American Candy Corn

Yes, this post is a month late. Procrastination I suppose. Anyways I made these America-themed candy corns for the 4th of July picnic that we went to this year. They were a big hit and pretty easy to make if you work quickly enough!


Candy corn is typically associated with Halloween, and National Candy Corn Day is actually on October 30th, but I think it's completely acceptable to have this treat anytime of the year! You could make Indian corn (brown, orange, & white), reindeer corn (red, green, & white), or cupid corn (red, pink, & white), heck, you can make it whatever color you like!!

Candy Corn
(Adapted from the "Field Guide to Candy" by Anita Chu)


2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup dry powdered milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring (whatever color you desire)

Cookin' it up

1. Combine powdered sugar, powdered milk, and salt in a bowl and set aside.


2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.


3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.


4. Add the dry milk mixture to the saucepan, and stir to combine. Let mixture rest for a few minutes until it's cool enough to handle. (But not too long or it will get too hard!)

Candy Corn Ball

5. Divide dough into 3 equal parts and place each portion in a bowl. Add coloring as desired.


6. Knead each portion of dough until the coloring is evenly distributed and the dough is smooth and stiff.


7. Roll each portion into a rope about 1/3 inch thick. Place the three (different colored) ropes of dough next to each other to form a long rectangle. Use a rolling pin to gently press them together.


8. Using a sharp knife or scissors, cut the dough into triangles and place on a baking sheet. Let set for about an hour.

Candy Corn Rope 

This makes about 80 pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.


The only tricky part of this recipe is that you must work quickly when forming the ropes and getting them to stick together. Some of my ropes wouldn't stick together because they hardened too quickly and I ended up with candy corns with tips that would fall off. I also made a couple shorter ropes as opposed to one long rope so it was easier to handle. The last rope I really smashed together and then just sliced it like a block of cheese to get some rectangle shaped candy corn with stripes which I thought was appropriate for a red, white, & blue treat!

Candy Corn "Flags"