Lollipop making problem - hard candy won't harden?!

Lollipop making problem - hard candy won't harden?

I've tried twice this week to make lollipops and both times they've come out way too soft. First time I cooked to 300 degrees and the second to 310 - the flavor was great but they are not the right consistancy - any suggestion?

You didn't cook the syrup long enough. We learned (in the stone ages) in Home Ec that you have to boil until the syrup reaches the hard crack stage. The trick was to keep a glass of cold water nearby. Dip the spoon into the boiling syrup and hold over the glass of water. It should drip in long strings and hold it's shape when it goes into the water... like a tiny glass rod. Then you know that it will harden properly when you make the candy. I think it works the same when making candy apples (the red ones).