First, set out 3 large silicone mats onto a completely flat surface.
Next, spread the lollipop sticks over the mats and place the snowflake fondant decorations face down, either individually or in small groups, above the sticks where the candy will go. Leave enough space between them to form full lollipops that won’t run into each other.
Then, pour the sugar, water, and corn syrup into a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Gently stir with a silicone spatula until the mixture comes to a boil, making sure not to splash the mixture up the sides of the saucepan.
Once the mixture is boiling, immediately stop stirring and do not stir again for the rest of the cooking. Use a silicone brush moistened with warm water to wipe down the sides of the saucepan to wash away any forming crystals.
With a candy thermometer, check the temperature of the lollipop mixture. When the candy mixture reaches 300F, remove the saucepan from the heat and put the bottom of the hot pan into a tub of room-temperature water for 30 seconds.
Then, pour the desired flavor extracts and food coloring into the candy mixture in the saucepan.
Next, very carefully pour the candy mixture on top of the snowflake fondant decorations, and over part of the lollipop sticks, to make the lollipop shapes. Do this in groups of 3, following up immediately with the next step.
Then, immediately top the freshly poured candy with sugar pearls and edible glitter stars if desired, and spin each lollipop stick so it is completely covered in the sticky candy.
Repeat this process with the remaining candy, doing 3 at a time.
Finally, let the lollipops harden at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving!
Notes
Process Tips:
When putting in the fondant decorations in my test batches, I tried multiple ways to get the best-looking lollipop. At the beginning, I tried pouring the candy onto the mat first, then stuck the decorations on top of the hot lollipop mixture. While this may seem like the best way to do it, it was not! If you pour the mixture first, then place the decorations, you may find that the lollipop mixture cools way too quickly for you to place down your decorations in time.
I found that by placing down the fondant decorations face-down on the mat first and then pouring the lollipop mixture over the decorations is far easier and much more effective. Doing it in this order lets you have the decorations already positioned and ready for the lollipop mixture, so you don’t have to race the clock so much.
If you feel like your lollipop mixture is becoming too hard to pour, it is best to leave it be and start on another batch. I know that can be disheartening to hear, but if you try to re-heat the mixture, the color will become cloudy, which isn’t good at all if you’re aiming for picture-perfect lollipops like I was. You need to be able to act quickly when pouring the lollipops, which is another reason it’s best to have your decorations already in place.