Goodie Goodie

Gumdrops!

Pretty little homemade gumdrops.

I found a recipe for them in the book Celebrating Candy and wanted to give these sugary treats a try.

Plus, its just fun to try new things.

Youll need some unflavored gelatin

four tablespoons or about six envelopes.

Add the gelatin to cold water to soften.

And then add sugar and boil.

Pour the mixture into pans

and add a little bit of flavored extract.

Of course youll want to make them in a few colors.

Youll only need to add a drop or two of food coloring though.

Heres where I could have made things go a little easier. I didnt have the recommended pan size to make these. Instead I had this large pan with nine much smaller cavities.

Lets just say I got myself into a sticky situation.

After you pour the mixture into the pans, youll need to let it chill overnight in the fridge so it will set up and allow you to cut it into cubes.
This is where it would have helped to have a bigger pan. I made quite a mess trying to remove the set gelatin out of these small shapes.

But after a little struggling, I managed to get cute cubes that I could cover in sugar.

Now the hard part. Let them sit for a couple of days to crystallize.

Ugh. Waiting.

See. I told you I struggled. But about halfway through pouring into the pans I decided to spray a few with Pam even though the recipe didnt require it. I was skeptical.

So when in doubt, spray or use non-stick pans. That could have made it less messy, too.

These were so fun to see actually come together. Despite my sticky fingers.

But even more fun was packaging them into cute little goodie bags.

Goodie Goodie Gumdrops.

I made these labels to fit 3.75 X 6 inch treat bags. (Print the Goodie Goodie pdf )

You can use these for other treats, too.

Cute. Cute.

The bags will hold about 8-9 gumdrops each depending on how big you cut your cubes.

Goodie Goodie Gumdrops

4 Tbsp gelatin (thats about 6 envelopes)
1 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups boiling water
4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp flavored extract like lemon or peppermint
1-2! drops f ood coloring (I used four colors)
extra sugar for coating

3.75 X 6 inch treat bags
Goodie Goodie labels (print the Goodie Goodie pdf)

• In a large pot, soften gelatin in cold water for five minutes.
• Stir in boiling water until gelatin dissolves.
• Stir in sugar.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 25 minutes. Stir constantly.
• Pour mixture into 4 3X5 pans.
• Add 1/4 tsp extract and 1-2 drops food color to each pan.
• Stir until thoroughly combined.
• Cover pan and chill overnight in the fridge.
• Cut gelatin mixture into 3/4 inch cubes using a knife dipped in hot water.
• The gelatin may pull, but continue cutting.
• Separate cubes and roll in sugar until coated on all sides.
• Place gumdrops on wax paper and leave at room temperature for two days to crystallize.

Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 8 dozen 3/4 inch gumdrops.

You can also make 2 8X8 pans or 1 9X12 pan depending on the number of colors you want to make.

Adapted from the book, Celebrating Candy.

Enjoy!