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Instead of spending money on edible googly eyes at the store, I will show you how to easily make hundreds of candy eyes to decorate all of your holiday treats.
You may have noticed that there are a lot of fun Halloween ideas out there on Pinterest and your favorite blogs use edible googly eyes. You can purchase them at the store, but a little bag of them can be pricey. And you only get a couple dozen. So today I am going to show you how to make candy eyes for just pennies! You can literally make hundreds of candy eyeballs for what you would pay for one small bag of them at the store.
The eyes are made with royal icing. It dries hard and is perfect for making candy eyeballs. I like using a store bought royal icing mix. You just add water. But it is also easy to make yourself.
Ingredients
- Egg Whites
- Powdered Sugar
- Lemon Extract
- 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 Googley Eyes
Start by making the Royal Icing. If you have royal icing mix, use 1 Tbsp water for every 1/2 C of royal icing mix. If you are making it from scratch, follow these instructions.
- Beat egg whites large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy
- Gradually add sugar and lemon extract.
- Beat at high speed until thickened and desired consistency
- After making the royal icing, add black food coloring to 1/3 of the batch.
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.
Piping Candy Eyes
- Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper.
- Attach a number 3 or 4 round tip onto a disposable cake decorating bag and fill with white royal icing.
- 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.
I used about 1 1/2 C of royal icing mix and got a cookie sheet and a half out of it. That is a lot of candy eyeballs!
- Next, put the black royal icing in a piping bag with the same number 4 tip. Go back and add the pupil to each eye.
Let them sit out to air dry for 24 hours to harden up. After they are dry, they will pop right off the wax paper. If they stick to the paper they are not dry enough yet.
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.
How long will googly eyes last?
If stored in an airtight container they will last for months.
Check out more fun Halloween recipes:
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Candy Eyes
Ingredients
- 4 egg whites
- 4 C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon extract optional
- 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 and lemon extract.
- Beat at high speed until thickened and desired 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 wax paper or parchment paper.
- Fil a disposable cake bag with a number 3 or 4 round tip attached with white royal icing.
- Holding the bag straight up, make dots of white 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 24 hours to harden. After they are dry, they will pop right off the wax paper.
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!!