Decorate Or Write On Hard Candy

by Maria Elia Flores
(Mission, TX)

How can I decorate or write on hard candy?

I have made hard candy suckers and I want to personalize them before I wrap them.


I have tried gel piping, and it looks wonderful...until I wrap it and it sticks to the bag. :(


Is there any other way? I tried making shapes with powdered sugar but it seemed to melt or fade away.


Please help!

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Hi Maria,

Writing on hard candy lollipops can be pretty tricky. I've searched and searched for a foolproof method to decorate or write on hard candy, but haven't come up with anything I can say with absolute certainty.


I know writing on suckers can be done, because I've seen the results with my own eyes when I was a kid. It was some type of edible paint (not too tasty if I recall).


I haven't been too successful locating edible paint, but edible glitter is one idea that might just work. Here's a source for edible glitter at Candyland Crafts. They also have a range of Food Writers and Gels which I know you already tried the gels, but maybe one of the pens or icing writers might work.


The only other solution I can think of is to use fondant or royal icing. Either of those would probably work. You can make homemade fondant with one of these fondant recipes or you can buy some ready-made and just shape it in the letters you need.


Royal icing may be your best bet. It dries to a firm finish, so it shouldn't be bothered by your wrappers like the gel would.


You can buy a royal icing mixture and just add water (and any flavor/color you want), or you can make your own.


Here's a pretty basic Royal Icing recipe:

• 2 egg whites
  
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
  
• 3 cups of powdered sugar (icing sugar)

1. Start by sifting the powdered sugar for the best results.
   
2. All you need to do is whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice in a mixer and then gradually add the powdered sugar until you get a nice smooth icing.

If you pipe the royal icing onto your suckers, let them set until the icing has become firm before you put the wrappers on.


If you don't have a piping bag, you can just put some of the royal icing into a Ziploc bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner and that should work just fine.


I think if I were going to try to decorate or write on hard candy suckers, I'd probably try the royal icing method myself.


Thanks so much for the great photos. When you're all finished, take some more and enter your heart shaped lollipops in our Valentines Day Ideas Contest. There are going to be some great prizes given away and so far the entries are only trickling in. You have a great chance of being a winner!


Hope this helps!
Angie