Candy Buttons – a nostalgic, retro candy made of colorful royal icing dots on paper strips.
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I decided to make these homemade candy buttons after I had leftover royal icing from a cupcake job. It turns out these candy buttons are very easy to make. In fact, the hardest part was cutting them into perfect strips.
To make these royal icing Candy Buttons, you simply need to make a batch of royal icing and mix up a few of your favorite colors. I used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Electric Blue, Electric Yellow, Electric Green, Tulip Red, and Regal Purple.
To create the dots, I used decorating tip #3, a few fresh/clean pieces of computer paper, and this handy candy button template. I used the template as a guide and put it under the computer paper sheets, rather than piping the royal icing directly onto the template.
Royal icing dries hard and relatively quickly, so unused royal icing should be covered and sealed well. I put mine in an airtight container, covered with plastic wrap, and then put the cover over that.
After I piped dots of royal icing onto many sheets of paper, I left them out, uncovered, to dry/harden overnight. The next day, I enlisted help from my hubby in cutting them into perfect Candy Button strips with an X-Acto knife.
The whole process was relatively simple, and it was fun to create a favorite childhood candy.
Candy Buttons
Ingredients
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 6 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste or Food Coloring
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes.
- Divide royal icing into small bowls, one for each color you plan on mixing. Add a drop of color to each bowl and mix until royal icing is desired color.
- Pour royal icing into a pastry bag with decorating tip #3, or into a plastic sandwich bag and cut a small corner off the sandwich bag.
- Place the candy button template under computer paper and pipe small dots onto the paper over each template dot.
- Allow royal icing candy buttons to dry/harden in a cool dry place, uncovered, overnight.
- Once candy buttons have dried cut into strips. This could also be done before you pipe the royal icing dots. Eat & Enjoy!
Sherri Kiskaden says
Do I have to use almond extract? What if I want a different flavor? I cannot wait to make these.
Sarah says
Hi Sherri! The almond extract makes them taste more authentic but you do not have to use it; you could use a different extract if you like. Thanks & Happy Baking!
Alyssa D. {Suitcases & Sweets} says
No way! I can't believe you made these! I have such great memories of eating them as a child and never thought to try making them myself. Brilliant idea. 🙂
Sarah says
They are really quite easy and my sister says they are better than the originals. If you make them, I'd love to hear what you think and how you think they compare.