The Best Method To Melt Jolly Ranchers

Whether you find yourself with extra candy from Christmas stockings or from Halloween trick-or-treating, you may have discovered that, after using your chocolate treats to whip up baked goods, you have a startling amount of leftover Jolly Ranchers. However, we are here to tell you that although Jolly Ranchers are often overshadowed by the likes of Snickers and KitKats, this hard candy is just as delicious and versatile in the kitchen. And the key to unlocking limitless Jolly Rancher treats is simple — you just need to melt them.

So let's say you're looking for a way to liven up your candied apples. By following Emmy Made's recipe, you can whip up a sparkling batch of melted Jolly Rancher-coated fruit with the remains of your Halloween candy. Or maybe you want to do a fun DIY baking project on a Saturday afternoon? One Little Project notes that melting down your stash of Christmas sweets can make for easy and delicious Jolly Rancher lollipops. However, if you can't wait to try out these recipes but are unsure of how to go about melting your candy, we have you covered.

Many recipes, like Hershey's take on Jolly Rancher lollipops, state you should melt your Jolly Ranchers in the oven. However, there's another way to get one of the 90s' most beloved hard candies ripe for the baking that takes less work and less time: Tastylicious reports that you can skip the baking sheet and use a microwave instead. 

All you need to successfully melt your candy in the microwave is a batch of unwrapped Jolly Ranchers, a microwave-safe bowl, and a pair of gloves to use to safely handle the hot baking tool (per Food Items). For reference on how much candy you should melt at a time, Tastylicious notes that heating up five Jolly Ranchers in your microwave will produce around a tablespoon of the melted ingredient. After you've assembled what you need, the same outlet reports that for the best results, you should heat your Jolly Ranchers for one minute. If your candy isn't totally melted after a full minute passes, you should then heat up the Jolly Ranchers for 15 seconds at a time, only stopping once they are fully transformed into pure liquid. 

Once your Jolly Ranchers are completely melted, you can then start making hard candy dishes that will delight your taste buds and make a dent in your leftover holiday candy stash.