Monster Suckers

These cute green monster suckers taste like apple and look simply ghoulish! They are easy to make and are sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

While I typically lean towards chocolatey candy treats like Chocolate Turtles or Candy Rolo Bites, my kids LOVE suckers. Especially when they are as cute as these Monster suckers!! 

We love suckers!!

My kids love to eat suckers of all kinds. We’ve been making them for years, and when my sister was in town last week we busted out a batch.

They are SO easy to do if you have the molds and supplies. We decided that this time around we would make some monster themed suckers. I think they actually look a lot like Mike from Monsters Inc. They are just so cute! They would be perfect for monster parties or Halloween treats!

Using a candy thermometer makes the process much easier. And while pouring the candy into the molds can get messy, it is easily cleaned! So glad we had some Monster Fun in the kitchen putting together these awesome treats!!

How to make suckers

PREP. Put molds and sticks together. Place on cookie sheet and spray. Put in freezer until candy is ready.

COOK. Put all ingredients except flavoring and color in a pan. Cook to hard crack stage (300 degrees).

FLAVOR + COLOR. Add flavoring and coloring. Stir about two minutes.

SET. Pour into molds (can be purchased HERE). Add Candy eyeballs. Let set for 10-15 minutes. Remove molds and ENJOY!

Variations:

Don’t these suckers resemble Mike from Monsters Inc? I made all my suckers pretty similar, but you can change things up with these suggestions:

• Shapes: I used circles, but you can use squares, diamonds or any other monster shape.
• Eyes: You can see that I used both large and small eyes. You can also add more than one eye per sucker.
• Colors/Flavors: You can easily change up the color and flavors you use for these suckers.
  • Red coloring could be paired with cinnamon, cherry or strawberry flavoring.
  • Orange color and orange flavoring.
  • Purple with grape flavoring.
  • Green with lime or watermelon flavoring

Tips, Variations + Storing Info

I highly recommend using a Candy Thermometer to make the suckers. If you simply cannot get your hands on one, then you can try the Hard Crack Test:

• Have a bowl of very cold water next to the stove.
• When the syrup starts boiling drop a little bit of the syrup into a bowl of cold water.
• After a second or two take the syrup out of the cold water. If it forms hard, brittle threads that break without bending at all (this is the hard crack stage) it is done. If the syrup is squishy or bends before breaking it still needs to cook a little longer.

Weather can affect the way the suckers cook: Making them on humid days can cause the suckers to absorb extra moisture from the air and cause the lollipops to not harden completely. So it is best to make homemade suckers on days that the weather is dry. 

Spray the molds before you put the mixture in them. This will help prevent the candy from sticking to the molds. The suckers should be ready to take out of the molds after 10-15 minutes of setting.

Cooling: Allow the suckers to cool and harden at room temperature. Do NOT try cooling the suckers in the fridge or freezer.

Candy strands: You may notice strands of candy that have snuck out of the candy mold. Simply break off any run away pieces after the suckers have hardened. 

STORE homemade hard candy suckers in a cool dry place. They can last for several weeks. Use individual sucker wraps with twist ties to store the suckers. Keep in a container, use wax paper to separate the layers.

For more Halloween Treats:

• Halloween Sugar Cookies
• Melted Witch Bark
• Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats
• Oogie Boogie Sundae
• Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats
• Chocolate Oreo Spider Cake