This Homemade Candy Corn will turn the biggest candy corn haters into candy corn lovers this Halloween season. It is dye-free and made without any corn syrup! It also tastes better than store-bought and has a caramel-like flavor.
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Why You'll Love This Homemade Candy Corn
- No corn syrup! Unlike other homemade candy corn recipes that use corn syrup, this recipe uses pure maple syrup instead.
- Dye-free! This candy corn recipe is made dye-free with the use of natural food dye made from fruit, veggie, and plant extracts. I used the Watkins brand, but Whole Foods has a pack of dye-free food coloring as well.
- Tastes better than store-bought! In my opinion, the store-bought candy corn has very little flavor. I added optional lemon and orange zest to this recipe to give this candy corn some citrusy flavor, but if you prefer a more basic version, you can leave the zests out and still have better tasting candy corn. It'll just taste caramel-like, instead of citrusy.
- Similar texture to the classic version! The outside of this dye free candy corn gets dried and slightly hard. Yet, the inside remains soft and chewy, just like the store-bought kind. For more treats similar to their store-bought counterparts, try these homemade poptarts, gogurts, and push up popsicles!
- Perfect for Halloween parties! Make a large batch and serve this homemade candy corn at your next Halloween party! It's the best October treat and because it makes many individual pieces of candy from one recipe, it's also great for a crowd.
Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Dry Milk Powder: Dry milk powder gives the candy corn a milky, creamy taste and flavor without added moisture. If you use liquid milk, the candy will become too soft. Using dry milk allows it to retain the same store-bought texture.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Other homemade candy corn recipes use corn syrup as a sweetener and binder for the candy. However, since I already have maple syrup in my kitchen (much like most of you) AND I like its flavor better, I opted to create this recipe using maple syrup instead.
- Dye Free Food Coloring: Whole Foods has a dye-free food coloring pack with multiple colors. I also found Watkins dye-free brand on Amazon. You can use any food coloring you have on hand, but if it's not dye free, then of course the candy corn won't be dye free either. If you use dye-free, you'll need to add many drops to obtain the correct color.
- Orange and Lemon Zest: I added orange and lemon zest to this recipe to add some extra flavor. If you prefer the classic taste of candy corn, you can leave the zests out. However, if you like the candy to have a more citrusy flavor, I highly recommend using the zest!
⭐️ See recipe card below for descriptions and quantities of each ingredient. Then, watch this brief tutorial on Instagram!
Instructions
- Step 1: Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- Step 2: In a large bowl, add powdered sugar, dry milk powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Step 3: Set a small (2 quart) saucepan over medium low heat, add butter, granulated sugar, and maple syrup. Place the candy thermometer into the pot and allow mixture to bubble until the thermometer reaches 220 degrees F, while stirring intermittently.
- Step 4: As soon as it reaches temperature, remove from heat and remove the thermometer. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Step 5: Pour maple syrup mixture into the bowl with the powdered sugar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is combined into a dough.
- Step 6: Let cool for about 5 minutes in the bowl until the dough is cool enough to handle. If the dough feels dry, knead the dough with your hands for a minute or two and discard any dry bits that fall off.
- Step 7: Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add drops of yellow food coloring and zest from ½ a lemon (if using) to one piece of dough. Knead with your hands until the color is evenly distributed throughout. Repeat with orange food coloring (or red and yellow) and zest of ½ an orange (if using) in a second piece of dough. Leave the last piece white, but knead it to ensure it’s soft and not drying out.
- Step 8: Divide each colored dough in half and set them aside. Using one dough at a time, roll each dough into a strand about 18-inches long and ½ an inch thick. Starting with yellow, add an orange strand just below it so they’re touching. Then add a white strand below the orange. Use your fingers to lightly flatten the top and then gently press the strands together. This should create a long rectangle, sort of like a thick fruit roll up.
- Step 9: Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the long rectangle into small triangular pieces by cutting at alternating angles.
- Step 10: Repeat steps 8 and 9 with remaining dough halves.
- Step 11: Place individual pieces of candy corn on the lined baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each one. Let sit at room temperature for about 1 to 2 hours to dry.
⭐️ Tip: Using a small saucepan is essential to success. You need a smaller saucepan so the butter, sugar, and syrup don’t cook too quickly. It also allows a candy thermometer to reach and register the temperature more accurately.
Substitutions and Alterations
- Dye-Free Food Coloring - For dye-free candy corn, you'll want to use dye free food coloring. However, if you have regular food dye at home, you can use that instead.
- Orange and Lemon Zest - The zests give the candy some extra flavor, but they're completely optional. If you leave them out, the candy corn will taste more neutral, sweet, and caramel-like.
How to Store Homemade Candy Corn
To store: Store homemade candy corn in an airtight container at room temperature for 7 to 10 days.
Top tips!
- Don’t let the maple syrup mixture cook longer than 220 degrees F. If you do, it’ll turn the dough dry, crumbly, and unworkable.
- If using dye-free food coloring, you will need to add quite a bit of the food coloring to get the dough to change color. Don’t be afraid to add more than 10 to 15 drops, until you reach your desired color. The color will also mellow out as it dries, so aim for more color rather than less.
- If at any point the dough is dry, you can use a tiny bit of water to add some moisture back into the dough.
Recipe FAQs
Where can I found dry milk powder at the store?
Dry milk powder can often be found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. It should be near the evaporated and sweetened condensed milks. It also usually comes in a box or canister. Make sure it's dry powder and not liquid!
What is the coating on candy corn made of?
The outside of candy corn is made of a shellac coating. Some also contain waxes like beeswax and carnauba wax in addition to gelatin.
This homemade candy corn uses none of these ingredients. Instead, it includes simple pantry ingredients and still has a similar taste and texture as store-bought.
Related Recipes
Looking for more Halloween recipes? Try these:
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Leave a comment with a rating at the bottom of this page!
Homemade Candy Corn (No Corn Syrup + Dye Free!)
This Homemade Candy Corn will turn the biggest candy corn haters into candy corn lovers. It is dye-free and made without any corn syrup! It also tastes better than store-bought and has a caramel-like flavor.
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Servings: servings
Calories: 102kcal
Cost: $15
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- yellow and orange dye-free food coloring (if you don’t have orange, use red and yellow)
- Optional: orange zest and lemon zest
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add powdered sugar, dry milk powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Set a small (2 quart) saucepan* over medium low heat, add butter, granulated sugar, and maple syrup. Place the candy thermometer into the pot and allow mixture to bubble until the thermometer reaches 220 degrees F**, while stirring intermittently.
- As soon as it reaches temperature, remove from heat and remove the thermometer. Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Pour maple syrup mixture into the bowl with the powdered sugar. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is combined into a dough.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes in the bowl until the dough is cool enough to handle. If the dough feels dry, knead the dough with your hands for a minute or two and discard any dry bits that fall off.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add drops of yellow food coloring*** and zest from ½ a lemon (if using) to one piece of dough. Knead with your hands until the color is evenly distributed throughout. Repeat with orange food coloring*** (or red and yellow) and zest of ½ an orange (if using) in a second piece of dough. Leave the last piece white, but knead it to ensure it’s soft and not drying out.
- Divide each colored dough in half and set them aside. Using one dough at a time, roll each dough into a strand about 18-inches long and ½ an inch thick. Starting with yellow, add an orange strand just below it so they’re touching. Then add a white strand below the orange. Use your fingers to lightly flatten the top and then gently press the strands together. This should create a long rectangle, sort of like a fruit roll up.
- Using a knife or bench scraper, cut the long rectangle into small triangular pieces by cutting at alternating angles.
- Place individual pieces of candy corn on the lined baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each one. Let sit at room temperature for about 1 to 2 hours to dry.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Last step!Please consider leaving a review to let me know how you liked this recipe!
Notes
Recipe yields about 75 pieces of candy corn.
HELPFUL TIPS:
*Using a small saucepan is essential to success. You need a smaller saucepan so the butter, sugar, and syrup don't cook too quickly. It also allows a candy thermometer to reach and register the temperature more accurately.
**Don’t let the maple syrup mixture cook longer than 220 degrees F. If you do, it’ll turn the dough dry, crumbly, and unworkable.
***If using dye-free food coloring, you will need to add quite a bit of the food coloring to get the dough to change color. Don’t be afraid to add more than 10 to 15 drops, until you reach your desired color. The color will also mellow out as it dries, so aim for more color rather than less.
****If at any point the dough is dry, you can use a tiny bit of water to add some moisture back into the dough to make it easier to work with.
Nutrition
Calories: 102kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 44mg | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 103IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 0.02mg
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