Homemade Lollipops - cooking recipe

Ingredients

12 lollipop sticks
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 -8 drops food coloring
2 -3 drops flavoring oil

Preparation

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, and arrange lollipop sticks 4 inches apart. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, 1/2 cup water, and corn syrup, and heat until sugar dissolves. Cover and boil mixture 1 minute. Remove the cover and boil the syrup until it registers 310\u00b0F (or 98\u00b0F above the boiling point of your water) on a candy thermometer.
Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and set on a rack. Let syrup cool 5 minutes, then stir in food coloring and flavoring.
Pour syrup in 2- to 3-inch puddles over one end of each lollipop stick. Allow candy to cool completely. Wrap each lollipop in plastic wrap.
*Oil flavorings, available at health-food stores, work better than alcohol-based extracts, which can evaporate during the candy-making process.