How To Make Cotton Candy In 6 Easy Steps

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Milagros Cruz|July 20, 2015 9:33 am EST

When kids go to an amusement park or fair, they look forward to one treat above all: cotton candy. Yes, getting together with other little ones is fun — not to mention getting their faces painted and jumping in the bouncy castle — but cotton candy is the highlight of the night. We all have memories of standing in line with other kids and choosing between pink and blue clouds of pure sugar. Even as a parent, we bet you can't resist this classic summer treat every now and then.

Now you don't have to wait for a birthday party or carnival to satisfy your cotton candy craving — you can make it right at home. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite carnival snack while you watch Netflix — you can even share with the kids, but only if you want to.

Step 1: Combine the Ingredients

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Put 4 cups of sugar, 1 cup of corn syrup, 1 cup of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the saucepan over medium high heat and stir the ingredients together until the sugar is melted. Make sure you use a pastry brush to wipe down the sides of the pan to keep sugar crystals from forming.

Step 2: Heat the Mixture

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Grab your candy thermometer and place it in the saucepan. Heat the mixture to 320 degrees F. Once the mixture has reached that temperature, pour the hot liquid into a shallow heatproof container. Add the extract and food coloring that you're using and stir the ingredients well. While the recipe above calls for raspberry extract and pink food coloring, you can use any extract or food coloring you want — be adventurous and try out some new cotton candy colors and flavors.

Step 3: Set Up Your Work Station

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Lay parchment paper over your work table.

Step 4: Spin the Sugar

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It is time to spin the sugar. Dip your whisk into the sugar syrup. Hold it over the pot and allow the sugar to drip back into the container for just a second. Hold it about one foot above the parchment and swing it back and forth so that very thin strands of sugar begin to fall on the paper. Keep going a few more times until you've got a nest of spun sugar. It may seem a little messier than the cotton candy you're used to, but it will taste just as delicious.

Step 5: Put Cotton Candy on Lollipop Sticks

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Wrap each batch of cotton candy around a lollipop stick. Make sure you do this before the cotton candy gets too brittle.

Step 6: Serve

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Now that you have all of your cotton candy on the lollipop sticks, it's time to enjoy it. If you're not going to eat the cotton candy right away, place the individual servings into a large airtight container to keep the moisture out.