Description
These Homemade Spiced Gumdrops are a delightful trio of chewy, flavored candies featuring cinnamon, mint, and peppermint essences. Coated with sugar for an extra sweet finish, this recipe yields colorful, festive treats perfect for holiday gift-giving or satisfying your sweet tooth with a nostalgic, homemade charm.
Ingredients
Scale
Gelatin Mixture
- 9 TBSP unflavored gelatin (9 envelopes, each 0.25 oz)
- 1 ½ cups water, divided into 3 bowls (½ cup each)
- 2 ¼ cups water (¾ cup per batch)
- 4 ½ cups sugar, divided (1 ½ cups per batch) + additional sugar for coating
Flavorings and Coloring
- Few drops cinnamon oil
- ½ teaspoon mint extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red food coloring
- Green food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare Pans: Grease three 8×8 inch square pans evenly and set aside to prevent sticking of the gumdrops after pouring.
- Bloom Gelatin: In three small bowls, add ½ cup cold water to each. Sprinkle 3 envelopes (3 TBSP) of unflavored gelatin into each bowl, allowing the gelatin to absorb the water and bloom.
- Make Sugar Syrup: In a small saucepan, bring ¾ cup of water and 1 ½ cups sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar completely.
- Add Gelatin to Syrup: Into the boiling sugar syrup, add one bowl of bloomed gelatin, reduce the heat, and simmer while stirring continuously for 5 minutes to fully dissolve the gelatin.
- Flavor and Color (Cinnamon): Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 2 drops cinnamon oil and a few drops of red food coloring. Pour the mixture into one of the prepared pans.
- Repeat with Mint Flavor: Repeat steps 3-5 with the second bowl of gelatin, adding green food coloring and ½ teaspoon mint extract instead of cinnamon.
- Repeat with Peppermint Flavor: Repeat the process with the third bowl, omitting food coloring and adding ½ teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Refrigerate: Place all three pans in the refrigerator and chill for 3 hours until the gumdrops have fully set and firmed up.
- Cut and Dry: Run a knife along the edges of each pan to loosen the gumdrops. Lift out the candy onto parchment paper and cut into roughly 8 rows and 8 columns, creating square candies. Space them out and leave at room temperature overnight to dry and develop their chewy texture.
- Sugar Coat: Pour about 2 cups of sugar into a dish or bowl. Toss the gumdrop squares in the sugar to coat all sides evenly. Place coated gumdrops back on parchment paper to set.
- Serve and Store: Enjoy your homemade gumdrops or store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 7 days to maintain freshness.
- For best texture, allow gumdrops to dry overnight before coating with sugar.
- Adjust food coloring amounts according to desired color intensity.
- If cinnamon oil is unavailable, a pinch of ground cinnamon can be simmered with the sugar syrup, but oil provides a stronger flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 gumdrop (~5 grams)
- Calories: 20 kcal
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
