Goody Goody Gumdrops

Submitted by Chef Mommie

"Who would have thunk, to make their own gumdrops! lol Prep time does not include overnight refridgeration time. Edited to add- Made some changes to make the recipe better, after the submission of the first review."

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 10 dozen
• Serves: 20

ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 1⁄2 cups boiling water
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 1/2 teaspoon orange extract or 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, etc
• 3 -4 drops desired food coloring
• granulated sugar

directions

1. In a large sauce pan, soften gelatin in cold water 5 minutes.
2. Stir in boiling water until gelatin is dissolved.
3. Stir in sugar and bring mixture to a boil on medium-high heat.
4. Boil to 280 degrees on a candy thermometer about 25 minutes, stirring constantly. (You can also test the candy by dropping a small amount of candy into cold water. The candy is ready when it separates into hard threads that aren't brittle.)
5. Pour mixture into two foil lined and greased 8 x 8 inch pans.
6. To each pan add 1/2 teaspoon desired favouring and desired food color (if you want clear gumdrops, do not add color).
7. Stir until combined.
8. Refridgerate pans overnight.
9. Lift foil from the pan and remove from from the sides of the candy.
10. Using a knife dipped in hot water, cut gelatin mixture into 1-inch cubes.
11. Roll each cube in granulated sugar until well coated and allow to sit at room temperature two days to crystallize.
12. Store in airtight containers.

Reviews

[Yankiwi]

This was very exciting to attempt. I'm not rating it because it was also a disaster but maybe someone might learn from what I did wrong. I used a four quart pot which was big enough for other candy with about the same amount of ingredients but after it nearly boiled over I transferred the mixture to a stock pot, not having anything in between. That was just as well because it nearly boiled over in that pot too. My candy thermometer was too short to reach the actual liquid, it was resting in the foam and didn't give a true measurement of temperature. I stirred constantly and have gas hobbs. I definitely wouldn't try this with electric heat. I tried the thread test but because my dish was white and the liquid clear I couldn't see it. Maybe if I had put a little food coloring in I would have seen it in the tests. The mixture got darker and darker until my DH asked if something was burning. At that point I divided the mix into the two trays, added flavoring, stirred it up but I knew it was a waste of time at that point. It actually didn't taste bad but like burnt sugar which is what it was--a dentist's dream if I hadn't thrown it out. I might try again with half the amount, I am intrigued by the idea of making gumdrops.

 

[ctrmom]

Loved the flavor. I used the orange extract. But my gumdrops turned cloudy and grainy and were really hard. Also, I couldn't get them out of the pan. They seemed fine until step 6. It seems to me that I should have added the flavor and color to the pot, instead of trying to mix it in the shallow layer of the 8x8 dish. But maybe the cooking time was off for my altitude. I know candy is picky about cooking times and methods. Greased pans and a candy thermometer might just have fixed all my problems, if I knew what temperature to cook the candy to.