Hi, i've decided to try making hard candy lollipops for my daughter bday... everything i see available to buy is either $4+ each or made in China.... no thanks. 

So I've figured out the process for making the candy... the temp, the molds.. how long to wait.

What I'm not sure of is how to keep the rest of the candy while the ones cooling are cooling.  Do i keep the mixture warm?  Do i let it cool completely and reheat?  Should I buy enough molds to finish batches quicker? 

Thanks for any advice =0)

AThey cool pretty fast...are you just using regular sugar? If you have a pan that can go into the oven you could put it into a 225 (or so) oven to keep the sugar liquid while the molded ones are cooling. I do small batches and pour the sugar into silicone cupcake cups, then give it 5-10 seconds in the microwave to keep it pourable. It works fine but you have to be careful not to overfill the cups.

Or you could get a heat lamp and do it the "right" way, but what's the fun in that?

AYou could also put the pan of sugar back on low heat every now and then to loosen it up when it starts being too stiff to pour.

Would putting the pan on a heating pad be a high-enough temperature to keep the sugar liquid? You could try a small batch to see.

Or you could use a casserole warmer like this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007UF3GE/?tag=cakecentral-20

Wrap it in a towel and heat in the microwave. Might work.

Or put it in a Crockpot on low.

I'd just do a small batch at a time, to tell the truth. If you're using molds you can just pour it straight into the molds from the pan once you shock the pan in ice water to stop the cooking. I guess it depends on how many molds you have, but that would be the easiest way to do it.

y'know i just ditch the last part of the sugar stuff--

i always have leftover that after the first coupla rounds into the molds that i just don't want to deal with anymore

i get what i need & get out ;)

i was reminded of another idea for using up the last dregs looking through some notes last night

you can pour the suckers free form to use up the last bits

i don't know i think i'd dip the end of the stick in a bit of hot candy and set aside

space out onto a nice silpat to wait till after i got as many molds finished

then the sugar is getting a little thicker right

you're a little more accustomed to pouring by this point

just pour little self forming rounds on top of the dipped sucker sticks

it only spreads so much--pour slow

just to use up all the leftovers and not be a slouch like moi