Homemade Candy Corns with *Less* of the Junk

I’m not one of those moms who forbids candy at Halloween.

We go trick or treating (last year was our first year, actually).  We get candy, we eat it (in moderation) and we enjoy it.  But I’m never THRILLED by all the sugar and junk that I’m filling my kids’ belly with (not to mention my OWN belly).

So, this year I was determined to make some of my traditional favorites at home with less “junky” ingredients.  The first thing I tackled was candy corns and I must say, I think they came out pretty good!  And the best part is, I didn’t use corn syrup (which is the main ingredient in most homemade candy corn recipes).

Click below to see the full recipe and DIY.

Ingredients
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar or maple sugar (if using maple sugar, be sure to give it a whirl in a small food processor or coffee grinder to make it more “powdery”)
3/4 cup tapioca flour (+ a little more for kneading)
Food Coloring (get natural food coloring here)

Directions
1.  Mix your honey, vanilla and melted butter in a bowl.
2.  Add the powdered sugar and mix well until completely incorporated.
3.  Mix in the tapioca flour a 1/4 cup at a time.  It will seem difficult to get it fully incorporated but believe me, it will eventually all mix in.  As you get to the final 1/4 cup, you may need to start kneading the “dough” to fully incorporate the flour.
4.  Split the dough into three equal pieces.  Leave one piece as-is.  This is the white part of the candy corn.
5.  Add two drops of yellow food coloring to one of the remaining pieces and knead until the “dough” is fully colored.
6.  Add two drops yellow and one drop red food coloring to the final piece of dough.  Knead until the dough is fully colored.
7.  Put in the freezer for 5 minutes.  (This makes the dough easier to work with, especially after all the softening that occurs when you knead in the food coloring.)
8.  Remove from the freezer and shape each ball into a long (about 1-1.5 foot) rope.
9.  Line your ropes up as shown in the picture and form them into one long rope by pushing the pieces together slightly.
10.  Put in the freezer for 5 minutes.
11.  Remove and cut into triangles.
12.  Enjoy!  My kids love these.  I store them in the fridge to keep them from softening too much.

Do you make candy at home?  What are your favorites?