Microwave Lollipops

It is difficult to decide which category this recipe belongs to: economical or quick, because it combines everything: literally a maximum of 20 minutes and only 2 ingredients - and homemade candies are ready! Shall we begin? In the list of ingredients, I specified the exact proportions, this is a starting point. How much juice and sugar you take at once is not so important, the main thing is to maintain a ratio of 1:4, that is, 1 part juice and 4 parts sugar. Of course, the candies will be sweet (how else? they are candies!). But they will not contain any dyes, preservatives, flavorings, etc. As for what juice to choose for making candies, I will answer immediately: absolutely any. The main requirement for juice is that it should be natural. You can use fresh-squeezed juice. In fact, at any time of the year, there are fruits that are affordable in price and easy to extract juice from. But you can also use canned juice. It is advisable that it be natural, without added sugar.

To accurately measure the amount of ingredients, I used kitchen scales (undoubtedly, a useful gadget!). I have scales without a bowl, which, in my opinion, is more convenient, so I immediately squeezed the juice into a cup and added sugar. If you don't have scales, you can easily measure, for example, with teaspoons, observing the proportions I mentioned above.

Mix the juice and sugar with a spoon. Now you need to put the syrup in the microwave. You can use any glass jar for this. But I prefer the option with a large cup. Because during the cooking process, you will need to take out the container several times and shake the caramel. You will have to hold the jar with some kind of towel, but with a cup, there will be no such problem. So, put the cup in the microwave. Set the power to 800-900. It is immediately difficult to determine the exact time. It will take approximately 3 minutes for the caramel to be ready. But you need to consider the power of your microwave, sometimes it takes 5 minutes for me because my microwave has a maximum power of 800. If you have 900, then set it for 2.5-3 minutes. In the process, take the caramel out 1-2 times, gently shake it in the cup.

As you can see, it is clear why I chose a tall cup, because the caramel significantly rises during cooking. Do not be disturbed by the foam that forms. Once the caramel is ready, let it sit for a couple of minutes until the foam settles.

Now you can pour the caramel into molds. If you don't have special molds for lollipops, ice molds or chocolate candy packaging will work perfectly. I didn't prepare my silicone molds beforehand, I just took them out of the cupboard and poured the caramel into them. The caramel may appear almost black and burnt in the photo, but in reality, it was not like that. The lollipops set very quickly! What mistakes can be made when cooking lollipops? If you undercook the caramel, it will undoubtedly set, but it will not be crispy, and it will remain slightly chewy inside.

That's how quickly and easily we made excellent lollipops! Children love to help, they will happily make candies themselves. And you can even make lollipops out of them. It's simple, just insert a stick, straw, skewer, or even a toothpick into the unset caramel.