See also: Make Your Own American Cheese, Inspired by Pinterest See also: DIY Cheez-Its I was immediately obsessed when I came across this "Make Gourmet Pixy Stix" pin - despite the fact I'm not a fan of pixy sticks. Not only is it an excuse to put my pretty paper straws to a unique use, but it's an opportunity to take an artificial food and turn it into something "gourmet".
According to foodfacts.com, the store bought version of this candy is made up of dextrose, citric acid, and a bunch of chemical flavorings. No thanks!
But this I can get behind:
While I'd rather not use citric acid, Love and Olive Oil (author of the recipe), said she tried making them without and they "lacked that particular punch of brightness." So I went for it, but used Fruit Fresh (a combination of dextrose, ascorbic acid and citric acid), instead because I had it on hand and it seemed to have the correct flavor. Fresh Fruit can be found at Target, but I'm not sure about citric acid.
Adapted from Love and Olive Oil. Ingredients: 1/4 cup organic sugar 1/4 cup freeze dried blueberries (freeze dried fruit can be found at Trader Joes) 1 teaspoon citric acid 1 teaspoon food-grade lavender flowers - optional, not in the original recipe
Love and Olive Oil says to put everything though a coffee grinder, which I don't have (but I want!). I do however, have a high speed blender that saves me in these situations. I ran the ingredients in there for about 10 seconds and it worked perfectly - though I'm fairly certain it's not made to run with only dry ingredients - try it at your own risk!
Use pliers to crease and fold the ends of the straws to keep the powder from pouring out. The most difficult part is filling the straws. I tried several methods - from creating a funnel to scooping the sugar - but what worked best in the end was to fold a small piece of paper in half and use that to pour it in. The straws hold a lot more than expected!
If that's too much work (which it is, I only got through 5), dip your finger in there and eat it like you're six years old.
