You could buy peppermint candy, but nothing comes close to the tingly, verdant flavor of real mint. These sweet lollipops make wonderful treats for both children and adults. The color is a very pale green, which can be enhanced with a drop or two of food coloring.
· To make raspberry lollipops, substitute 1 1/4 cups raspberries (6 ounces) for mint leaves, use only 2/3 cup water, and omit mint extract. · Lollipops keep, individually wrapped in cellophane, 2 weeks.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hr
Yield
Makes 2 dozen candies
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Lightly oil 2 large baking sheets.
Step 2
Bring water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then stir in mint and remove from heat. Cool slightly, about 2 minutes, then purée in a blender, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot liquids). Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with 2 layers of paper towel into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids (you should have at least 2/3 cup liquid).
Step 3
Have an ice bath ready.
Step 4
Heat sugar, corn syrup, and 2/3 cup mint liquid in cleaned saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium heat, without stirring, washing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water and skimming any foam from surface. Put thermometer into syrup and boil until it registers 300°F (hard-crack stage), then stir in mint extract. Immediately dip bottom of pan in ice bath to stop cooking.
Step 5
Pour a 2-inch pool of syrup onto 1 of the baking sheets and quickly put a lollipop stick in it. Continue making lollipops, spacing pools of syrup 2 inches apart. (If syrup becomes too thick to pour, heat to thin it.) Let lollipops cool and harden, about 15 minutes, then gently loosen with a thin metal spatula. If desired, individually wrap lollipops in cellophane wrappers.
