The Easy Way To Make Fluffy Cotton Candy Without A Fancy Machine

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The thought of cotton candy (aka fairy floss or candy floss) tends to send shivers of nostalgia down our spines. After all, most of us only get to eat the fluffy sugary treat at childhood events, like state fairs, festivals, carnivals, circuses, or a visit to the boardwalk. But it's actually easier to relive those experiences at home than you think. All you need is sugar, a pot, a stove, and a hand mixer to make the confection in your own home.

The technique is simple: mix sugar with a small drop of food coloring, stir the sugar over low heat until it is fully dissolved, and then slowly pour the sugar mixture — a small amount at a time — over the single blade of a rotating hand mixer in a bowl. The sugar forms fine strands that can then be rolled up over a stick for a small handheld treat. Just make sure you use a high-walled bowl to avoid splatter — hot sugar can result in third-degree burns, after all. 

In many ways, the experience isn't all that different from that of a traditional cotton candy machine. First invented by a dentist and a candymaker at the turn of the 19th century and introduced at the World's Fair in 1904, a traditional cotton candy machine uses heat and centrifugal force to melt granulated sugar and spin it into fine strands and trap air between those strands.

Still, you don't quite get the usual soft, pillowy appearance you expect from cotton candy. And, as celebrity chef Eitan Bernath demonstrated, the approach takes a little finesse and is not necessarily foolproof. The young chef's attempts to replicate the method yielded less than a teaspoon of "cotton candy," which his followers suggested looked more like spun sugar than the carnival confection.

You can also make cotton candy at home with Jolly Ranchers by placing three of the unwrapped candies in a microwave for 30 seconds and then blowing the resulting syrup through a straw onto parchment paper. Again, you'll end up with sugary strands that you can gather up and roll over the straw — though it's closer to the real thing.

Perhaps the best way to get that true carnival feel is to buy a tabletop cotton candy machine. The Candery makes one that comes with five flavors of cotton candy sugar and paper cones. Talk about fun for a backyard blast. If you want to add more of a festive feel, you can always make homemade corn dogs. Or, if it's the sweetness you crave, maybe cotton candy grapes will do?