Homemade Candy Wafers

A couple of months ago the New England Confectionery Company (Necco) announced it was facing closure. People began panic-buying packages of Necco Wafers. One woman in Florida even tried to trade her car for a warehouse’s remaining stock. That sounds a little drastic to me, especially since the company hasn’t officially closed yet (although I’m sad to say their GoFundMe page doesn’t look promising).

I think before we give away our transportation in exchange for candy we should try a homemade version, don’t you? This is the formula to use, even though nothing will replace the original. I’d call this recipe a close second!

For those unfamiliar, Necco Wafers were first invented in 1847 and can be described as hard, chalky, and curiously flavored. I’d call them polarizing because some detractors are quite vocal, but I find them strangely addictive. I love their snap. And I love being surprised, because I always expect the purple ones to be grape when they are in fact clove!

The ingredients are so simple. You’ll need powdered sugar, gelatin, a tiny bit of light corn syrup, and water. I chose to only make 6 of the 8 original Necco Wafers flavors, so that’s what you’ll find in the recipe. You might think the pink wafers would be cherry or strawberry. Nope! Wintergreen. Other flavors are more predictable, such as green is lime-flavored. I recommend using LorAnn flavoring oils for these candies, because they yield the best results!

These need to dry on a large baking sheet dusted with powdered sugar. You’ll also need to flip them so they dry evenly on both sides. This can take a while, especially if humidity is high, so I recommend at least 48 hours to get that nice firm wafer snap.

I wrapped stacks of the wafers in waxed paper as a nod to the original packaging. I’ve always liked how you could see the colors through the wrapper.

Necco is the maker of conversation hearts, too! Hopefully someone will save the day for the company but if that doesn’t happen, you can use this recipe to make  homemade conversation hearts. You’ll need a 1-inch heart cutter and a red food color writer to pen the words.

Homemade Candy Wafers

Heather Baird
Recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchens and Knox Gelatin
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 1 hour
24 hours drying time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 100 pieces

Equipment

  • 1.5-inch round cookie cutter

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1/2 cup 120ml hot water
  • .25 ounce package powdered gelatin
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 pounds powdered sugar plus more for kneading
  • 1/8 teaspoon each flavoring oils LorAnn recommended:
  • Wintergreen lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon,
  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon each gel food color:
  • Pink yellow, green, orange, purple

Instructions
 

  • Pour the hot water into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the gelatin, corn syrup and salt. Mix on low until the gelatin is dissolved. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat in the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time.
  • Transfer the dough to a work surface dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Knead in more confectioners’ sugar until the dough is smooth and pliable.
  • Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Flatten one piece into a disk and cover the rest with plastic wrap. Add a few drops of pink food color and mint extract to the center of the dough and fold in the sides. Knead until the color and flavor is distributed. If dough becomes tacky with these additions, knead in more confectioners’ sugar. The drier the dough, the firmer the end result will be – and that’s what we want!
  • Repeat the coloring and flavoring process as follows: Tint a portion yellow and add lemon flavor, tint a portion green and add lime flavor, tint a portion orange and add orange flavor tint a portion purple and add clove flavor. Leave one portion untinted and add cinnamon flavor.
  • Sprinkle a work surface liberally with powdered sugar. Roll out one of the colored doughs on the work surface; lift it every so often to make sure it isn’t sticking. If the dough sticks add more powdered sugar underneath. Cut out the wafers using a 1.5-inch round cutter. Transfer the rounds to a large baking pan dusted with powdered sugar. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Let the wafers stand at room temperature, uncovered for 24 hours. Flip the wafers and allow them to dry for another 24 hours. When the wafers are set, they should be firm and have a snap when you bite them. If you have trouble getting the wafers to dry crisp, dredge them in cornstarch and let them stand an additional 24 hours.
  • Roll set wafers in waxed paper and fold ends; secure with cellophane tape. You may also store them at room temperature in an air-tight container. Candies will keep for months.
Keyword candy wafers, NECCO, powdered gelatin
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Peggie
Peggie
5 years ago

You should become even more popular with this recipe. 🙂 And I will try the chocolate flavoring – the only reason I used to buy Neccos.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Peggie

Hi Peggie! I also love the chocolate ones – and LorAnn makes chocolate flavoring oil! I would have made some if I'd had it on hand. I tried adding cocoa powder but the flavor wasn't right and the made the texture too brittle.

Good luck with the chocolate version! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will save the company.

Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago

Gorgeous result on this recipe Heather. I always enjoy your work!
I find myself wondering, if Necco really does close, will you come up with a facsimile of Squirrel Nut Zippers and Mary Janes, too?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Hmm. Maybe?

Natalie
Natalie
5 years ago

What a beautiful and creative idea!

Unknown
Unknown
5 years ago
Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago

Oh man, I hope Necco stays open. I always take some rolls of the wafers with me camping or backpacking. These do look to be a great copycat recipe.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

I really hope they are able to find funding to stay open.

Hannah
Hannah
5 years ago

I cannot believe you managed to reverse engineer these marvels! They're my dad's favorite, and he was crushed when he heard the news. I need to make these for him… I just wonder if I can substitute agar for the gelatin? It's always a bit of gamble.

Unknown
Unknown
5 years ago

the plant just closed a few days ago 🙁

Anonymous
Anonymous
5 years ago

These turned out fantastic! Cannot wait for the new oils to arrive. Tried the lemon for a test and it was great. Adding spearmint for sure. Coffee too!

Bill F
Bill F
5 years ago

No baking necessary?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago
Reply to  Bill F

No baking! They just need to air dry really well.

Anonymous
Anonymous
4 years ago

I used to love the lime ones so much! My mom would buy them for me all the time! Im so glad that theres an alternative! I really dont want to go onto amazon every time i want those addictive wafers… I will give the recipe a try the next chance i get!

Unknown
Unknown
4 years ago

Huge thumbs up on this recipe. They turned out great. I've made them twice and made a lot of people really happy. One handy tip, I use a food dehydrator to dry mine a bit faster. 1 batch just fills my 5 racks. Thanks for the recipe.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
4 years ago
Reply to  Unknown

That's a great tip! Thanks!

Liz
Liz
3 years ago

First, THANK YOU! I miss Necco wafers and this is a great substitute. I hope the new company starts making them again soon though. I made two batches and here is what I learned… Some tips: 1. When stiring in the powdered sugar, leave out about the last cup out and switch from the paddle attachment to the bread hook attachment. Add the last cup of sugar, and continue to stir with a bread hook attachment. This cut down on a lot of kneeding time once I took the candy out of the bowl. 2. The LorAnn oils worked great!… Read more »

Unknown
Unknown
3 years ago

Hello! What portion of chocolate oil should I add for the chocolate necco wafers?

Unknown
Unknown
3 years ago

what a beautiful day..to just go and buy some..im lazy,basically..haha! sounds good,tho!

Maureen Palmer
Maureen Palmer
1 year ago

5 stars
This is great! Can/could you use a dehydrator?