Instructions

1. Crush large candy into smaller pieces. Place the candy in a zipper-seal bag and hit it with a meat mallet. You also can put the candy between two sheets of parchment paper and roll over it with a rolling pin or hit it with a mallet. You can even use a food processor or blender to crush the candy. Place each sugar candy variety in a separate bowl.

2. Melt candy coating in a double boiler or in the microwave until it is thoroughly melted and smooth. Stir the candy coating chips constantly over a double boiler or stir after microwaving in 30-second intervals. Milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate and white chocolate are common coatings, but you can find candy coating in a rainbow of colors wherever confectionery supplies are sold. The melted candy coating must be deep enough to submerge the marshmallow for full, even coverage.

3. Push a marshmallow onto a lollipop stick to make marshmallow pops, or use a chopstick or fondue fork if you want don't want to serve the marshmallows on a stick. Push the stick so it's only about 1/4 inch from the top of the marshmallow to ensure the marshmallow doesn't fall off while coating it.

4. Dip the marshmallow into the candy coating either until the marshmallow is fully submerged or until just the top and sides are completely covered. Pull the marshmallow out of the melted coating and roll the stick in your fingers to get excess coating to drip off the marshmallow.

5. Roll the marshmallow in the crushed candy or small candy decorations immediately after removing it from the candy coating. The candy should stick to the marshmallow easily, but you can press candies onto the marshmallow with your fingers to fill in bare spots if needed.

6. Stick the lollipop sticks in a block of foam to hold them upright while the candy coating sets. Alternatively, hold the dipping stick vertical with the top of the marshmallow on a piece of wax paper. Press a second stick or just the back of a spoon on the bottom side of the marshmallow while you pull the dipping stick out of the marshmallow. Leave the marshmallows on the wax paper while the candy coating sets.