Got candy?
Sometimes the holidays come and go, leaving behind a huge pile of candy. Candy is not a very good thing to keep around the house (especially for me!). Here is a good way to use all of the hard candy without adding a jeans size or giving your kids a sugar high.
I got this awesome idea from the Tutto Bella blog where they made serving trays fashioned out of starlight mint candies. I have used this idea before in the windows of my gingerbread house, but this was an excellent idea to make them into serving trays. I took the advice of one of the blog’s commenters and shaped the candy into a bowl. How cool is that! You don’t even have to wash these when you are done using them, and you can give them away and not worry about getting them back.
I didn’t have starlight candies around, so I used some Jolly Ranchers instead. You could also use some Life Savers or just about any hard candy, just be aware that the melting times may vary so keep an eye on them. I want to try candy canes sometime to see what they do : )
Candy Serving Trays & Bowls
You will need:
Hard candy (Jolly Ranchers, starlight mints, and chocolate starlight mints work good)
Parchment paper
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Arrange the candy in a colored pattern or shape of your choice on the parchment lined pan.
- Bake the candy in the oven between 5-10 minutes., depending on the type of candy. The Jolly Ranchers did best at 6-7 minutes.
- Take the candy out of the oven and let cool. If you want to make a bowl, let the candy cool some. When the candy has cooled a bit but is still pliable, press into a bowl (with the parchment still on the candy) or around the outside of a bowl. Let cool completely.
Arrange your candy how you like
Candy Tray/Plate
Press the pliable candy around (or inside) a bowl and let it set
Try filling your bowl with something healthier than more candy! ; )
This is such a cool idea!
Thanks for stopping by, Becki! I think I am going to make some next weekend for gifts : )
[...] year about this time I wrote about my Hard Candy Dish experiment. I made some awesome bowls out of Jolly Ranchers [...]
Sarah Jane-its Trish in Virginia again. Hope u had a nice Thanksgiving . I am going to
try the candy dish again today…I got starlight mints and butterscotch disc.
Im printing out your directions( this Page) so I do it right…LOL
I will do about 6 minutes at 350 degrees. I will let you know how Im doing.
You take care and Thanx again. Happy Holidays to you
Trish
Hi Trish! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving, too. Let me know how this turns out. I am glad you posted a comment again – it reminded me that I need to do this project with my kids again : )
Sarah-
You gotta see my bowl I made from starlight mints and butterscotch
disc. Im having so much fun since I mastered it. How can I send you
a pic….? Thank you so much………..
Trish
Awesome, I’m so glad it turned out! You can email me the photos here: thefitcookie(at)gmail(dot)com. Just fill in the rest of the address (writing it this way deters electronic spammers!). Can’t wait to see your project!
Well dear………I put it on backwards.LOL
Candy got stuck all on bowl……………
Gotta learn……huh?
Trish
Hi Trish! Make sure that you don’t overheat the candy – you want it to melt but not get too hot. Also, let the melted candy sit in the pan for a bit to cool some. It will be soft enough to form around a bowl but still firm enough to shape without sticking too much. Let me know how it goes!
Hi…making dish now…..Jolly Ranchers are very sticky….any ideas on
the stickiness………….?
SOOOOOOO Cool. Thank you
Thanks Trish! I want to make some more this season with other candies…so excited!
This is such a neat idea, these dishes look really cool. I will have to try this sometime. Thanks for the fun idea! Thanks for sharing at Showcase Your Talent Thursday. I hope to see you at the next party!
Thanks! I need to try this idea with some other candies and shapes : )
Love this! Thank you for posting and for bringing new, creative ideas to the project!
Jodi, Thanks for the original idea! It is fun – I can’t wait to make up more projects with my kids : )