How to make hard candies or suckers

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Lightly coat your molds with vegetable oil or a nonstick cooking spray.
2. If you are making suckers, place lollipop sticks in their places.
3. Warm or spray the candy funnel so syrup will easily pour through.
4. Add complete contents of the hard candy mix into a heavy-duty saucepan. (It is best to choose a pan with straight sides so candy thermometer can be attached to side of pan.)
5. Add 1/3 cup of warm water. Stir to combine ingredients. Bring to boil with lid on. "Wash" sugar crystal from pot sides and finish boiling without the lid. *DO NOT let crystals form on the side of the pan.
6. Heat syrup to 300 degrees F (hard crack stage) on stovetop, without stirring.
7. Add desired color. Be careful because syrup is very hot! You may wish to add the color when temperature of syrup is around 260 degrees F, you do not need to stir because boiling action will incorporate the color into the syrup.
8. Remove the syrup from heat at precisely 300 degrees F. After boiling has stopped add the flavoring. One teaspoon of flavoring will give the hard candy a bold flavor from the first lap of the tongue! Stir only enough to distribute the flavor so as not to create air bubbles in the syrup.
9. Hold the control rod of your candy funnel so that it covers the hole in the funnel. Pour the hot syrup into the funnel. Hold the funnel over the molds and slightly lift the rod to release the syrup into the mold. WORK FAST because the syrup will cool quickly and begin to harden, becoming difficult to pour.
10. If you have leftover syrup after filling all molds, pour it onto a greased cookie sheet, and score at once with metal spatula or knife to mark squares.
11. Allow candy to cool until hardened before removing from molds. This generally takes about an hour. To unmold candies, turn mold upside down and flex the mold gently. Store in airtight containers until ready to use.

HELPFUL HINTS :
Working quickly and efficiently is important in cooking and molding hard candy. It is important to have everything assembled and ready for most efficient use of time. Hard candy may not harden on rainy or humid days. Caution: Don't involve children in cooking stages. Hot candy syrup and steam can cause severe burns!