If you’ve been following along with me for a while, you know how much I love the various confectionaries at Disneyland. There is just so much goodness packed into these cute little shops that make them a must on every trip!
I could sit for hours and watch the candy artists make these delicious treats and would gladly try one of everything they’ve got! Some of my personal favorites are their caramel apples, Mickey s’mores, and churro toffee.
But today I wanted to recreate some iconic Disney treats and one not so known treat. Everyone has seen a Tigger tail and churro marshmallow wand while walking around the parks or browsing Pooh’s Corner. These cute treats are marshmallows dipped in caramel and then coated in chocolate and sugar. But another treat you can find at the Candy Palace on Main Street are the Caramel Sticks. These are not always available and are only made on certain days but they’re definitely worth hunting for them.
So let’s get started on these yummy treats!
TO MAKE THE CARAMEL
To start, heat the butter in a large pan over medium heat until the butter begins to melt. Then add the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Stir constantly over medium heat until everything is melted and the mixture begins to bubble.
Once the mixture begins to boil, continue cooking it at medium heat, stirring only the bottom to prevent burning. Avoid scraping the sides because it can make the caramel grainy.
The mixture will start to get bigger and you’ll see the color change as you stir it. You want to allow it to cook until it reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, or you can use a digital meat thermometer if that’s what you have. Make sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom or sides when you take the temperature. Once it’s reached the right temperature, remove from heat and add the vanilla. Stir to combine and allow the caramel to cool for a few minutes.
TO ASSEMBLE THE TREATS
While the caramel is cooling, take 10 cake pop sticks and put 4 large marshmallows onto each stick. I staggered mine so they looked more like the shape of the tigger tails you can get in the parks. Place the marshmallow wands on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once the marshmallows are on the sticks, it’s time to dip them in the caramel. Using a spoon, coat the top, sides, and bottom of each marshmallow wand. Then wipe off the excess caramel on the side of the pan and place them on the cookie sheet. Once they are all coated, put them in the fridge so the caramel can set.
There will be caramel left over after you finish coating the marshmallow wands so I used mine to make Disneyland’s delicious caramel sticks. Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper. Then pour the caramel onto the cookie sheet but don’t spread it out. You want space between the caramel and the edge of the cookie sheet.
Next take 12 cake pop sticks (or however many will fit in your caramel) and line them up on each side of the caramel about 1 inch apart. Also make sure to leave an inch or two between the tops of the sticks in the middle of the caramel.
Leave the caramel on the counter to set. It needs to be soft enough to shape so don’t put it in the fridge.
Once the caramel is set enough, cut between all the sticks until the caramel is separated. This may take a few cuts with a serrated knife to get them to come apart. Now take each stick and shape the caramel around the stick so it’s more secure. Once they are all shaped, place them in the fridge to set completely.
Now it’s time to turn our attention back to the marshmallow wands. I had 10 coated in caramel so I decided to do 5 churro marshmallow wands and 5 tigger tails. So let’s do the churro marshmallow wands first.
In a bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Then place some toffee bits in a ziploc bag and smash them into small pieces then add it to the cinnamon sugar. Set aside.
Next, in a pan over low heat melt two bags of white chocolate chips. The chocolate needs to be fairly runny so it will coat the marshmallows so you may need to add a spoonful of shortening to reach the right consistency.
Take 5 of the marshmallow wands and coat them in the white chocolate using a spoon. Scrape the excess chocolate off on the side of the pan and then sprinkle the top and sides of each wand in the cinnamon-sugar-toffee mixture. Place them back on the cookie sheet.
Now let’s move on to the Tigger tails. Using red and yellow gel food coloring (use gel so the chocolate texture doesn’t get messed up) get the chocolate to a nice orange color. You can see I did a fairly light orange for mine. Coat the remaining 5 marshmallow wands in the orange chocolate.
Then sprinkle each marshmallow wand in orange sanding sugar, making sure the top and sides are completely covered.
Place the wands back onto the cookie sheet with the other marshmallow wands and put them back in the fridge to set the chocolate.
While the marshmallow wands are setting, remove the caramel sticks from the fridge. In a pan, melt a bag of chocolate chips over low heat. I used milk chocolate but you could use dark chocolate if that’s what you prefer. Once the chocolate is melted, spread it over each caramel stick and place them back onto the cookie sheet. Then while the chocolate is still soft, sprinkle coarse sea salt over the caramel sticks. Place the caramel sticks back in the fridge to set the chocolate.
Take the remaining chocolate, or melt more if you ran out, and put it into a ziploc bag. Snip the corner of the bag and pipe tiger stripes onto the orange marshmallow wands. Then place them back in the fridge to finish setting.
And just like that you‘ve got three delicious Disney confectionary treats right at home!
This recipe should make 5 churro marshmallow wands, 5 Tigger tails, and 12 caramel sticks. For best results, store the treats in the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
For more copycat Disney recipes, you can find them all here!
PRINTABLE MARSHMALLOW WAND AND CARAMEL STICKS RECIPES
Disneyland’s Marshmallow Wands and Caramel Sticks Copycat Recipes
Equipment
- Candy thermometer (or digital meat thermometer)
- Cake pop sticks
Ingredients
For the caramel:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
- 1 cup corn syrup
- 2 1/4 packed cups light brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
To assemble:
- 1 bag large marshmallows
- 2 bags white chocolate chips or melting wafers
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Toffee bits
- Red and yellow gel food coloring
- Orange sanding sugar
- 1 bag milk or dark chocolate chips, whichever you prefer
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
To make the caramel:
- In a large saucepan, add the butter and begin melting over medium heat.
- Once the butter is about halfway melted, add the sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar, and salt. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until everything is completely dissolved.
- The mixture will begin to bubble and increase in size. Allow it to continue to cook over medium heat, stirring the bottom often to avoid burning but avoid scrapping the sides of the pan so the caramel doesn’t go grainy. Cook until the caramel reaches 235° on a candy thermometer, or you can use a digital meat thermometer, just make sure the tip doesn’t touch the bottom or sides of the pan when testing the temperature.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and add the vanilla, stirring well to incorporate. Allow the caramel to cool down for a few minutes before moving to the next step.
To assemble the treats:
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- While the caramel is cooling down a bit, take 10 cake pop sticks and put 4 marshmallows on each stick.
- Dip each marshmallow wand in the caramel, scrape off the excess caramel on the side of the pan, and place them on one of the cookie sheets. Once all 10 are dipped, place the cookie sheet in the fridge so the caramel can set.
- With the rest of the caramel, pour it onto the other parchment lined cookie sheet. The caramel will spread a little on its own but do not spread it to the edges. You need empty space between the caramel and the edges of the cookie sheet. Next take cake pop sticks and put them into the caramel. You want each stick about 1” apart on both sides of the caramel and you want about a 1-2” gap down the center of the caramel between the sticks. Overall, I got 12 sticks in mine, 6 on each side. Leave the cookie sheet on the counter and allow the caramel to set. Do not put it in the fridge.
- In a bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar. Then put some toffee bits into a ziploc bag and smash them into a fine powder with the back of a spoon. Add the crushed toffee to the cinnamon-sugar mix and set aside.
- Over low heat, melt two bags of white chocolate chips or melting wafers. You want the melted chocolate to be pretty runny so you may need to add a spoonful of shortening to the melted white chocolate.
- Once the chocolate is melted, it’s time to dip. Take 5 of the marshmallow wands (leave the other 5 alone for now) and dip them into the white chocolate and use a spoon to cover the marshmallows completely. Scrape the excess chocolate off on the edge of the pan and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar-toffee mixture over the top and sides of the wand. Place them back on the cookie sheet.
- Now it’s time to add the red and yellow food coloring to the white chocolate until you get a nice orange color. (Use gel food coloring so it doesn’t mess up the consistency of your chocolate.) Once you have your orange chocolate, dip the remaining 5 marshmallow wands so they are completely coated in chocolate. Scrape the excess chocolate off on the edge of the pan and then sprinkle on the orange sanding sugar so each wand is completely covered. Place on the cookie sheet with the other marshmallow wands and put back in the fridge so the chocolate can set.
- Go back to your caramel you poured onto the cookie sheet. You want the caramel to still be soft but set enough to cut. Using a serrated knife, cut down the middle of the caramel separating the two sides and then cut in between eat cake pop stick. Then mold the caramel around each cake pop stick so the stick won’t fall out. Place them in the fridge to set completely.
- Once your caramel sticks are hard, melt your chocolate chips over low heat. I used milk chocolate but you could use dark chocolate if that’s what you prefer. Once the chocolate is melted, use a spoon to cover each caramel stick in chocolate. Place them back on the cookie sheet and while the chocolate is still soft, sprinkle each stick with coarse sea salt. Once they’re all coated, place them in the fridge to set completely.
- With the remaining milk (or dark) chocolate you have left, put it into a ziploc bag and snip the corner off. Pipe tiger strips onto the orange marshmallow wands so they look like Tigger. Place them back in the fridge to set the stripes.
- Store your Tigger tails, churro marshmallow wands, and caramel sticks in the fridge for best results. Remove from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before eating and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure to save this recipe so you can make them whenever you want and be sure to share with your Disney loving friends! If you have other recipes you’d like to see, leave me a comment!
