When I was growing up, I remember watching Lynda Carter play Wonder Woman on TV and thinking that my mom looked just like her. I saw them both as strong, beautiful women who seemed to stare the world right in the eye with an expression that said, “Just try it.” 

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Later when the new version of Wonder Woman (2017) released, I was so excited to see that Gal Gadot shined just as brightly as my childhood heroes. I soaked up every minute of that movie, like an armchair warrior ready to battle. To say that I am anxiously awaiting the next Wonder Woman movie, Wonder Woman 1984, is an understatement! As of Nov. 18, the film is currently set to release on HBO Max on Christmas day.

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While I can’t kick butt like my favorite superhero, I can at least pay tribute by doing what I do best: honoring her with something homemade and sweet! YUM. You might expect this to be another recipe for cupcakes or some other baked goods, but we’re going to switch it up this time. Instead, we will focus on making Wonder Woman candy toppers that you can then put on your choice of dessert. Hello, flexibility, my old friend.

The Challenge: Which candy makes the best design?

I started with about five different types of sweets for experimenting to make our candy Wonder Woman logo:

• Fruit Roll-Ups
• Fruit Slices
• Laffy Taffy
• Starburst
• Yellow Icing

I had a clear favorite, but maybe you’ll like a different one for your desserts. Each definitely had their own pros and cons, and I’ll detail both for all the candies. Let’s look at each of these to see how they worked out.

Fruit Roll-Ups

To find the right yellow color for the Wonder Woman logo, I tried Fruit Roll-Ups’ “Peel’N’Build” pizza style and the original Fruit Roll-Ups. As you can see by the picture, while the image of Fruit Roll-Ups’ “Fruit by the Foot” shows yellow on the package, the actual candy was all red. Booooo! I tossed that one out and just focused on the other two.

All you have to do with this candy is unroll it, cut it with a sharp knife, and you’re done!

Pros: This was by far the easiest candy to cut into shape, and it required no additional work. The flavor of the candy was good, too. (I don’t like toppers that taste bad; it really detracts from the dessert.)

Cons: These are a bit flimsy and required delicate handling because they stuck to EVERYTHING and tore easily. Also, they were a bit thin and see-through. Because of this, you might want to put them on a lighter background, like white icing, in order for the yellow to show up.

Starburst and Laffy Taffy

I combined these two candies together in one category because they are very similar. As you can see in the image above, the best yellow candies were the Starburst lemon square and the Laffy Taffy banana rectangle. Both candies have a bright color and good taste, and I used the same method to shape both of them (see photo below). 

Using clean hands, work the candies with your fingers until you can mold them into a flat, rectangular shape. The heat of your hands will help get the job done. Once you have them shaped into a rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut them into the Wonder Woman logo.

NOTE: Don’t mold them too long or they’ll get too tacky and hard and start to fall apart!

Pros: These look the best because they’re thick enough and bright enough that they really pop on any dessert you place them. The flavors of lemon and banana are really yummy too. I’d recommend pairing the lemon with something vanilla or fruity (this would be great with a cherry or strawberry cake) and the banana with chocolate or peanut butter.

Cons: These do require more work than the Fruit Roll-Ups. Additionally, you can’t buy *only* lemon Starburst or *only* banana Laffy Taffy, which means you’ll have to buy a large variety bag to get enough of these colors. That means a lot of unused candies that are left over… although some people might see that more as a pro than a con.

Fruit Slices

Remember those jelly fruit slices that your grandmother liked? They’re still around, and you can use them for candy toppers. I found these in the candy aisle at the grocery store, and you can also get them online.

The only way to shape these is to press them out with something heavy and then cut them with a sharp knife.

Pros: They’re cheap.

Cons: I hated these. They were very difficult to get flat enough to cut and they were messy. Maybe you know of a better brand, but these also tasted like a chewy, bland chunk of gelatin. Gross.

Icing

I don’t have a picture of just the icing by itself, but, you know, it’s icing. See the final picture for the results!

Pros: If you get the Wilton colored icing in a tube with the tips that screw right onto the tube itself, it’s very easy to use and has a good yellow color. The flavor is plain vanilla, so it goes with everything.

Cons: It’s icing, so if drawing things free-handed makes you nervous, this does require a steady hand and skill. However, I find most people are pretty forgiving when it comes to icing, because everyone just wants to eat it.

The Results for our Wonder Woman Candy Toppers

Starburst and Laffy Taffy were the winners for me! They looked great and tasted yummy too. I would say, though, that if you were doing a cookie, the Fruit Roll-Ups or icing might be better because they would be softer and easier to eat with the dessert.

And here are the Starburst candy logo winners, crowning an assortment of goodies:

Starting at the top and moving in a clockwise direction is a cupcake, a Rice Krispies treat, a cookie, and a brownie. To add to the look I used blue premade icing (it’s a Funfetti without the sprinkles), white star sprinkles, and molded cherry Starbursts (two for each) to make the red circle background for the yellow W. I especially liked the cupcake and rice treat, although the brownie and cookie were a little too sugary for me. If you give it a try, let us know what turned out well for you!

Happy candy-making! Let us know how your Wonder Woman candy toppers turn out.

P.S. If you prefer salty over sweet, don’t forget our article “Summer Road Trip Series: Trail Mix Tribute,” which includes a special Wonder Woman mix!

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Featured image credit: Courtney Langdon/Geek Gals