat mat on a flat sheet tray, and pan spray if using the molds.

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon root beer candy oil (available at candy supply stores)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 to 3 drops brown food coloring

48 lollipop sticks (available at candy supply stores)

1. In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the corn syrup, water, sugar and lemon juice. Place over high heat and stir, with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes to a boil, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium high and wash any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with a clean pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallization (don’t allow crystals to go into the candy mixture). Do not stir from this point on. Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 300 degrees, or ‘hard crack’ stage, about 30 minutes.

2. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, remove the thermometer and add the root beer oil, vanilla bean seeds and food coloring. Swirl to incorporate the flavorings and coloring into the sugar mixture. Let the bubbles subside before pouring the hot mixture into the molds.

3. To form the lollipops, use either molds or a Silpat mat. If using a mold, pour the hot syrup into the pan-sprayed molds, filling each one to the top. Let the sugar mixture cool for 3 to 4 minutes, until it reaches a tacky consistency. Insert the lollipop sticks, supporting them upright, and let cool completely. If using a Silpat mat, pour the hot syrup onto the Silpat mat, forming 2-inch rounds. Insert a lollipop stick into each round, and let cool completely. Best served the same day; they will get sticky overnight.

Each lollipop: 53 calories; 0 protein; 14 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 8 mg. sodium.

BRENT ROGERS’ BASIC LOLLIPOPS

Canola oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 lemon

Flavoring of choice

Generously grease a large piece of parchment paper and lollipop molds with canola oil. Insert sucker sticks in the molds, position the molds on parchment paper and set aside.

In a large saute pan or saucepan, away from the heat, blend the sugar and water with your finger until no lumps remain. Place the pan over high heat and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice, about 6 drops, into the mixture.

Let stand without touching until the sugar mixture reaches full boil. When the first spot of color appears and bubbles achieve active lava-like consistency, gently swirl the pan to distribute the color through the whole pan. When the entire mixture appears pale yellow, remove from the heat and let it stand until bubbles recede. The color will darken.

With wooden spoon, gently stir syrup until the color turns clear. Add the flavoring of choice and gently blend with the wooden spoon. Don’t let the syrup get too cool. Carefully pour the sugar mixture into prepared molds. Cool at room temperature and remove the molds when the candy hardens. Makes 10 to 12 lollipops.

Note: There are endless numbers of flavorings that can be used for lollipops. Some suggestions from Rogers: 1 tablespoon cassis extract. 2 tablespoons buckwheat or other dark honey. 1 teaspoon coffee extract. 1 tablespoon orange juice reduced to syrup. Try studding molds with bits of candied ginger or citrus peel, with sugar removed; small sprigs of rosemary; coffee beans; dried fruit.

LOLLIPOPS

Nonstick cooking spray

1 (4-ounce) box baby jelly beans

3¾ cups sugar

1½ cups light corn syrup

1 cup water

1 tablespoon orange extract

Spray nonstick cooking spray on plastic trays of heart-shaped molds. Drop 5 or 6 baby jelly beans into each indentation. Position lollipop sticks on trays. Place on counter, ready for filling as soon as sugar is ready.

Stir sugar, corn syrup and water with wooden spoon in large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

When sugar dissolves, bring mixture to boil without stirring. Place thermometer in pan and let mixture boil until it reaches 290 degrees. Remove from heat.

When bubbling subsides, stir in orange extract. Spoon mixture into molds. Let cool at room temperature. Remove lollipops from mold when candy hardens, about 15 minutes.

Makes 6 dozen lollipops.