Add Christmas to Your Hot Drinks With This DIY Lollipop Syrup
I love candy. I love the way it looks. I love the smell. I love the taste. And while mint-curved sugar sticks are great tools for stirring hot cocoa, the easiest way to give your drinks a ton of candy character is to melt a whole bunch of them into syrup.
After all, they’re mostly sugar, so they dissolve quite easily in hot water. All you have to do is toss 10 broken candies into a saucepan, add 3/4 cup water, place on the stove, and stir over medium heat until the candies dissolve, leaving behind a very festive, very red, very peppery mint syrup. If you want a thicker syrup, add more candy (or bring it to a boil and drain off some water). If you want a thinner syrup, add more water. It’s very hard to screw up.
Once the vibrant syrup has cooled, pour it into a pretty bottle, then use it to make candy cocoa, lollipop sweet tea (green tea works well here), or DIY mocha. You can also drizzle it over chocolate ice cream, whip up a milkshake, or shake it with a little bourbon for a candy julep. It will also be a very nice gift. Tie it with a red bow, put it in an unusual bag, possibly with hot cocoa or tea. You can also add some extra candies. Candy makes everything more festive.