DIY Jolly Rancher Lollipops

The other day, I saw a great project in Family Fun Magazine. I was looking for some “older kid” projects and thought this would be perfect for all the kids to do together! If you don’t subscribe to Family Fun Magazine, you should grab a subscription here. It always has at least 5-6 ideas I love and some fun articles as well. You can see the picture from Family Fun in the middle here.

Here’s What You Need:

Lollipop Sticks (I grabbed this 150 Pack)
Jolly Rancher Candy (3 pieces for each lollipop)
Alumimum Foil
Cookie Sheet (and oven!)
Parchment Paper

Here’s What You Do:

To begin, I had each kid pick three colors, unwrap them, and lay them on a labeled piece of wax paper.

Then, I laid the jolly ranchers on the cookie sheet. There is foil first on the cookie sheet and then a layer of parchment paper.

I wrote down each kid’s color combination as we went along, just in case someone forgot which colors they picked out. This list did come in handy later!

After the Jolly Ranchers were all arranged, we put the candy in the preheated oven (275 degrees) and set the timer for six minutes.

Of course, the kids had to watch the melting process. It was super interesting that the candy did almost nothing for 3.5 minutes and then instantly dissolved into a puddle of color.

We pulled the lollipops out of the oven as soon as the timer buzzed and it seemed like the perfect amount of time. I put the lollipop stick in and rolled it a bit to make sure it was covered by Jolly Rancher and then put the whole tray in the fridge to cool for about 3 minutes.

The kids were absolutely crazy about their lollipops!!

This is going to be a summer tradition for sure!

Taking it Step Further:

We did this experiment mostly for fun, but if you’ve got older kids and want to take the experience a step further, check out some of these great links!

About Lindsey Whitney:

Lindsey Whitney is a mom of two, home day care provider and blogger over at Growing Kids Ministry. Growing Kids Ministry is a blog designed to help parents, teachers, and Children’s Ministry workers who want to help the kids they love grow in their faith. You can connect with her via twitter or on facebook.