Let’s have a try at candy making! These fruity, sweet pops are a bit tricky to make, but once you get to know the right trick, you can’t stop yourself from making them repeatedly. Practice by making a couple of batches before adding cannabis to them. Get familiar with the first procedure and then start infusing the pops with CBD.
Avoid making them on a humid day, wait for the comparatively drier weather before starting with candy making. Humidity makes the hard candy on the outside and sticks to palette even though the taste remains unaltered
Things you’ll need
- Light corn syrup ½ c
- Granulated sugar 2 c
- Lemon juice 1 T
- Water ½ c
- Super strength flavoring 1t
- Lemon extracts 1T
- Food coloring, only if you prefer without color, your pops will appear light amber
- CBD tincture 1-2 T
Important Note on Dosage
Typically CBD Tincture comprises 300 mg THC per file; a full bottle contains 4 T tincture. It means that 1 T (75 mg) tincture is used for a batch of 18 pops each pop would roughly contain 4.1 mg of THC. It is particularly important for those consuming CBD edible for the first time.
List of equipment
- Lollipop Sticks
- Silicone lollipop molds, or you can also use a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a baking mat made of silicone.
- Stainless steel Saucepan 2-quart
- Pastry brush
- A Metal spoon with a long handle
- Candy Thermometer comes in handy when the sugar is heated up the hard crack stage. It is achieved accurately at 310 °F
- Cellophane for wrapping finished lollipops
- Large metal bowl for keeping ice- cold water
- Oven-safe glass measuring cup
Keep everything prepared before starting with your recipe
- Spray some baking liquid lightly on to the molds and remove excess oil using a paper towel.
- Put lollipop sticks inside the molds make sure that the top halves of the rod are at the meld’s center.
- Keep the ice-cold water bath ready
- Measure the food coloring and extracts and pour them in separate bowls
- Keep aside a heatproof measuring cup or a candy funnel in measuring cup set.
What are the steps to follow?
- Get all your equipment and ingredients neatly organized and prepared. Keep the sticks, molds, baking pads close to your hand.
- Take a 2-quart saucepan and add corn syrup, lemon juice, sugar, and water. Stir to dissolve the sugar completely.
- Keep the pan on medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Avoid stirring the mixture further as it will form sugar crystals. Swirl the pan smoothly to allow the sugar to cook evenly. You can use a wet pastry brush on the walls of the container to avoid the formation of sugar crystals.
- When it is hot, make sure to check the temperature evenly. It will rise slowly, and you might find the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan at about 220 °F, but do not worry. The sugar reaches its hard crack stage at around 313 °F, and this happens pretty fast, so do not leave it over the flame.
- After the temperature is reached, remove the pan from the heat and instantly place it into the bath of ice-cold water. Be careful so that water does not get into the pot. Place the container on a kitchen towel after 20 seconds. Mix the flavorings, color, tincture, extracts well. Be gentle as you stir to avoid the formation of air bubbles.
- Cautiously pour the warm syrup into a heatproof measuring cup and immediately put the saucepan into the sink for proper soaking. Quickly fill the molds. The syrup will slightly expand during the cooling process. If you are using a baking mat, pour the syrup in circles. Adjust the lollipop sticks once it gets completely covered with the syrup.
- You can choose to decorate your pop with edible flowers or sprinkles. If you can manage to add the garnishing after it has cooled a bit, it will remain stuck. Some edible can be cooked along with the syrup to impart deeper flavor.
- Allow the lollipops at least 30 minutes, before taking them out of the molds. You can store them wrapped in cellophane paper or cellophane bags. But make sure that you label your candies 21+!
