Here is a fun way to make cotton candy at home anytime you want with a countertop machine. The Pumpkin Spice Floss Sugar recipe and free printable cone are at the bottom of the post.

Our family got a little cotton candy machine for Christmas. At first, I thought it was totally frivolous and we would never use it. YES, it is totally frivolous, but we use it a lot.

It is so much fun, and it is easy to use!

You make cotton candy using Floss Sugar or hard candies. Sugar-free candy works, too!

We have used both when we make cotton candy at home.

Cotton Candy with a Machine

I suggest one of these if you are looking for a unique gift idea. This is the model we got.

This countertop unit runs in the $30-$50 range. It sets up quickly, is easy to operate, and cleans up easily.

I think it would be perfect as a wedding gift or even for someone going off to college.

How to Make Cotton Candy at Home

The cotton candy maker requires a little assembly, which takes less than a minute to set up.

• Plug in the unit and let it warm up for 5-10 minutes. 
• Turn the unit off and add the candy or sugar to the extractor head.
• Turn the switch back on to make the cotton. You will start to see the little flossy bits of cotton starting to form very quickly.
• Hold a cone horizontally across the top of the unit and turn it around and around to build up the cotton.
• Keep turning until you’ve collected all the cotton candy.
• Repeat the process with another cone or add to the same cone to make it huge.

Cotton Candy Supplies

The machine comes with two reusable cones. We like to pull the freshly made sugar cotton off and fill it with more immediately. You can order extra cones or download my free printable below and make your own.

My kids also like to eat the built-up hard sugar around the edge of the machine bowl. It is a delicious mix of all the flavors that were used to create the batch of cotton candy.

We recommend that you clean the tabletop cotton candy machine right away. It will need to cool off just a little bit. If you wait until it has completely cooled off, you will have trouble pulling off the extractor head.

Sugar-Free Cotton Candy

Making sugar-free cotton candy is also easy to make. You only need the machine and sugar-free hard candy, such as Jolly Rancher Sugar-Free Hard Candies. Amazon also carries a sugar-free raspberry cotton candy floss sugar.

Pumpkin Cotton Candy Sugar + Free Cone Printable

It is pumpkin season, and people cannot seem to get enough pumpkin spice. I have created Pumpkin Spice Microwave Fudge, but now I have a truly unique recipe for you. It is Pumpkin Spice Cotton Candy.  I thought it sounded strange when I came up with the idea, but it is so delicious!

How to Dye Sugar

I started out by dying sugar orange. This is a very easy and fun process. Place granulated sugar in a plastic zip bag and add a few drops of food coloring. I took one cup of sugar and added two drops of red food coloring gel and two drops of yellow food coloring gel. I shook the bag around until the color was even throughout. Then, I placed the sugar into a bowl and let it dry for about an hour.

Pumpkin Spice Cotton Candy Mix

I mixed the sugar with one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice when the sugar was completely dry. Stir that completely, and you have your cotton candy pumpkin spice floss sugar.

Pumpkin Cotton Candy Cones

I created a pair of pumpkin-themed printable cones to serve the Pumpkin Spice Cotton Candy I am sharing with you. One is covered with pumpkins. The other is a green gingham with a little pumpkin circle to glue on the front of the cone. These are perfect for any fall celebration you might be having. You can download the adorable pumpkin-themed cotton candy cones here. When clicked, the file automatically downloads, so please check your downloads.