It’s here! Lollipop Love is officially out!
LollipopLove cover
Lollipop Love should be showing up in bookstores, or you can order it online
If you missed them, here are some of my previous posts that give more details on the book:
And just to whet your sweet tooth some more, here are some images from the book:
The gorgeous photos are by Antonis Achilleos (all photos in this post are courtesy of Chronicle Books). Above are my Rosewater Saffron Lollipops – the rose syrup is what gives them their delicate pink hue. Although you can use different colorings to create some vivid and colorful lollipops, you can go natural as well; in this case, it’s just as pretty.
The classic sugar lollipop is made with granulated sugar, but I explore some additional different sweeteners, such as maple syrup, agave syrup, and barley sugar water. The barley sugar lollipops pictured above are a traditional British sweet. Although you can find basic round lollipop molds fairly easily, there’s a whole range of unique and funky molds out there. I list my favorite sources in the book; they can really inspire you to get creative with your lollipop making!
There’s a section on caramel-based lollipops, from butterscotch to almond toffee. And there’s this fun little hybrid: Dulce de Leche Swirl Lollipops, a sugar lollipop with a swirled center of dulce de leche. This one took a few tries to perfect but I think the final results are quite eyecatching!
Finally, there’s a section on chocolate lollipops, including these fun swirled chocolate lollipops and chocolate dipped marshmallows. Some of the recipes don’t even require tempering chocolate!
“Lollipop Love” by Jennifer Kahn Barlow
To celebrate the release of Lollipop Love I have a super exciting giveaway, probably the most unique one I’ve done on this site. I was contacted by Jennifer Kahn Barlow, a talented painter who has been creating a wonderful series of paintings of all things sweet. She was inspired by Lollipop Love and wanted to create a painting based off the photos in the book.
Above is her painting of the photo of Honeycomb Toffee Lollipops from the book. How incredible is that?? I am so flattered that my lollipops have been immortalized by such a fantastic artist! The painting is for sale here along with some of her other beautiful pieces.
Even better, Jennifer has generously agreed to donate a print of this painting for a giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a 11×14 print of the Lollipop Love painting plus a copy of Lollipop Love. An additional two winners will receive a copy of Lollipop Love. So please enter below, and good luck! I am so excited about this and I hope you are too!
Please note this contest is open to US residents only. Thanks so much!
Anita Chu, also known as pastrygirl, is a baker, writer, and photographer with a passion for pastry. She trained at Tante Marie's Cooking School and is the author of Field Guide to Cookies, Field Guide to Candy, and Lollipop Love. Anita lives in San Francisco with her husband, daughter, and dog Max. 
Congratulations! That’s so exciting. Your lollypops are beautiful. I noticed rock candy pictured in one image … yay and YUM!
These photos are all so gorgeous and look delish! Congrats on your cookbook!
Congratulations! The book looks beautiful and so much fun!!!
all of this looks sooooo good
Awesome! So excited to check it out! 🙂
Looks amazing!
oh how fun this is!
Congratulations!!!! And seriously, what a FUN cookbook!
Congratulations! Gorgeous photos!
Congratulations! Such a fun cookbook! It looks amazing.
Yum!
What a great idea for a cookbook!! My sweet tooth loves it! LOL
Congratulations on the new cookbook Anita! And that painting is too cool.
Congrats! I think I need to get this book for my mom – she used to make lollipops for us when we were kids. I haven’t thought about that in ages, till I saw this post!
Congratulations! Such spectacular sweets! I can’t wait to try them all! 🙂
Congratulations! The book is just lovely.
Congratulations! Your book is beautiful! Can’t wait to make these lollipops. the painting is inspirational.
My kids and I would love this book! How fun!
Congratulations! Much success to you!
Congratulations on your cookbook! What a fun subject!
My 10 year old Little Chef needs this book in her life…she would LOVE it! Congrats!
What pretty, pretty lollipops! I’ve actually never made any type of lollipop before, but now I can’t wait too, they are so cute!
Congrats! This book looks soooo fun!
Congratulations indeed! The photos look amazing. I’m wanting one now.
Congrats! Great cookbook! Love sweets.
These are so pretty, such a great idea!
Congratulations on your latest book, Anita! I shall have to add it to my collection of your works.
COngrats! This is so so exciting! I can’t wait to see the book in person. It’s my dream to have my own cookbook or to at least take the photographers for a cookbook.
Congratulations on the book! The photos are gorgeous and the lollipops look delicious!
Looks like a nice book!
First – congratulations! Second – OMG the pictures all look so amazing! This book looks like so much fun!
Congratulations! What stunning photos….would love to win a copy of the book!
Hi Anita!
I purchased your book because I am a maker of fine lollipops. I was in a rut, and there were no cookbooks out their specifically for suckers. Your book gave me some great ideas! Currently I’m making your caramel suckers. I was hoping for a hard caramel lollipop, but your are coming out soft and pliable. Do you have any ideas on how to make a hard, solid caramel sucker?
Hi Mark,
Thanks for getting my cookbook! If you want your lollipops harder, I would try cooking the caramel mixture to 310 degrees (be careful not to let it burn). You can also try reducing the cream and butter in the recipe. Hope that helps and let me know if you need more suggestions!
Congrats!
all of the lollipops look delicious!
This looks soooo freaking awesome! Super unique and I would love to win!
These are beautiful! Congratulations!!!
Your book is stunning!!! What a great concept.
Congratulations, Anita! What an accomplishment. I can’t wait to check it out! I hope it’s a huge success.
Hi. Excited about book. I enter candy and baked goods at CA state fair. I can predict more blue ribbons with the help of your book
Thanks so much for your kind words! I really hope you like the recipes in the book!
I found the quantity of ingredients called for gave me a very small amount of liquid in the pot. I had to double the recipe and move to a 1.5 quart saucepan, versus the 3-4 quart pan called for. The instructions could use a little more detail for the novice candy maker like myself. It would be helpful to know that you’re supposed to stir the mixture until it boils, then stop stirring and place your thermometer. A ballpark number would be helpful on how long it should take the boiling liquid to reach 300 degrees. I had no idea it would take 20-30 minutes.
Hi Kathryn,
Thanks for trying out my cookbook and for your feedback! Was the amount of liquid you made enough to make 24 small lollipops, or was it not enough? I designed the recipes to make an appropriate size batch for a home baker, and it was decided that 24 lollipops was a good amount. I was concerned that if that batch was larger it would force bakers to buy a larger number of lollipop molds than was practical. However, if you did not get enough liquid to make 24 lollipops, perhaps something else went wrong in the cooking process – maybe too much of the water boiled off. I and other recipe testers were able to get 24 lollipops from the recipe, but if you could not let me know and I can help troubleshoot what happened.
It’s also likely that if you doubled the recipe that it would take longer for the liquid to reach 300 degrees. The amount of time it takes for a sugar mixture to reach a certain temperature can vary widely depending on amount of liquid, size of pan, and intensity of heat. I hear your comment that more guidance would be helpful, so in the future I’ll try to give a temperature range and more pointers as you suggested. Again, thank you for taking the time to send me your feedback, please e-mail me if you would like to discuss any of the lollipop recipes!