Just in time for Halloween, we've gussied up these Pez dispensers to deliver a sweet Viagra treat. These sugar pills may only have a placebo effect, but you can pop as many as you want in any 24 hour period and no prescription is required.

Looks a little like Angelina Jolie, don't you think?

We modified off-the-shelf Pez dispensers with some paint, Sculpey, and a few other materials. Our nurse needed little modification other than some paint to cover up the character’s orange skin and stripey head-tails. The top of her head-tails was almost the perfect shape for a nurse’s cap; all we had to do was paint it white and add a red cross. Since we used acrylic paint, it took a few coats to cover up the bright colors underneath.

We gave our doctor a white “lab coat” by painting the body of the dispenser white. The discs on his head mirror and stethoscope were molded from Sculpey, baked to harden, and then wrapped in foil for a metallic appearance. We then hot-glued them on, along with some insulated wire for the tubing of the stethoscope.

Talk about neck-deep in Big Pharma

One thing we learned: don’t put a Pez dispenser in the oven. After molding Sculpey directly onto another dispenser, we thought we might get away with baking the whole thing, since the 200F temperature required to harden the clay seemed fairly low. It seemed OK at first, but the body of the dispenser eventually melted and warped. This lead us to discover that with some careful prying it is possible to remove and swap heads on the dispensers.

The candies we created were modeled after 50mg Viagra tablets (100mg tablets were too wide to fit in the Pez dispenser). These Viagra candies would have worked well enough as is, but because they are smaller than a Pez candy, the dispenser didn’t push them out all the way when the head was lifted. The piece of the dispenser that pushes the candy out is at the base of the character’s head. We hot-glued a small bit of wooden toothpick inside the dispenser to extend this piece so it would push the Viagra candy out far enough to make it easy to grab.

We made our candy mold using a food-safe silicone molding compound. After creating a small containing wall with Lego blocks, and placing it on waxed paper, we mixed the two-part compound and pressed it into the box. Then we pressed actual 50mg Viagra pills into the silicone until they were flush with the surface. The pills came out easily after the compound hardened, and were not damaged in any way.

No doubt, Legos are useful for everything

The candy was based on a recipe for Valentine’s conversation hearts. Pressing out the candy Viagra tablets wasn’t difficult, but the candy dried out fast so we had to work quickly. The result doesn’t quite taste like Pez, but by adjusting the flavorings you can make a reasonable facsimile. Here’s our recipe:

• 1/2 packet (1 tsp) unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp light corn syrup
• 1 lb powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting
• Flavoring extract of your choice
• 1-2 Tbs citric acid (optional)
• Blue food coloring
• Cooking spray

1. Put the corn syrup, gelatin, and water in a small microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Stir until the gelatin is well mixed. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds, so the gelatin dissolves, and stir well.

2. Pour the gelatin mixture into the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a flat beater attachment. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the mixture is smooth and the sugar is incorporated into the liquid.

3. Add another cup of sugar and mix on low again until it's fully incorporated. Continue adding the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time, letting each addition mix in fully before adding the next. Stop the mixer a few times during this process to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and the beater, to make sure all ingredients get mixed and distributed. The candy will be liquid at first and turn into a stiff, sticky dough as the sugar is added

4. Add extracts and citric acid to taste. Add blue food coloring to achieve desired shade of Viagra blue.

5. Dust a counter or cutting board with powdered sugar and scrape the candy out onto it. Dust your hands with powdered sugar and form the candy into a rough ball. Dust the ball with powdered sugar and knead it like bread dough, folding it and pressing it with the heel of your palm. Keep dusting with powdered sugar to prevent it from sticking. Knead several minutes, until the candy is no longer sticky

Looks like Play Doh...tastes better though

6. Roll or press the candy out to a ¼” thickness. Spray the candy mold with cooking spray and press firmly into the candy to form tablet shapes.

7. Before the candy has completely hardened, use a knife or razor blade to cut the tablets off at the base.

8. After the tablets have hardened completely (for at least 24 hours), use a razor to clean up the edges and trim off excess candy left from the molding process. For a really finished final product, smooth off the rough edges with an emery board or very fine grain sandpaper.

Try not to snort the leftovers

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