When I think of Halloween, there are three things that come to mind: costumes, parties, and of course, candy corn! But for some people, the sweet treat—which is high in processed sugar and fat—hits a sour note. Luckily, it’s easy to make a healthier, vegan-friendly version at home. Here are three reasons you should consider making some DIY candy corn:
- Are you vegan and can’t get delicious candy corn off your mind this season? This recipe doesn’t contain non-vegan gelatin infusion, which is something found in the store-bought version.
- If you’re watching your sugar intake, this fantastic recipe has another helpful health benefit: no high fructose corn syrup! It’s also great for anyone trying to stay away from chemically processed and modified foods.
- Less calories! Halloween is filled with candy and the day after can be even more tempting when all of the candy goes on sale. This recipe allows you to cut back while still enjoying Halloween’s signature treat.
Homemade Candy Corn
2/3 cups of agave nectar
1 cup of sugar
5 tsp of vegan margarine
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 ½ cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cups of cornstarch
A pinch of salt
Yellow and red food coloring
Instructions:
- Combine nectar, sugar, margarine, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.
- Reduce to medium heat and boil for 5 more minutes. Keep stirring occasionally, and remove from heat.
- Sift powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt into a medium bowl.
- Pour the powdered sugar mixture into the saucepan and stir to combine.
- Let the combined mixture sit and cool for about 2 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add the yellow food coloring to one piece and the red food color to the other. Knead the dough until the colors are consistent throughout.
- Roll each piece of dough into long, thin ropes. Line up each color next to the others and gently push together to form a long rectangle. Pat it down with a rolling pin.
- Finally, cut the ropes into small candy corn-shaped triangles with a knife. Some will be white tipped, some will be yellow tipped, but they will all be delicious!
Yields 110 candy corns.
(Recipe from Birdy Slim at TheUrbanHousewife.com)
by Sarah Basile