Lollipops! Make Your Own!

Lollipops! Make Your Own Chocolate, Fruit & Nut Variety! Deliciously easy!

I know that you can buy lollipops, but believe me these lollipops are so much fun to make and if they are for kids parties then get the kids involved.

You can use a mould to make perfectly rounded lollipops but I like that rustic feel, it shows they have been lovingly hand made.

Choose your own favourite toppings for the chocolate, such as pistachio nuts, dried sour cherries or apricots.

This recipe makes 24 delicious lollipops.

Lollipops! Make Your Own!

• 350g dark chocolate chips
• 24 wooden lollipop sticks
• 115g white chocolate chips
• 150g mixed dried fruit and nuts, chopped (I’m using dried strawberries, mango and pistachio nuts)

Method

Line, several baking sheets with sheets of greaseproof paper.

Place 260g of the dark chocolate chips in a heat-resistant bowl and set it over a pan of gently simmering water to melt.

Stir the chocolate until it has melted.

Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining dark chocolate chips, this will help the chocolate from becoming grainy.

Keep stirring until the chocolate has completely melted and smooth.

Spoon rounds of the melted chocolate onto the prepared baking sheets as neatly as you can (use a round cookie cutter as a guide if that makes it easier).

Work on 6 lollipops at a time, so that the chocolate does not begin to set before you are ready.

Position a lollipop stick in each chocolate disc, turning the stick over the make sure that it is completely coated, check that it is far enough into the chocolate and it is neatly in the centre of the chocolate disc.

Once the lollipops are finished, leave them to set until they are hard.

Melt the white chocolate chips in the same way as the dark chocolate.

Use a spoon to drizzle it over the chocolate discs.

Sprinkle the fruit and nut mixture over the white chocolate before it starts to harden, pressing it in slightly if necessary to make sure it sticks.

Leave the lollipops to set, and then carefully lift them off the baking sheets, using a metal spatula.

I like to wrap them up nicely to present as gifts, or wouldn’t they look great in a party goody bag!

Now there’s a thought!

Now don’t you think these look yummy enough to eat?!