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I made these over the weekend and they came out great. Everyone loved them. I did use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla so it had a richer taste, but other than that, they were very tasty. I need to do some work on making them hold together better, but I only had about 1/4 lose their tips. I did discover if I lightly misted the rolls with cold water before pressing with the rolling pins, it helped stick together better.

Whoa, be very careful with this recipe! I was following these instructions, was boiling the corn syrup, butter and sugar. I turned off the heat and added the vanilla, and BOOM, the candy EXPLODED! I was lucky enough to be out of the way.

Follow the instructions on the Washington Post article. They tell you to put the vanilla in to boil, rather than putting it in later.

Otherwise, it's very good so far! That was just a scary moment.

I cooked mine to the temps listed in the Washington Post link, and they turned out super soft, like when I made tall narrow pumpkins out of it within 15 minutes they were short and flat. They didn't hold their shape at all. Next time I'll cook it longer.
pictures here: http://sarahjbakes.blogspot.com/2009/10/home-made-candy-corn.html

I've made two batches now One came out hard as a rock; probably boiled it too hard for those five minutes - should have simmered! I found that adding about a tablespoon of honey with the corn syrup, then adding another tablespoon of honey with the vanilla gets you closer to that Brach's taste. I also dabbed paste colors on - orange and yellow - the colors were fine.

Beckyleeprice: Generally the paste food colorings are super concentrated, so you would want to add a lot less. I don't have much experience with them but it's worth a shot. I would just add a very little bit at a time.

butterfinger- Corn syrup (like Karo) isn't high in fructose, but is mostly glucose, one half of what makes up sucrose (the other being fructose) and is usually used to reduce uncontrolled crystallization and make a creamier mouthfeel and more consistent result in home-made confections. It's used in making caramel or other sugar syrups for the same reason. It also lends an appealing shine to the product. Any other glucose syrup or invert sugar should have the same effect.

Not sure if anyone noticed, but Oikos was a sponsor at the US tennis Open. Free samples were distributed throughout the 15 days. I'm an eater of plain yogurt so was not into the blueberry, but did find it funny my sample came with recipes for Tuna Burgers, Tzatziki and Pina Coladas. Yum: tuna+blueberry.

That said, Chobani is my second favorite plan yogurt after Greek Gods.

I bought a tub of the Greek Gods stuff because I wanted to try something cheaper than Fage. Greek Gods was NOT worth the money I saved. It wasn't nearly as thick and had tiny little lumps.

I bought some Oikos which isn't all that much cheaper than Fage, but hopefully is better than Greek Gods.

Fage fat-free plain is potent enough to take the skin off the roof of your mouth, but it's just the foil for baklava fixings -- chopped pecans and honey -- and it's hard to beat a 150-calorie breakfast that's good for you and keeps you satisfied till lunch.

Fage 6oz is about $1.89/ $1.99 at Trader Joes.

Fage is my original favorite. My first love. Because I was eating it every day, sometimes twice a day for a while, I bought 0%. I'm used to the flavor and texture of nonfat now, so it's no sacrifice to me, however after reading so many of you's persuasive reasons for bringing back some of the fat, I may pick up 2% next time I'm at the market.

It's very expensive around here, so my economy substitute - which I agree is not quite the same - is the Trader Joe's Nonfat Greek Plain. I don't get that cement flavor some of you say. It tastes just fine. Actually, not "just fine" - more like "pretty good." I do like to mix in sweet things rather than savory.

One of my favorite yogurt concoctions lately is the greek yogurt with frozen (half thawed) chunks of mango and a sprinkling of a latin product called Piñalinaza which is flaxseed meal with ground pineapple, prickly pear, and various citrus fruits. Sometimes I through some other fruit in there, like strawberries or raspberries.

Skyris is a wonderful Icelandic yogurt--similar to the Greek. Very tasty but very pricey!

When you're eating Greek yogurt everyday, Fage 0%, Oikos 0% and Brown Cow plain are really good, especially IF you have to watch the fat content. Mind you, I'm adding homemade lemon curd (about 1TB) for a delicious substitute for lemon mousse or adding fresh fruit...that goo on the bottom- just doesn't do it for me...
I really like everyone's idea of mixing 0% with 2% for a creamier texture and taste; I'll have to try it.