DIY Halloween Candy: Silly Monster Jolly Pops (Jolly Rancher Suckers)

A few years ago, my kids came home from a birthday party with the coolest homemade suckers. They were brightly-colored, funky-shaped lollies that tasted really good. So of course I had to call and ask the mom how she made them. Turns out, those bright and colorful lollipops are made from melted Jolly Ranchers!

I worried that the actual making of the Jolly Rancher Lollipops aka “Jolly Pops” would be complicated. But it is SO NOT COMPLICATED. Seriously. Unwrapping the individual Jolly Rancher candies was the hardest part. And that was EASY! The ones I’m making today are for Halloween treats, so we’ll be adding candy eyeballs to turn plain Jolly Pops into Silly Monster Jolly Pops.

All you need to make Jolly Rancher suckers is:

• Lollipop Sticks (I use Wilton Lollipop Sticks)
• Jolly Ranchers

I used 5 Jolly Ranchers per lollipop stick. But you could use less than that if you don’t want a huge sucker. Mix and match the flavors for cool color combinations. Jolly Pops make fun party favors and gifts.

Want to make my Halloween version of Jolly Pops? Then you’ll also need edible candy eyeballs. I use the Wilton Candy Eyeballs.

Caramel Apple Jolly Pops? You’ll need caramel candies, melted.

My silicone baking mats make life so much easier. Nothing sticks to these mats. I highly recommend using them when you make these lollipops. Once the lollipops are cool, they peel right off of the silicone. However, if you don’t have silicone baking mats, your best bet is going to be lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

Jolly Pops Directions:

1.  Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or lightly sprayed parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Lay lollipop sticks on the baking sheet and arrange 5 unwrapped Jolly Ranchers in a straight line on top of each stick.  Be sure to leave room in between each lollipop for the Jolly Rancher candies to melt and spread out a bit.

3.  Carefully place the lollipops in the oven and bake for 4-6 minutes, or until the Jolly Rancher candies have melted down from their usual squarish shape.

4.  Carefully remove lollipops from the oven. Allow to cool and harden *unless you are making the Halloween candy eyeball version, then you will need to work quickly before the lollipops cool and harden. See Additional Directions below.

TIPS:

*The lollipop stick can be carefully moved to a better position within the lollipop before it cools and hardens. Sometimes this may be necessary to do, depending on how the candy melted around the stick.

*If your Jolly Pops were too close to each other and melted together, you can use a knife to separate them before they cool and harden.

ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS:

If you are making the Halloween Eyeballs Jolly Pops, gently press candy eyeballs on to the Jolly Rancher lollipop before it cools and hardens. Once the Jolly Pops cool, the eyeballs will be stuck in place.

If you are making Caramel Apple Jolly Pops, you will use only the Green Apple flavored Jolly Ranchers and follow the Jolly Pops directions above. Once the pops are done, you will need to wait for the pops to cool completely. Then, quickly dip the pops in melted caramel and place on a nonstick baking sheet until the caramel cools and rehardens. Instead of dipping my pops, I drizzled them with melted caramel using a spoon and allowed the caramel to cool.

Have you ever made Jolly Pops? If you have any tips, tricks or ideas please feel free to share them in the comments below. 

This blog post is also shared on Thrifty Thursday’s link up at Living Well Spending Less.