Beautifully presented lollipops in an array of flavors make a creative gift for a liquor aficionado. While these lollipops are quick to make, you need to wait a day for their flavor to develop–the subtle and intriguing results are worth it. Lollipop molds make the process quicker, but you can also use a baking sheet and silicone mat instead.–Nina Wanat
LC Our Wish List Note
We just added these subtly flavored lovelies to our Christmas wish list. If anyone needs our mailing address, just email us.
Special Equipment: Lollipop molds or a silicone baking mat, lollipop sticks (available online or at specialty stores), pastry brush, candy or deep-fry thermometer.
Liquor Lollipops Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon hard liquor, such as bourbon, tequila, or rum
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon food coloring of your choice (optional)
Directions
- 1. If you don’t have lollipop molds, place a silicone mat on a baking sheet.
- 2. Mix together 1/4 cup of the liquor, and the water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 1- or 2-quart saucepan until all of the sugar is wet. If sugar crystals cling to the sides of the pan, dissolve them away with a wet pastry brush.
- 3. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally and gently with a heatproof spatula until all of the sugar is dissolved. Then boil to 300°F (149°C) without stirring.
- 4. Remove from the heat, and, working quickly, mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon liquor and food coloring, if using. Still working with haste, drop the syrup into either lollipop molds or onto a silicone mat.
If using lollipop molds, quickly drop the syrup from the tip of a large spoon into the cavities of the lollipop molds. Place a lollipop stick in the center of each disk, and twist it 180 degrees so that it’s fully covered in syrup. Let cool completely.
If using a silicone mat, quickly drop the syrup onto the silicone mat so that it forms 2-inch disks and immediately after plopping the syrup on the sheets place a lollipop stick in the center of each disk and twist it 180 degrees so that it’s fully covered in syrup. Let cool completely. - 5. Peel the lollipops from the molds or silicone and store in an airtight container, preferably at least overnight to allow the flavors to develop, until ready to indulge.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Red Champagne Lollipops from The Sugar Bar
- Bourbon Balls from Savour Fare
- Pecan Praline Bites from Leite's Culinaria
- Caribbean Rum Truffles from Leite's Culinaria
Liquor Lollipops Recipe © 2011 Nina Wanat. Photo © 2011 Diane Cu | Todd Porter. All rights reserved.


[Terri D.] Liquor Lollipops — love this idea. The liquor lollipops make me think of a grown-up treat, like Jello shots, which is fitting as we have a 21st birthday in the house this week. I could have gone overboard on the different varieties to make up after raiding the liquor cabinet, but I settled on making one pop with tequila with a little fresh lime added; I also used green food coloring. These came out very flavorful, but also tasted the most of alcohol. I also made a peach-flavored vodka, and I added one tablespoon of peach schnapps as the kicker after cooking (and yellow and red food coloring that came out a perfect peachy color) which came out delicious. In all these were a tasty and unique homemade treat that was easy to put together and very simple to clean up — my idea of a good recipe. Only, I have a toothache today — wonder why?.
[Natalie R.] This was my first excursion into candy making, and what an adventure it was. Because I had never tried to make candy before, I had no equipment. This gave me an opportunity to go to the local kitchen shop and browse through their candy-making supplies. While there, I picked up a candy thermometer (a must), a silicone candy tray (I could not find lollipop molds), and some lollipop sticks. I measured all the ingredients into my pan and clipped the thermometer on the side of the saucepan. Getting to the required 300 degrees seemed to take a while, so I decided to go and accomplish some other task. This was a big mistake. Within moments, my kitchen was filled with smoke and my saucepan had bubbling black goo in it (not a fun clean-up job). At this point, I decided to calibrate my candy thermometer. While doing this, it became apparent my candy thermometer did not work. It would not go much above 100 degrees – even after boiling for 10 minutes. This necessitated another trip to the kitchen store. After bringing the new candy thermometer home, I began again (calibrating this one first – it worked). It only took a few minutes for the temperature to rise to 300 degrees. I pulled the sugar mixture off the heat and poured into my candy molds. I then placed the lollipop sticks into the molds and gave them the 180 turn. To my surprise, my sticks began to fall over. It was then that I realized I was making lollipops, not suckers. I found a way to get the sticks to sit-up somewhat straight and waited for the lollipops to cool. While their appearance gave us all a giggle, the pops themselves are delicious. The texture is smooth, and the taste was so good. All of this to say, if I could mess the recipe so badly and still have a tasty product result, it is a keeper. I think these lollipops (made correctly next time) will make excellent gifts. My suggestions? One: Calibrate the candy thermometer first. Two: Do not leave unattended. Three: Find lollipop molds and use them.
Great idea & recipe! Do you have any recipes for lollipops that use Grand Marnier or other liqeuers? When adding additional flavorings, such as lemon peel or an herb (rosemary), when would that fit into the process?
Hey, blang, nice to hear that you’re as enthralled with these lovely little lollipops–and their untold potential–as we are! As for any tweaks to the recipe, it may require a few different batches along with your daring spirit to perfect the technique, but you could substitute a liqueur for the liquor as long as you cut back slightly on the sugar. As far as adding citrus zest or herbs, we’d suggest you infuse the liquor or liqueur with the desired aroma and flavor prior to commencing the recipe. This can be done by simply blending the ingredient with the booze, steeping the mixture for several days in the fridge, and then straining the little bits from the concoction, as we do in Spruce Needle Vodka http://leitesculinaria.com/61820/recipes-spruce-needle-vodka.html. Do let us know how it goes…
How can you make these liquor pops without cooking the alcohol so that they are actual liquor pops as opposed to a liquor flavored pop?
Hi Nissa, one of our testers, Terri, added a tablespoon of liquor at the end of cooking. You might take a look at her comment above. This technique might give you the kick that you are looking for.
Thanks, it worked great! Just one more question, how would you go about making a cream liqueur lolipop, like White Russian or Irish cream liqueur pops?
Nissa, swell to hear that you liked ‘em! As for tweaking the recipe to accommodate liqueur, honestly? Sounds terrific! Although that would be an entirely different recipe, one we haven’t tested yet, so I hesitate to offer any advice lest I inadvertently steer you astray. We’ve asked around and will let you know if any of our testers have tried tweaking the recipe in that fashion. In the meantime, anyone else out there tried that?
Do you think 8-10 hours would be enough time for the lollipops to develop their flavor?
I think that would be a perfect time for a taste test, Melissa. You can always let them develop more if need be.
What is the shelf life of the lollipops once they are wrapped up?
Hi Katie, to be perfectly honest, these lollipops get licked pretty quickly so we can’t vouch for shelf life. If you make them and are able to keep any from the masses, let us know your results.
I wanted to know if a liquor lollypop was already invented and found this recipe. I was disapointed becase I was hoping it was the one thing that no one had thought of yet. Turns out it doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to try and make these lollipops—and to eat them. Thank you for posting it.
Heh, we like the way you’re thinking! And although these have already been invented, you can still use your creativity in creating various flavors. We’re curious to hear what you try….
Could I do this with kahlua? If so, could I skip the extra sugar since it already has some in it? The kahlua is homemade.
Maggie, since we haven’t tried it with Kahlua and a lesser amount of sugar, we’re a little leery of saying “By all means, go ahead!” I think it could work well, it’d just require a little attentive tweaking in terms of taste and, possibly, timing. Please let us know if you give it a twirl…!
Attempted twice. And both times the mix burned at 250. Any suggestions?!?!
Hi Shana, have you checked your thermometer? One of our testers had a similar problem caused by a faulty thermometer.
B CAN YOU HANDLE? THANKS Hi, question about the molds – do they have to be oiled with something? I made the recipe and bought molds from Michaels, which are plastic, but lollipops will not come out. Will try the recipe again. Hope you can give me some ideas of what I did or didn’t do correctly so that they pop out?
Quzine
Hi Quzine, I’m reaching out to our testers to see how they handled this sticky situation. In the meantime, what kind of molds did you use- hard plastic or flexible silicon?
Hello Quizine, When I tested these I used silicon molds, and the lollipops “popped” (please excuse the pun) right out. I did not oil or prep them in any way. I have heard of some who use oil spray on the plastic molds to make removal of the lollipops easier, but nothing needs to be done when silicon molds are used. I hope this helps. Happy candy making to you.
I tried the recipe 3 times, the first time was great. The next two times they wouldn’t harden, I think I put too much alcohol in at the end. Is there a way to make them harden without having to throw away the liquid?
Hi Talia, do you still have some syrup in a liquid state? Have you tried simmering it for a bit then taking it up to 300?