Thursday, July 7, 2011

CraftShare: Make Your Own Gumdrops


Gum drops are such a fun candy.  Pretty, colorful and tasty.  And super easy to make.  The recipe is simple, but you can get creative with your own custom flavors, colors & molds to make them perfect for any occasion or just to have a fun treat any old time.  


Do some exotic ones for yourself or treat the kids to some - they will LOVE these.  I made some root beer flavored ones a while back and this time did some bubble gum and key lime and they were all delicious.    


This recipe is from an amazing book called Candy Cookbook.  My great-grandmother gave it to me when I was a little girl and I have treasured it every since.  The candy stains all over it can prove it.  All the recipes are great, but this one is ideal because it's nearly goof-proof and doesn't require a candy thermometer.

You'll need:

Ingredients
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Corn Syrup
3/4 cup Water
1 Box Powdered Fruit Pectin (find it in the baking/canning section)
1/2tsp. Baking Soda
A few drops of Flavor Oil (Lor-Ann makes loads of flavors)
A few drops of Food Coloring

Gear:
Vegetable Oil
Silicone Mold
2 small saucepans
Heat resistant spoons (wooden or silicone are best)
Waxed Paper
Extra sugar for rolling (about 1 cup)

First thing (and most important!!) is to grease up the silicone molds with vegetable oil.  This will make the candies turn out perfectly shaped and be easy to remove.  The simpler and smaller the shapes, the better.  I used a Wilton silicone mold with 24 star-like shapes, which was ideal.  This recipe will make about 1.25lbs of gum drops.


In one saucepan mix the sugar & corn syrup.  In the other mix the pectin, baking soda and water.  Put both on stove top over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  When both are boiling and the foam on the baking soda mixture has died down (about 5-10min), pour mixture into the boiling sugar/corn syrup saucepan.  Stir continuously for one minute.  Remove from heat and stir in a few drops of flavor oil & food coloring.


Quickly pour hot candy into mold and let it set for 24hrs.


When candy is ready, flip mold upside down over a piece of waxed paper and gently push pieces out from bottom.  This is where a good oiling makes a difference!


Let candy firm up for another 24hrs and then roll each piece in sugar.  Store in an airtight container, with waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking.  If it lasts long enough to store, that is.


These turn out sooo nice and are almost too pretty to eat.  I say almost because we ate most of them already.  Add in some tart flavor enhancer and powdered citric acid to the rolling sugar and you have sour ones.  Next on my list is to make some Champagne flavored ones and I definitely plan to get some more molds for some holiday themed gumdrop treats.


What's your favorite homemade candy?  Share your ideas or recipe info below!


Sharing this creation with my FAVE LINK PARTIES too so click HERE to check them out!
Tip Junkie handmade projects
The Thrifty Home

48 comments:

  1. Love your blog! Those look scrumptious and like a blast to make. Thanks for the tute!

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  2. Wow, I've always wondered how these were made, I cannot wait to give them a try this weekend.
    I'm a new follower from the Strut your Stuff Blog Hop, hope you will stop by:

    http://slipstitchesandmore.blogspot.com

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  3. Ooooh, so cute! Even though you said they're goof proof I'm a little nervous, but they look so good I have to put this in my "to-do" file.

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  4. They look very tasty! Good idea to make tart ones!

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  5. Never thought of making these. What a fun idea!

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  6. Oh my heck!!! YUM! I'm so pinning this so I can make these! Thanks!!!

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  7. This looks so good. I'm having a recipe only link party "Cast Party Wednesday". This would be a perfect addition to my party. I would love it if you came by and shared some of your recipes with us.
    Thanks,
    I hope to see you there!

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  8. ah this rocks!!! i love the colors too!!! thanks for sharing!
    http://jaysonandashley.blogspot.com/

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  9. I'm a new follower, here from the Thursday hop. I hope you'll follow me back at www.weidknecht.com!

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  10. These are awesome! I am really kicking myself for not picking up the silicone ice cube trays at Ikea. Boo.

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  11. Those are soooo pretty!!! And of course they look delicious! Just think...all those bags and bags of gum drops and I could have made them myself!!! Oh how cool this is!! Thanks so much for sharing such a neat and memorable recipe with us. The reason I love gumdrops?? My grandmother's gumdrop 'tree' at Christmas...we'd be allowed to eat them after Christmas!!
    Blessings, Doni

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  12. Um, did you mean to leave out the amounts for the ingredients? I'd love to know how much of everything to use.

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  13. Ingredients updated! I love seeing so many people just as excited about these as I was:)

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  14. Thank you so much for amending the recipe! I can't wait to make these. I have tons of Lor-ann oils that I use for mints and such so I'm chompin' at the bit to make them.
    Thanks, again!

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  15. They look delicious, I might have to make some for my twin nephews, they'd really love them

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  16. Just wanted to tell you I received my laminated cotton today in the mail. Thanks again for having the give-away. I will leave a message with the link to my blog post when I decide what I going to make.

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  17. Oh how pretty! I love sweets but never ever thought about looking for a gumdrop recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this - and how lucky you are to have this wonderful book from your great grandmother. I have a few of my grandmother's amazing recipes and you have inspired me to use one of them soon. I've been spending too much time on my crafts and need to get back to baking! Most likely her caramel iced pound cake!
    Thanks again - have a wonderful weekend!

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  18. I love gumdrops! Stopping by from the Creation Corner Party.
    I would love for you to link this up to My Favorite Things Friday Party going on all week!
    Be sure to enter my $50 stencil giveaway too =D
    XX
    ~Iffy~
    www.stayathomenation.blogspot.com

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  19. These are so cool! My kids will love doing this! Visiting from Bacon Time....

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  20. wow, I never knew you could make gum drops at home. These are perfect for a gift or party!

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  21. I love how the shape of your gumdrops match your buttons! I am definitely making these - my husband loves gumdrops (especially spearmint) so these will be a much appreciated project! :)

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  22. Mmmm - those look delicious! Gonna have to try making them sometime!

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  23. I love to try out new candy recipes. It is like an addiction! I can't wait to try this one! I pinned it to be sure I could find it again. I have one question. How many molds do you need to make one batch of gumdrops? Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Tanya, the recipe makes 1.25lbs, which worked out to be one of those Wilton molds that has 24 pieces (that are each a bit bigger than a silver dollar coin).

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  25. Wowsers! I am so excited to try making these! My kids will love them!!

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  26. Great tutorial! I never thought of making my own sweeties like that! Maybe I'll have to try sometime!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a great week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  27. I love these. They look absolutely yummy! I just featured them http://iamonly1woman.blogspot.com/2011/07/check-me-out-saturday-week-71.html

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  28. You had me at "you don't need a candy thermometer"! And I love gumdrops. Yours are so pretty. If you have a moment, I would love for you to share this project on my Inspiration Board.
    http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2011/07/inspiration-board-link-party_12.html
    Thanks for the inspiration.
    carolyn | homework

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  29. Thank you for sharing your recipe and linking up to Sew Woodsy, unfortunately I had to remove it from the link party. This is a craft only link party.

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  30. Thank you so much for this tutorial. It looks awesome. Would you be able to tell me where you got your mold from? Also what other flavors have you used for the gumdrops that you think work well? Thanks again - I love this idea! And the candy book is something I am going to check out too! Lorraine @ Lorraine's cookies

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  31. Okay seriously awesome! I have the coolest molds for this! Thanks for linking up!!

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  32. You are featured this week on the Glitter Spotlight!http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/2011/07/running-with-glitter-friday-spotlight-7.html
    Thank you for linking up!

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  33. AWESOME!! I am so making these for my daughters 1st birthday :)

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  34. so i tried them and had a hard time with them setting up. Did I not cook them long enough. I used small raspberry ice cube trays that I found at target. Let me know what you think. It might also be too hot here in Vegas for them to set up.

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  35. nelle58 - if they stayed "liquidy" then they needed to cook a bit longer. I've done a few batches where I left them cooking longer than 10min and it hasn't had any ill effects so more time doesn't seem to ever hurt. I've had the best luck with molds that don't have a lot of details to the shape too - I use tons of oil and a basic shape and they work out really well. Hope that helps!

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  36. Hi Cheryl,
    I've made gumdrops before, but used gelatin instead of pectin. When I used that recipe, they seemed to be a little too squishy for my liking - I was hoping for a little bit of a harder texture.
    At any rate, I tried your recipe tonight and I'm wondering where I went wrong! They're incredibly hard, mine ended up closer to the consistency of a hard candy to suck on, not the chewy yummy gumdrop I was aiming for.
    I was wondering, did you come across this problem? I may have overcooked it...or maybe I should just stay away from gumdrop making haha. It seems these and pancakes are the only things I can't make successfully! I'm hoping culinary school will teach me the trick to a good pancake ;]

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    Replies
    1. Kaleah,

      The pectin ones have a consistency like Chuckles candies, a bit soft, but firm enough to take a molded shape. Usually when any boiled candy turns out too hard it's because the temperature has gotten too high (which means it's hit hard crack stage - the one that is for making lollipops and hard candy). I've had this happen on taffy and gotten the same brick hard results. I've made gum drops many times and never had them harden up - I'd say to try again and be sure the burner is on medium and cook for less than 10 minutes. Hope this helps get you some nice, soft gumdrops!

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  37. HI!! I am so excited to try this recipe!! I recently made fruit snacks and have many envelopes of unflavored gelatin left, do you know if I can use gelatin in place of the pectin? Thank you very much!!!

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    Replies
    1. You could try it - I think the consistency would be different though. Couldn't hurt to try it!

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  38. I can't wait to try this for treats at my daughter's bday party! How much flavor oil did you use?

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  39. Just found this recipe and will be trying these this week! Can you tell me how much powdered pectin is in a box? I can only find packets where I live. Thanks!

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  40. I tried this recipe and they never set.

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    Replies
    1. I've made them many times and the only time they didn't set I was using some flavor oil that was old - they usually have a best by date on them. That could be the cause.

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  41. I made these 24 hours ago, but they still seem a tad "liquid-ish" and not ready to push out of molds. Do you think I should let them sit for another 24 hours? Do you think putting them in the refrigerator would help?

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    Replies
    1. I'd let it set longer then, but not put them in the refrigerator. Gel-based candy can sometimes be temperamental and that could keep the moisture in, rather than solidify it. My very first batch of these ever didn't firm up perfectly, but the next few times they turned out great, so don't give up!

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