Harry Potter snacks come in two kinds. There are the ones that were actually in the books, sold from the trolley on the Hogwarts Express or piled under glass at Honeydukes, and there are the ones people make up for parties. This list is the first kind: twenty sweets that appear in the story, each with a recipe you can cook in an ordinary kitchen, the amount it makes, and how long it takes.
Most of them are candy or small bakes, which is what a Hogwarts sweet shop is. Every recipe below has been written so a first-timer can follow it; six of them need a candy thermometer, and I say so before you start each one. If you want savoury Harry Potter party food to go with the sweets, there is a short section near the end, and the decor post and the cake post cover the rest of the party.
The twenty at a glance
Screenshot this table; it is the shopping and planning list. “Keeps” is how far ahead you can make each one.
| # | Snack | Where it turns up | Type | Keeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pumpkin Pasties | Hogwarts Express trolley | bake | 2 days, reheat |
| 2 | Cauldron Cakes | Hogwarts Express trolley | bake | 2 days |
| 3 | Chocolate Frogs | Hogwarts Express trolley | chocolate | 2 weeks |
| 4 | Rock Cakes | Hagrid’s hut | bake | 3 days |
| 5 | Treacle Fudge | Hagrid’s Christmas tin | candy | 2 weeks |
| 6 | Lemon Drops | Dumbledore’s office password | candy | 3 weeks |
| 7 | Acid Pops | Honeydukes | candy | 3 weeks |
| 8 | Nut Brittle | Honeydukes-style | candy | 2 weeks |
| 9 | Dark Chocolate Truffles | a grown-up sweets table | chocolate | 1 week, chilled |
| 10 | Coconut Ice | Honeydukes | candy | 1 week |
| 11 | Sugar Mice | the sweet-shop counter | no-cook | 2 weeks |
| 12 | Peppermint Creams | Honeydukes | no-cook | 1 week |
| 13 | Fizzy Sherbet Pouches | Honeydukes | no-cook | 1 month |
| 14 | Nougat | Honeydukes | candy | 2 weeks |
| 15 | Icy Lemon Pops | the zoo, chapter two | freezer | 1 month |
| 16 | Jam Doughnuts | Hogwarts feasts | bake | same day |
| 17 | Peppermint Humbugs | the start-of-term feast | candy | 3 weeks |
| 18 | Ginger Newts | Professor McGonagall’s biscuit tin | bake | 5 days |
| 19 | Mince Pies | Christmas at Hogwarts and the Burrow | bake | 4 days |
| 20 | Licorice Wands | the trolley and Honeydukes | candy | 1 week |
Before you start
- A candy thermometer is needed for numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17 and 20. A cheap clip-on one is fine; the temperatures in the recipes are the ones that matter.
- Moulds: a silicone frog mould for the Chocolate Frogs and small gem moulds for the Acid Pops. Everything else is shaped by hand or cut from a pan.
- Times are approximate. Prep time is hands-on time; the “cook” figure includes chilling, drying or freezing where a recipe needs it.
- For a party, pick five or six. Two bakes, two candies, one no-cook and the Chocolate Frogs is a full Honeydukes table without a week of work. The make-ahead plan at the end lays that out day by day.
1. Pumpkin Pasties
The first wizard food Harry ever buys, from the trolley on his first ride to Hogwarts. They are hand pies: pastry folded over a spiced pumpkin filling, and they travel well, which is why they are the thing to pack if the party is anywhere but your kitchen.
Illustration, not a photo. Makes 10. About 20 minutes of work plus 20 minutes in the oven.
Pumpkin Pasties
Makes 10 pasties 40 minutesIngredients
- 2 rounds of 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought
- 1 ½ cups plain pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 egg, beaten, for the egg wash
Steps
- Heat the oven to 375 °F / 190 °C and line a baking sheet.
- Stir the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl.
- Roll the crust to ⅛ inch (3 mm) and cut 5-inch circles; you should get about ten.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling onto each circle, fold into a half-moon, crimp the edge with a fork and cut a small vent.
- Brush with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes, until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tip: freeze them unbaked on a tray, bag them, and bake from frozen on party day with five extra minutes.
2. Cauldron Cakes
Sold on the same trolley. Nobody in the books says what a Cauldron Cake looks like, so this is the version that has stuck: a chocolate cupcake with the middle scooped out and filled with ganache until it runs over the rim like a potion boiling over.
Makes 12. About 20 minutes of work, 15 minutes in the oven, and time to cool before filling.
Cauldron Cakes
Makes 12 cupcakes 45 minutesIngredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup warm chocolate ganache, for the filling
Steps
- Heat the oven to 350 °F / 175 °C and line a 12-cup muffin tin.
- Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the buttermilk, oil and egg in another, then combine.
- Divide the batter between the cups and bake for 15 minutes. Cool, then core the centres.
- Fill each with ganache and let a little run over the rim so the cauldron looks like it is boiling over.
Tip: black cupcake liners and a short piece of licorice pushed in as a handle turn the cupcake into a cauldron without any fondant.
3. Chocolate Frogs
Also from the trolley, and the most collectable sweet in the wizarding world because each one comes with a Famous Witches and Wizards card. A silicone frog mould does the work; tempering the chocolate is what gives them the shine and the snap.
Makes 24. About 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes in the fridge.
Chocolate Frogs
Makes 24 frogs 40 minutesIngredients
- 12 oz (340 g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 oz (115 g) dark chocolate, 60 to 70 percent
- Edible gold lustre dust, optional, for eyes and toes
- A silicone frog mould
- Printed wizard cards, for serving
Steps
- Temper the chocolate: warm both chocolates together over a bain-marie to about 115 °F / 46 °C, cool to 82 °F / 28 °C, then bring back to 88 to 90 °F / 31 to 32 °C.
- If you like, brush a little gold lustre dust into the eyes and feet of the mould.
- Spoon the chocolate into the mould, tap it hard on the counter to release air bubbles and scrape the top level.
- Refrigerate for 10 minutes, until the backs turn matte.
- Flex the mould to release the frogs and serve each one next to a wizard card.
Tip: if tempering is one step too many, use candy melts. They set hard without it, though the shine is a little duller.
4. Rock Cakes
Hagrid’s rock cakes nearly break Harry’s and Ron’s teeth on their first visit to his hut. Yours should be a little softer than his; the craggy, rough-dropped look is the part worth keeping.
Makes 12. About 15 minutes of work and 15 minutes in the oven.
Rock Cakes
Makes 12 rock cakes 30 minutesIngredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp mixed spice and a pinch of salt
- 6 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit
- 1 egg plus 3 Tbsp milk
Steps
- Heat the oven to 375 °F / 190 °C.
- Rub the butter into the flour, baking powder, spice and salt until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the sugar and fruit.
- Add the egg and milk to make a stiff dough and drop rough mounds onto a lined tray.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until golden and craggy.
5. Treacle Fudge
Hagrid sends Harry a tin of treacle fudge for Christmas in his second year, and it is exactly as sticky as it sounds. Molasses stands in for black treacle if your shop does not carry it.
Makes 36 pieces. About 25 minutes at the stove, then 2 hours to chill. Thermometer needed.
Treacle Fudge
Makes 36 pieces 2 hr 30 minIngredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp black treacle or molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
Steps
- Boil the sugars, cream, butter and treacle to 240 °F / 115 °C, the soft-ball stage.
- Take it off the heat, add the vanilla and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Beat until thick and matte, then pour into a buttered 8-inch pan.
- Chill for at least 2 hours and cut into bite-size squares.
6. Lemon Drops (Sherbet Lemons)
Dumbledore’s favourite Muggle sweet, and the password to his office in Chamber of Secrets. They are the brightest thing on the table, which is a good reason to put a jar of them in the middle.
Makes about 40. About 25 minutes at the stove and 30 minutes to cool. Thermometer needed.
Lemon Drops (Sherbet Lemons)
about 40 drops 55 minutesIngredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp citric acid
Steps
- Boil the sugar, water and corn syrup to 300 °F / 149 °C.
- Stir in the zest, tint yellow if you like, and pour onto an oiled marble slab or silicone mat.
- Score into small squares while warm, sprinkle with citric acid and snap apart once cool.
7. Acid Drops (Acid Pops)
Ron’s warning about Acid Pops in Prisoner of Azkaban is that one burnt a hole through his tongue. Yours will only fizz: a coating of citric acid and baking soda does it, and children will eat them for the reaction alone.
Makes about 40. About 25 minutes at the stove and 30 minutes to cool. Thermometer needed.
Acid Drops (Acid Pops)
about 40 drops 55 minutesIngredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup glucose syrup
- A few drops of neon food colouring
- ½ tsp citric acid and a pinch of baking soda, for the fizz
Steps
- Cook the sugar, water and syrup to 305 °F / 152 °C.
- Tint the syrup and pour it into silicone gem moulds.
- Once cool, dust the drops with the citric acid and baking soda mixed together.
8. Any-Nut Nut Brittle
A sweet-shop staple rather than a named scene. Use whatever nuts you have; the recipe works the same with peanuts, almonds or a mix, and it keeps for two weeks in a tin, so it is a good one to make first.
Makes one tray, about 20 shards. About 20 minutes at the stove and 30 minutes to cool. Thermometer needed.
Any-Nut Nut Brittle
Makes one tray, about 20 shards 50 minutesIngredients
- 1 ½ cups toasted mixed nuts
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
Steps
- Boil the sugar and corn syrup to 300 °F / 149 °C.
- Stir in the butter, vanilla and nuts, then the baking soda; the mixture will foam.
- Pour thinly onto a greased tray, cool completely and crack into shards.
9. Dark Chocolate Truffles
The grown-up end of the table. A one-bite truffle rolled in cocoa is the thing to put out if the party is a Butterbeer evening rather than a birthday, and the optional splash of rum is where the word “firewhisky” goes on the label.
Makes 20. About 15 minutes of work and 1 hour to chill.
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Makes 20 truffles 1 hr 15 minIngredients
- 8 oz 70 percent dark chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp rum, optional
- Cocoa powder, for rolling
Steps
- Heat the cream and butter to a simmer, pour over the chocolate and leave for 2 minutes.
- Stir until smooth, add the rum if using and chill for 1 hour.
- Scoop, roll into balls and dust with cocoa.
10. Coconut Ice
“Shimmering pink squares of coconut ice” is how Honeydukes is described in Prisoner of Azkaban, and the pink-and-white block is the recognisable part. It doubles as decoration if you leave it in slabs and cut it at the table.
Makes 36 cubes. About 25 minutes at the stove and 2 hours to chill. Thermometer needed.
Coconut Ice
Makes 36 cubes 2 hr 25 minIngredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 Tbsp golden syrup
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- Red food colouring
Steps
- Boil the sugar, milk, syrup and butter to 238 °F / 114 °C.
- Cool to 125 °F / 52 °C and beat in the coconut.
- Press half the mixture into a parchment-lined pan, tint the rest pink and press it on top.
- Chill for 2 hours and cut into 1-inch cubes.
11. Sugar Mice
An old-fashioned British sweet-shop mouse: a fondant body, a pinched nose, and a licorice string for a tail. No cooking at all, which makes it the recipe to give the children the afternoon before.
Makes 16. About 30 minutes of work, then overnight to dry.
Sugar Mice
Makes 16 mice 8 hr 30 minIngredients
- 6 Tbsp soft butter
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla
- About 3 cups powdered sugar
- Black licorice strings, for the tails
Steps
- Beat the butter, corn syrup and vanilla, then knead in enough powdered sugar to make a stiff, smooth dough.
- Shape small ovals and pinch out a pointed nose and two ears on each.
- Push in a licorice tail and leave overnight to firm up.
12. Peppermint Creams
Honeydukes sells peppermint creams shaped like toads that hop in your stomach. Yours can be plain discs; the dark chocolate coat is what makes them taste like the real thing.
Makes 24. About 20 minutes of work and 1 hour to dry.
Peppermint Creams
Makes 24 creams 1 hr 20 minIngredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 6 oz dark chocolate, melted
Steps
- Mix the sugar, condensed milk and extract into a stiff dough.
- Roll ¼ inch thick, cut 1-inch rounds and leave to dry for 1 hour.
- Dip in the melted chocolate and set on parchment.
13. Fizzy Sherbet Pouches
Honeydukes has Fizzing Whizzbees and levitating sherbet balls; this is the version that does not require flight. It is a ten-minute recipe and the one guests remember, because they get to tip it onto their tongues.
Makes 8 pouches. About 10 minutes.
Fizzy Sherbet Pouches
Makes 8 pouches 10 minutesIngredients
- ¼ cup citric acid
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp freeze-dried strawberry powder, for colour and flavour
Steps
- Whisk all the powders together until even.
- Spoon into small parchment cones or edible rice-paper sachets.
- Seal and label them: handle with care, fizzing.
14. Honeydukes Nougat
“Creamy chunks of nougat” are on the Honeydukes list too. White nougat with whole almonds looks expensive on a table and costs almost nothing; it needs an overnight rest, so make it early in the week.
Makes 24 pieces. About 40 minutes of work, then overnight to set. Thermometer needed.
Honeydukes Nougat
Makes 24 pieces 8 hr 40 minIngredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup glucose or corn syrup
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups toasted almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla
Steps
- Whip the egg whites to soft peaks.
- Cook the sugar, honey and syrup to 300 °F / 149 °C, then stream slowly into the whites while beating.
- Fold in the almonds and vanilla, press into a wafer-lined tin, leave overnight and slice.
15. Triple-Power Icy Lemon Pops
In chapter two of the first book, the Dursleys buy Harry a cheap lemon ice lolly at the zoo because there is no time to hustle him away from the counter. This is that lolly, made properly, with the lightning-bolt sticks as the only decoration.
Makes 8. About 10 minutes of work and 4 hours in the freezer.
Triple-Power Icy Lemon Pops
Makes 8 pops 4 hr 10 minIngredients
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice and the zest of 2 lemons
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
- A pinch of turmeric, for a natural yellow tint
Steps
- Heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then cool.
- Stir in the juice, zest and turmeric.
- Pour into ice-pop moulds and freeze for 4 hours.
16. Jam Doughnuts
Doughnuts turn up on the Hogwarts tables, and jam doughnuts are the British kind: no hole, sugar all over, jam in the middle. They are the only recipe here that has to be made the day you serve it.
Makes 12. About 30 minutes of work plus 1 ½ hours of rising and 15 minutes of frying.
Jam Doughnuts
Makes 12 doughnuts 2 hr 15 minIngredients
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- Raspberry jam
- Cinnamon sugar, for rolling
Steps
- Mix the dough, knead for 8 minutes and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Roll ½ inch thick, cut 3-inch rounds and proof for 30 minutes.
- Fry at 350 °F / 175 °C until golden and drain.
- Pipe in the jam and roll in cinnamon sugar.
17. Peppermint Humbugs
Peppermint humbugs are on the dessert list at Harry’s very first start-of-term feast, between the treacle tarts and the rice pudding. The black-and-white stripes come from pulling two batches of the same syrup and layering them.
Makes about 40. About 35 minutes of work and 20 minutes to cool. Thermometer needed.
Peppermint Humbugs
about 40 humbugs 55 minutesIngredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 1 tsp peppermint oil
- Black gel food colouring
Steps
- Cook the syrup to 295 °F / 146 °C.
- Tint half of it black and pull each portion until glossy.
- Layer the two, stretch and snip into pillows to form the stripes, then cool.
18. Chewy Ginger Biscuits (Ginger Newts)
Professor McGonagall keeps a tartan tin of Ginger Newts on her desk and offers Harry one in Order of the Phoenix. A chewy ginger biscuit with crackled sugar on top is the closest a Muggle kitchen gets, and it is the fastest bake on this list.
Makes 24. About 15 minutes of work and 10 minutes in the oven.
Chewy Ginger Biscuits (Ginger Newts)
Makes 24 biscuits 25 minutesIngredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg
Steps
- Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the molasses and egg.
- Mix the dry ingredients and stir them in.
- Scoop into balls, roll in granulated sugar and bake at 350 °F / 175 °C for 10 minutes.
19. Mince Pies
Mrs Weasley sends Harry a box of home-made mince pies for his first Christmas at Hogwarts, and the feast tables have them too. Mini ones with a pastry star on top are two bites each, which is the right size for a snack table.
Makes 12. About 20 minutes of work and 12 minutes in the oven.
Mince Pies
Makes 12 mini pies 32 minutesIngredients
- 1 lb prepared mincemeat
- Shortcrust pastry for one double crust
- Milk and sugar, for the glaze
Steps
- Heat the oven to 400 °F / 205 °C.
- Roll the pastry, cut 3-inch bases and star-shaped lids, and line a mini tart tin.
- Fill with mincemeat, top with the stars, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until bubbling.
20. Licorice Wands
On the trolley in book one and in the Honeydukes jars in book three. A licorice wand is a rope of chewy black candy, and the twist you give it while it is warm is what stops it looking like a plain stick.
Makes 16. About 25 minutes of work and 30 minutes to set. Thermometer needed.
Licorice Wands
Makes 16 wands 55 minutesIngredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark corn syrup or treacle
- ¼ cup water
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp anise or licorice extract
- A pinch of salt
- Black gel food colouring
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted, for dusting and kneading
Steps
- Heat the sugar, corn syrup, water and butter to 260 °F / 127 °C, the hard-ball stage.
- Off the heat, stir in the extract, salt and a few drops of black gel.
- Cool for 2 minutes, then knead on a greased surface with enough flour to make a pliable, non-sticky dough.
- Pull into ¼-inch ropes, cut 6-inch lengths and give each a slight twist.
- Set on parchment for 30 minutes, until firm and chewy. Keeps airtight for a week.
Savoury Harry Potter party food, without a recipe
Twenty sweets and no savoury food is a sugar crash waiting to happen. None of these need measurements; they are assembly jobs you can do while the oven is busy.
- Pretzel wands. Pretzel rods dipped halfway in melted dark chocolate and stood upright in a jar. Sweet and savoury at once, and the cheapest wand you will ever make.
- Golden Snitch cheese balls. Small balls of soft cheese rolled in finely grated cheddar, with a pretzel twist pushed into each side for wings.
- Basilisk breadsticks. Store-bought pizza dough cut into strips, twisted, baked, and laid in an S-shape on the board with two peppercorn eyes.
- Great Hall roast-chicken drumsticks. The feast in the books is mostly plain roast meat and potatoes; a platter of drumsticks needs no explanation.
- Sorting Hat cones. Sugar cones filled with popcorn, with the cone tipped and pinched so it leans like the hat.
A make-ahead plan for the party week
Candy keeps; bakes do not. Work backwards from the party.
- A week before: Nut Brittle, Treacle Fudge, Lemon Drops, Acid Pops, Peppermint Humbugs, Nougat, Coconut Ice, Fizzy Sherbet Pouches. Store all of them airtight in a cool cupboard, not the fridge.
- Three or four days before: Chocolate Frogs (a cool cupboard, never the fridge, or they will sweat), Licorice Wands, Sugar Mice, Peppermint Creams, Truffles in the fridge.
- The day before: Pumpkin Pasties, Rock Cakes, Mince Pies and Ginger Newts. Bake the Cauldron Cakes, fill them on the day.
- Party day: Jam Doughnuts, Lemon Pops out of the freezer at the last minute, and the savoury board.
Questions people ask
Which of these are the easiest Harry Potter snacks to make with children? The no-cook ones: Sugar Mice, Peppermint Creams and the Fizzy Sherbet Pouches. Rock Cakes and Ginger Newts are the easiest bakes. Leave the thermometer recipes for after bedtime.
Which snacks are actually in the Harry Potter books? Every one of the twenty above turns up in the story, most of them on the Hogwarts Express trolley or the Honeydukes shelves. Butterbeer, treacle tart, Every Flavour Beans and Fizzing Whizzbees are the famous ones that are not here, because they need their own posts rather than a paragraph.
What can I use instead of nuts? Skip the Nut Brittle and Nougat entirely rather than substituting; toasted seeds behave differently in hot sugar. The other eighteen are nut-free as written, but check your chocolate’s label if the allergy is serious.
Can I buy some of these instead of making them? Yes. Lemon drops, humbugs, coconut ice and licorice are ordinary British sweets; a shop that sells them, or an online importer, will have all four, and nobody at the party will know. Spend the saved time on the frogs and the cauldrons, which are the ones people photograph.
How do I set the table? Glass jars with handwritten labels, a wooden crate or two for height, and brown paper bags for guests to fill: that is a Honeydukes counter. The decor post has the rest of the room.
More for the party
- Harry Potter birthday cake ideas, fifteen of them, most in fondant.
- Harry Potter party decor ideas, a hallway, a dining room and a kitchen island, on a budget.
- Every Harry Potter post on this site, and the Halloween hub if the party falls in October.
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