Give your kids the party of a life time and show them how to make their favorite snack. Throw a Candy Making Party and watch them eat all their worries away (all the worries a child could possibly have).
This post is sponsored by Wilton.
One of the best things I have been able to do as a chocolatier is to share my passion for candy making with kids.
Years ago my sister asked if I would allow her daughter's girl scout troop to visit my candy shop to learn how to make chocolates. The day the girls arrived, I had set up my kitchen so they could each hand paint a candy lollipop, dip goodies into chocolate, and make their own special version of chocolate bark.
They loved it, and I did too.
From that day forward, I began hosting candy making parties and just had one for my friend's kids recently and thought it would be fun to show you how to host a similar party in your own kitchen.
I keep the parties simple, showing the kids how they can make candy at home.To get ready for your own candy making party you'll need to get some supplies: candy molds, Candy Melts, food use paint brushes, lollipop sticks, dipping tools, paper plates, parchment paper, and paper towels.
Before the kids arrive melt the Candy Melts and keep them warm. I like to use small mason jars filled with the candy coating which I keep warm in an electric skillet that is filled with hot water. I can keep candy melted like this all day long.
Check out my tutorial on How to Make Hand Painted Chocolate Lollipops for detailed instructions on setting up your own skillet filled with melted candy coating.
Cover the table with pieces of parchment or wax paper. It will get messy, and this makes clean up so easy.
I usually allow each child to paint one lollipop, but you could do more, you just need to make sure you have room in your freezer for all of the molds. I use letter trays, the kind you find in an office supply store, to add extra shelves in my freezer. The candy molds fit on them perfectly.
Allow the kids to get creative, to choose the colors they want to paint their lollipops. One of my favorite things about hosting these parties is seeing how colorful the kids make their lollipops. That's a unicorn being painted with orange, blue and red.
Wilton makes really great Melting Pots (the white and purple pot behind the skillet) which can keep your Candy Melts at the perfect temperature all afternoon too. They will hold several bags of Candy Melts and are great if you are planning to make lots of lollipops or have the kids dip lots of goodies.
Kids really love learning how to dip things like cake pops, cookies, marshmallows and rice krispie treats into chocolate.
Of course, you will probably end up with a floater or two, things that fall off the sticks in the candy coating. Just scoop it out and let the child try again.
The kids each dipped two cake balls into chocolate then added some chopped peanuts.
Give each child a paper plate and some goodies to dip, coat or drizzle, and don't forget the sprinkles, kids love sprinkles and the lip on the paper plates keeps them from going all over the table.
Wilton has some new Candy Melt Dipping Tools that are great to use for a candy making party.There is a metal skewer that is great to use instead of lollipop sticks for marshmallows and rice krispie treats.
The dipping fork and spoon are perfect for dipping cookies, big and small.
The new Dipping Tongs have a rubber tip so even kids will have an easy time holding onto graham crackers and pretzels to dip them in the candy melts without making a mess.
My favorite new tool is the Drizzling Scoop. It's a spoon with a channel that allows the candy melts to pour out in a thin stream.
By this point in the party, the kids are getting anxious to try a treat.
The smile on their faces happened just as they heard that they would be allowed to sample their goodies soon.
The best part of the party is when the kids show off their creations.
They are always so proud of what they've made, but usually are even more excited to eat them.
Wilton Candy Melts Melting ...Shop on Amazon
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Cindyzs says
yes yes yes!! was always making something...chocolates, lollipops, chocolate covered anything, lol!!! did it for b-days, scouts, classrooms (back in the 80 before all the pc stuff), holidays, gifts, you name it! hardest was making real lollipops out of sugar! thats really when you need a good candy thermometer and no kids around the stove! always was baking cakes and cups, pies, cookies, etc..... i was always a hit, and so were my kids! they loved it!! now would love to do the same with the g-kids!!! i used to let the kids paint the molds for the different colors on the candies/lollipops for Easter, Christmas, Halloween, etc.. and of course, we always had to eat any mistakes.......hummm always had so many of them when working with the kids, lol......i know it was done on purpose!!! 🙂 such fun!! thanks for the chance to do thia with another generation!
Scarlet Bluefield says
Mt 13 year old wanted to make fudge. We didn't have a candy thermometer, so I held the meat thermometer in the pot and dropped it! It was a pain, but the fudge turned out delicious. And I got a candy thermometer for Christmas 🙂
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets says
I'm so glad you posted this! Keeping the melts melted in the electric skillet would make things so much easier when the grandkids decorate goodies with Grandma. Going to read your how-tos now..love the drizzle scoop and the candy party!
Karen Ostrom says
My daughter and I would make candy by melting down the chip and putting them into candy molds, sometimes we would make suckers also, and sometimes we were known to sling chocolate all over each other, fun times, too bad she is all grown up mow
jen k says
I love wilton products they are all I use.this party looked like a lot of fun. Great idea
Lynn@Happier Than a Pig in Mud says
I haven't made/used melted candy with the kids but we've used a lot of candy/sprinkles/etc to decorate cookies! Thanks for the fun give-away:@)
Maryanne & Duke says
My kids and I love chocolate-covered pretzels, so we've made bunches of those over the years. They are now 22 and 18, and I still try to get my kids involved in making treats with me. This past weekend, we tried caramel popcorn. It was so good!
Sugar Butter Baby says
Candy hasn't been my favorite thing to craft at home but I've never approached it like this before. Usually it's many trips to the microwave or figuring out which bowls/pots/pans make the best double boilers.
Anonymous says
I don't have kids but even as an adult I think I'd have a blast making candy with my mom lol
spgoddess55(at)msn(dot)com
Anonymous says
My Son and I made a Lego man cake with the Wilton chocolates and we both had a blast!
- poisonousdahlia -
Lacey Burd says
My daughter loves making candy! My sister just got married a few weeks ago & we made a TON of goodies for the reception. Suckers to pretzels and marshmallows dipped in chocolate to chocolate covered strawberries. My daughter got to help us with that part and loved every minute of it!
Lindsay Lee says
Yes my daughter and I love to make candies together. We actually took a class this summer together. She is 9 so she absolutely loves that she can do almost all of it while I am there helping her.
Bryn says
We love to dip and decorate pretzels, Oreos, berries and marshmallows. Total mess but so much fun
Anonymous says
I dont have kids, but I loved making making candy with my aunt as a kid. I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef when I got more excited going to the chocolate/baking supply store than the toy store as a kid
Anonymous says
I've made treats with my niece. The last thing that we made were the brownie bunny butts - that had candy on modeling chocolate on them, does that count? She likes to be precise about the decorations. The smile on her face after they were completed was priceless!
Brandi Bryant says
I have made candy with my kids, niece and nephew before. We have made some simple things, white chocolate dipped pretzels are their favorite. I would love to get more comfortable with chocolate and host a party like this for the kids. They would love it and I know I would. Look how happy they are in the pictures. Thanks for the giveaway. Good luck everyone.
lesleyana says
no, i don't have kids. used to make candy when i was young with my mom, mostly for the holidays to give to neighbors, etc.
Anonymous says
This looks like fun for the kiddos, I have done PB balls with my 5 yr old and he always has fun this will be a good rainy day project in our house.
Patricia Meadows says
Oh the memories you just brought up! Good ones loved it when the kids and grand children wanted to bring their friends and come and make candy. All grown up now. Even did a girl scout party. Good idea on the letter tray. Wish I had used that because freezer space was a premium,so much shuffling of candy molds. Thanks again.
Angela says
Oh yes, my kiddos love candy making. We've done some crazy looking cake pops....kinda looked like the Grinch! lol