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how to make candy buttons
I always loved those old fashioned candy buttons—remember the ones with the brightly colored blobs stuck to strips of white paper? I loved them even when they tore the paper and I got a mouth full of it.
Back when I only had my son, and had a lot more time to be creative, I used to make iced sugar cookies. Since they took an entire day to complete, they were a pure labor of love. But it was satisfying when I flooded the royal icing just right, and ended up with a cookie with a perfectly smooth, silky surface.
I don’t know why I never made the connection, but I finally discovered that the same royal icing I used to flood my cookies was the same thing they used to make candy buttons. Naturally, I had to give them a try.
Last week, when I was done making sugar cookies for my cookbook, I had some extra royal icing in two squeeze bottles: one pink, and one lavender. They were the perfect colors to try out some candy buttons, and the perfect colors for Valentine’s Day.
The trick of using squeeze bottles for royal icing is an idea I got from watching a special segment on Martha Stewart Living. They did a little story on Elani’s, a New York based cookie bakery that seems to have started the trend of making those flooded iced cookies. In the little video, they were using the clear squeeze bottles for all their frosting, whether it was for piping or filling, so I’ve used the same technique ever since. You can get them in the cake decorating supply section of most craft stores, and they’re readily available from Wilton cake supplies. I love them, and highly recommend them for decorating.
royal icing
If you are making this icing for frosting cookies, double it.
I’m always a little hesitant to use fresh egg whites in this recipe, since they aren’t cooked, and I don’t like using meringue powder since it’s loaded with all sorts of ingredients I can’t pronounce. But I recently discovered all natural powdered egg whites (which you can purchase here). They’re ideal for this recipe, though liquid pasteurized egg whites are alright, too. They just don’t set up as well as when you use the powdered egg whites.
2 cups powdered sugar, plus more if necessary
3 tablespoons warm water
1 egg white, or 2 teaspoons of powdered egg white plus 2 tablespoons of additional water
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Place all ingredients in a bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed for 5-6 minutes until thick and glossy. Icing should fall in ribbons when you lift it with a spoon and let it fall back into the bowl. The ribbon should sit on the surface for about 3-4 seconds before “melting” back into the bowl.
2. Divide icing, tint with desired colors, and pour into food safe squeeze bottles. Cut strips of parchment paper or copy paper. Squeeze little drops of icing in rows along the strips of paper. Allow to dry for 6 hours, or overnight.
39 Responses to “how to make candy buttons”
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Secrets. You know them!! Love this
I adore those button candies! Love the idea of making my own. What fun!
What type of “ribbon” do you use? Wax paper?
Wow, these are amazing! I can’t wait to make some for Valentine’s Day. Yay!
Amy– I used parchment paper, which was both good and bad. Though the buttons came off smoothly, they did tend to fall off as well. So if you don’t want them to fall off, I imagine regular paper would be fine as well.
These look awesome!
Tweeted…. @sahfoodie
Could you also add flavoring to them?
susan–Oops, sorry. Looks like I forgot to write vanilla into the recipe. I just fixed it. You could add any other flavoring you want, too.
This looks like such a fun project!!
When you mix egg and sugar together in a bowl with a speed mixer, it tends to create an amount of heat that causes the egg to become stable enough to not cause illness if not refrigerated. Just a little fyi
so if you prefer egg, go ahead and use it. Most frosting with egg recommend being refrigerated as a precautionary measure, also if it’s hot outside, in my personal experience, they melt right off the cake or cookie. I am so doing this idea though! Thanks for sharing!
Super fun! I am getting ready to make tons of sugar cookies for school V-day parties tomorrow, so will be up to my ears in flour and frosting, so this will be perfect!
I am pretty sure that I just died and went to kid candy heaven! Oh the memories these little buttons evoke. Yours are just much more beautiful, Jaime!
[...] candy buttons? Waning nostalgic, Jaime at Sophistimom writes about making the old-school candy treat from a recipe for royal icing. These are the perfect little candy easily adapted to any [...]
Wow, I didn’t know that, Alanna. Thanks for that tip. Now I won’t be so apprehensive.
And thank you, Jen T and Jamie!
And Jen T, did you end up making them? How did they turn out??
I second that reasoning with the egg whites. We learned in pastry school that egg whites don’t typically harbor the types of bacteria that can be harmful to people. Once the eggs are separated, some restaurants and bakeries don’t even refrigerate the whites at all (I wouldn’t go that far myself, but whatever). I like to add a drop or two of lemon extract and pipe my candy buttons on edible rice paper so you can eat the whole darn thing! Rice paper by itself is bland but with the candy it tastes fine. Amazon has it for about $20 for 100 sheets. Hope this helps solve some of the paper problems!
Thanks, Amanda! It’s nice to know we don’t need to freak out over the egg whites, and I love your idea of making candy buttons on rice paper, and the lemon extract!
Would it work leaving out eggs? (egg free here due to DS allergies). I do have an icing recipe I’ve tweeked for cookies for him. Sometimes I use it to decorate molded chocolate…. maybe that would work?
Thanks for cute idea! Always looking for ways to make ‘normal kid treats’ at home or for travel ‘cuz of the allergy issue.
Jen—If you leave out the eggs, you’re pretty much left with just water and sugar, and may not get the structure you’re looking for. If you have a reliable egg replacer, you might want to give it a try and let us know how it works out. Good luck!
I grew up on these. How fun it would to make for grandkids
Love this idea! I’m going to try this soon, I’m envisioning wedding ideas of using these a table place cards! Each table a different color
Oooh, that would be beautiful, Melissa.
Love these! My two year old is turning 3 in a week. These would be so fun to give out as party favors! The kids would love them and the adults would get a kick out of them too!
Thanks for the cute idea!
Also, can you only order powdered egg whites or can it be purchased at a grocery store or cake decorating shop?
I found the powdered egg whites at a local grocery store with a really good baking section. And you can find meringue powder, which is egg whites with other additives, at a cake decorating supply place. I can usually find it at Wal-Mart.
i’m SO happy that i saw this on pinterest- my kids adore these! thanks!
Oh, good!! I’m so glad you found them!!
I used to make these ALL the time when our boys were little but stopped. Our youngest (age 12) just asked me to make a sour version so we are going to see how they come out. And thank you for including the link for the all natural powdered egg whites! Now I’m off to paint a kitchen and then make candy buttons!
Peggy–Oooh, let us know how you did with making them sour. Do you just add citric acid or something? That would be very cool.
hi Jaime what type of other flavour could you use-crushed coconut-mashed strawberry-lemon juice.
Hadiya—For flavor, I would suggest any type of all natural extract to keep the consistency in tact. I like your idea—strawberry lemon coconut? yum!
Do you use regular food coloring to color it? Or does it have to be a specific type of coloring (like you need for chocolate and some icings)?
Do you use regular food coloring to color it? Or does it have to be a specific type of coloring (like you need for chocolate and some icings)?
Amanda—Yes, I used just regular, artificial (gasp) food coloring. You could color it with all-nutural food coloring, too.
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I’m going to make these for my son’s 3 year old party! If I make them in advance, can I freeze them? How far ahead can these last?
Jill—How fun! I actually wouldn’t recommend freezing them. Freezing them could create a layer of condensation between the paper and the dot that may cause the dots to fall off. Since these dry completely, they will probably stay decently fresh for at least 2 weeks. Good luck making these!!
Would you recommend this as a easy recipe?
Jessica—Yes, I think this this a pretty easy recipe.