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Don’t waste money on edible googly eyes you can buy at the store, instead make hundreds candy eyes for pennies. They are the perfect thing to decorate all of your holiday treats.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Halloween-ify your treats! Candy eyes are the easiest way to dress up any food or favorite Halloween treat and Halloween-ify it! Turn an ordinary treat into a Halloween treats with just a couple of edible eyeballs.
Save money! You can buy candy eyes at the craft store but you only get a couple dozen and they can be pricey. With this recipe for white candy eyes you can literally make hundreds of candy eyeballs for what you would pay for one small bag of them at the store.
Handful of ingredients. The eyes are made with royal icing that is easy to make at home and it dries hard and stores for a long time in an air tight container.
Ingredients
- Egg Whites or Meringue Powder
- Powdered Sugar or Confectioner Sugar
- Water
- Decorating Tip – Use a number 3 or 4 round tip
- Decorating Bag – I use a disposable cake decorating bag
- Black Food Coloring
How To Make Edible Googly Candy Eyes
Start by making the Royal Icing.
- Beat egg whites large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy
- Gradually add sugar.
- Beat at high speed until thickened and desired consistency. (see below for tips)
- When using meringue powder, just combine the powder sugar with the meringue powder and mix to combine. Add in water and beat at high speed until thickened and desired consistency.
- Tip # 1. The trick with using royal icing is getting it the right consistency, not too thick and not too thin. One trick is to dip a spoon into the icing and let some of the icing fall back into the bowl. You want that icing you just dripped in to disappear into the icing in the bowl within about 10 seconds or so. If it takes longer add a teeny, tiny bit more water. Only a few drops at a time.
- Tip # 2. You can also run a knife through the icing and if the indentation made starts to close back in on itself, it is the right consistency. (See video below for tips too)
- After making the royal icing, add black food coloring to 1/3 of the batch.
Piping Candy Eyes
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Attach a number 3 or 4 round tip onto a disposable cake decorating bag and fill with white royal icing. You can also just snip the tip of the bag off and not use a decorating tip.
- Hold the bag straight up, make dots of icing.
Tips
- If your icing is the right consistency the little point that is left will settle back down into the eye. But if it doesn’t, add a few more drops of water to your icing. If the eye spreads too much, your frosting is too thin. Just add a little more of the mix.
- And be sure and keep your tip clean by wiping it off often. Royal icing sets up quickly and it will start to harden on the outside of your tip.
The number of eyeballs you will get will depend on how big or small you make them, but you will be able to make hundreds! You can make a fun assortment of candy eyeballs. Any shape from small candy eyes to large candy eye balls.
- Next, put the black royal icing in a piping bag with the same size tip. Go back and add the pupil to each eye. Just add a little black, you don’t even really need to squeeze the bag, adding too much will cause it to pile up on top of the eye ball. (In the photo below, I have a bit too much black added and you can see the little pile of black)
- Let them sit out to air dry for 12-24 hours to harden up. Larger eyes may require 36 hours. They should be dry to the touch and easily come off the parchment paper. If they stick to the paper they are not dry enough yet.
Pair These With:
- Halloween Donuts
- Halloween Hot Chocolate
- Mummy Dogs
- Mummy Meatballs
- Cupcakes – add candy eyes to your favorite cupcake to Halloween-ify it!
- Mummy Brie
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of food coloring do you use?
I like to use the Black Americolor Food Color. Make sure to keep it covered with a damp paper towel so it won’t set up or dry out. It can be hard to get a really deep black.
How long will googly eyes last?
If stored in an airtight container they will last for months, eve years! If they are exposed to moisture though they will soften up and fall apart. A small divided tackle box is the perfect way to store them by size.
Check out more fun Halloween recipes:
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Candy Eyes
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites or 4 Tbsp meringue powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- water as needed
- black gel food coloring
Instructions
Royal Icing
- Beat egg whites large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy
- Gradually add sugar
- Beat at high speed until thickened and desired consistency
- If using meringue powder, add meringue powder into the bowl with the powdered sugar, stir to combine and then add in water and beat to right consistency.
- If it is too thick add a few drops a water, a little at a time. If it is too runny add some more sugar.
Candy Eyes
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Fill a disposable cake bag with a number 3 or 4 round tip attached with 2/3 of the white royal icing.
- Holding the bag straight up, make dots of white icing.
- Add black food coloring into remaining icing. Put the black royal icing in a piping bag with the same number tip. Go back and add a small black dot on each white dot to make the pupil.
- Let them sit out to air dry for 12-24 hours to harden. Larger eyes may take 35 hours to dry. They are dry when they are dry to the touch and lift easily off the parchment paper.
Tips & Notes:
- If your icing is the right consistency the little point that is left will settle back down into the eye. But if it doesn’t, add a few more drops of water to your icing. If the eye spreads too much, your frosting is too thin. Just add a little more of the mix.
- And be sure and keep your tip clean by wiping it off often. Royal icing sets up quickly and it will start to harden on the outside of your tip.
Nutrition Facts:
Andrea @ This Pug Life says
These are so cute! I love googly eyes. I’m going to have to try these and take some googly eye treats to work. Everyone will know who they’re from bc I’ve been known to googly eye my co-workers’ things!
Leigh Anne says
Andrea, I tend have a little too much with googly eyes too!!
Vanessa @ Vanessa Baked says
I love this idea. Thank you!
Leigh Anne says
Vanessa, they are so fun to make!
Pam Hill says
I get lemon paczki or jelly filled donuts and cover the with black icing piped on with a hair tip (or grass tip), out on googly eyes, and use pipe cleaners for legs and have spiders for Halloween. When you squash a tick you usually see yellow “stuff”. Or use red raspberry filled donuts and cover with tan icing, again pipe cleaners for short legs and the googly eyes and you have ticks. Fun for Halloween.
Leigh Anne says
Sounds fun!
Katie says
What an awesome idea! I’m currently taking a cake decorating class and didn’t even think about making my own edible eyes! 🙂
Leigh Anne says
Katie – so easy and so much less expensive and they last a long time!
Kari says
Thanks!! These are so expensive at the store. Great tip!!