the invisible pop show down

My attempt at making the Invisible Pops from Martha Stewart resulted in a fair number of usable lollipops, a possibly ruined pot and measuring cup, and one small stove fire. Just a small one. I found the recipe to be easy to follow and even without any added flavoring they actually taste pretty good. I made two batches and followed the directions exactly and my pops still turned out slightly yellow, instead of the way cool clear of Martha's. (When I put on my Fall apron I like to pretend we are on a first name basis.)

Martha's

Mine

I found that the candy hardened quickly, especially to the inside of the saucepan. Happily, I had read the reviews of others who had attempted these lollipops and so I used an old pan. Catastrophe avoided. 

I chose to use lollipop molds instead of pouring free form onto paper. I should have just poured away. I found the molds difficult to use because the candy mixture kept overflowing the small pop cups. I did try a few free form ones at the end and they turned out OK, so if I make these again I will keep the molds in the cupboard.

The next step was adding the candy corn to the pop. This was not so easy. I pushed each piece down as far as I could, which resulted in a few burns on the tip of my left index finger. They were not completely encased in the hot candy, so I figured they would sink as the lollipop cooled. This did not happen. So each pop has the candy corn sticking up a little.

OK, so all in all they didn't turn out so bad. They are not nearly as beautiful as the photo shopped image from Martha Stewart. (That's right, I don't know if it's my burned fingers or the sugar high I'm on but I am currently not on speaking terms with Martha. This has happened before. Like always, it will blow over.) But they are cute. And maybe it's just because I am surrounded by monster trucks and sticky boys in my world over here but I'm thinking that little bugs would look great "trapped" inside these pops. Now I just have to figure out how to make edible bugs...