Birthday parties are a big deal at our house. We get a little crazy and always try to do something out of the ordinary. Last year we had a Pokemon party. Since the characters in Pokemon frequently are on the road and camp out a lot, we did too. I borrowed a digital projector and we showed Pokemon movies on the back of the house while the kids roasted marshmallows. Later they all retired to tents. You can see the cake I made on the Photos page.
This year S has requested a “candy” party. As an activity, I thought we should make some sort of edible candy craft. Candy clay seems the perfect thing. Many of the guests bring younger siblings and pleasing them all is sometimes problematic. If they are not interested in sculpting with it, they can still eat it.
I started hunting around the net looking for recipes and found lots of variations of one that used candy melting disks and one other that was frosting like. I decided it might be a good idea to test the recipes first. The potential for disaster seems pretty high. (Our party will be outside and I can just see 8 children covered in sticky goo that leaves brightly covered stains on everything after we turn the hose on them!) I would like a candy clay is not too sticky, is relatively color fast, has a consistency similar to playdoh, and would taste good. I decided to try the frosting like recipe first. Here it is:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup margarine, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring
1. Combine powdered sugar, corn syrup, salt, margarine, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
2. Mix until the dough doesn’t feel sticky. You may add more powdered sugar to make it less sticky 1/4 to 1/3 cup. be sure to add it slowly and stop when the dough feels dry.
3. Divide the dough into smaller balls and put each ball into a separate bowl.
4. Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl. Make the dough in each bowl a different color.
5. Mix the food coloring into the dough with a spoon so you don’t stain your hands. Once the food coloring starts ti blend in, use your hands to knead it in.
6. Sculpt a creation. Eat them soon as they will become rock hard over time.
THE RESULTS:
I made a 1/2 recipe all in the same color to keep things simple. The clay took a lot of mixing to get it to come together. I did have to add the extra 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, ABOUT THREE TIMES! The clay was very sticky for a long time. I added about 1 teaspoon of red paste color. When I got to the point of kneading the clay, I added MORE powdered sugar, maybe a cup. I stopped when the surface of the clay would crack a little when I pushed down on it. Despite all the extra sugar this clay still gets sticky when your hands get warm. It is sugar after all. So, here is how it rates on my criterion.
- Stickiness: Not too bad, although doing this on a sunny deck may be problematic. C
- Color Fast: Also, not bad a after all the mixing was done and it rested for a minute or two. B
- Consistency: As you can see in the photo below, there is a lot of slump. C-
- Taste: Like frosting. S thought we should have something that tasted more like candy, or that we flavor each color differently. That would be easily accomplished by substituting various extracts for the vanilla.
Candy Clay Bear made with the "Frosting" Recipe
