How to Make Spinning Tops out of Candy
Ever since we made our World’s Best Spinning Tops last year, I have been wanting to figure out a fun way to make tops out of candy. I knew a Lifesaver and Gobstopper would work for the base, but couldn’t figure out what to use for the handle. I also didn’t want to have to use icing, as I didn’t think it would hold together well enough with my boys (and proved such during one of our tests). :)
After several trials, we finally figured out how to make spinning tops out of candy! It isn’t foolproof, so you might have a bit of a learning curve…but the end result is pretty fun!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Lifesavers (the mint kind, not the colored variety)
Play-Doh (for cooling)
Please note: Most of the steps involved in this process are for ADULTS ONLY, as you will be handling hot candy.
1. Line your pan with parchment paper. Unwrap a few lifesavers and dum-dums and place the dum-dums on top of the lifesavers on the parchment paper. I would suggest only doing 2-3 at a time. Once you remove them from the oven, you will not have time to secure the gobstopper onto more than 2-3 before the melted dum-dum hardens.
2. Place in the oven at 250 degrees until the dum-dum has melted and pooled over the sides of the lifesaver. The time will vary greatly based on your oven, so just stay close and check it every few minutes.
3. I did not get a picture of this step because I had to work so quickly. However, this is the most important step and it is for ADULTS ONLY! Take the pan out of the oven and quickly remove the dum-dum and lifesaver (which should now be stuck together). You will have some melted dum-dum that stays on the parchment paper. That’s okay. Just remove what you can and then as quickly as possible, stick the gobstopper onto the center of the lifesaver, using the melted dum-dum as glue. Again, you will have to work very quickly and most of your dum-dum will be melted. It will be hot, so be careful not to burn your fingers.
4. Turn your concoction over and place in a tub of play-doh to cool. Make sure that the gobstopper is sitting as perfectly upright as possible.
5. Snip the ends of the lollipop stick (I cut about half of the remaining portion off).
Watch your candy spinning tops spin like crazy!!!
See how well they spin by watching the video below:
Be sure to check out our original spinning tops and also our painting with tops activity!
