This is a basic recipe you see all over the place for “Homemade Gumdrops” but I think that name is a bit misleading. These Sparkly Fruit Gummies aren’t as chewy and sticky as a gumdrop, they’re more soft and jelly-like. Almost like (and I really hate to use this comparison, because they’re way better than this- I swear) a glorified Jell-O jiggler. But they’re delicious and sparkly and kind of addicting. You can customize them any way you want as far as flavors and colors go. My kids couldn’t keep their little fingers away from these, and they loved helping smell the flavors and pick color combos.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Gelatin – These take quite a bit of gelatin, you’ll need a couple of boxes at least. Keep in mind you’re buying unflavored gelatin (which is found near the baking supplies and Jell-O in the grocery store).
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Flavor extracts or oils – I prefer oils when flavoring candies because they are less likely to leave an alcohol aftertaste, but use what you have!
- Food coloring – Gel color is my go-to for vibrant colors in recipes like this! For less saturated colors, liquid food coloring will work.
How to Make Sparkly Fruit Gummies
- Start by sprinkling some unflavored gelatin over cold water. It will instantly take form as the granules of gelatin absorb the water. After it softens, add boiling water to dissolve it and you’ll have a liquid. Once the gelatin is mixed in and dissolved, add the sugar.
- Bring this mixture to a boil on the stove-top. You’ll want to keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t bubble over. Once the mixture finishes boiling remove it from the heat. At this point, it’s pretty much done and you can color and flavor it.
- Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and add your flavoring and food coloring (if you’re only making one variety, feel free to mix these in right in the pan the mixture is already in). I used oils and started with about 1/8 teaspoon per cup of sugar mixture, and increased to taste from there. I’m using oils, but regular extracts will work fine too. If you can find oil, they work particularly well in things like this because you don’t run the risk of having an alcohol-ish after taste from extract. The mixture should be cool enough to test by this point so you can go by taste. When you’re satisfied with your mixture, transfer it to a container lined with plastic wrap and non-stick spray.
- Once they’re in their containers or pans, chill them for at least 4 hours in the fridge. When they’re chilled and set, pull the mixture out by the plastic and peel off onto a cutting board that’s been sprinkled in sugar. Since I was making small batches, I placed them directly on a plate of sugar and turned to coat all sides.
- Use a sharp knife (it might help to coat with cooking spray) to cut into cubes and roll the cubes in sugar. It helps to have a plate of sugar nearby to coat the sticky sides and make cutting easier. I also found we all liked these much better in smaller pieces, like 1/2 inch squares as opposed to 1 inch squares.
- Leave the candies out at room temp for a day or two (overnight is fine) so the sugar can crystallize and form a crunchy exterior. We did blue with blueberry, green with lime, lemon with yellow, tangerine with orange, strawberry-kiwi with pink, and coconut with white.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished gummies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 3 weeks for best results.
- People are always asking us for goodies that pack and ship well- and these fit the bill!
- If you’re experimenting with small batches in random-sized containers, a good trick is to use a measuring cup to measure how much water fills the container up about 1/2 inch so you know how much sugar mixture to color.
- A silicone pan with a spray of non-stick spray will work in place of a plastic-lined container.
- Did you know you can get white food coloring? I love this when making flavors like coconut.
Sparkly Fruit Gummies
These brightly colored little candy gems are great for packing and gifting!
Servings 1/2 inch gummy squares
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unflavored gelatin about 8 envelopes*
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 2 ¼ cups boiling water
- 6 cups sugar plus extra for coating
- Extract or flavored oil
- Food coloring
Instructions
- Line 2 8-x-8-inch pans, or a variety of smaller rectangular containers with plastic wrap and spray with non-stick spray. Set aside. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over the cold water in a 6-quart pot. Let sit for 5 minutes, then add the boiling water and stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in sugar.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and gently simmer for 25 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. At this point you may pour the mixture into the prepared pans and then add flavors and colors as desired, or carefully pour hot mixture into a mixing bowl in batches to color and flavor and then pour the mixture into the prepared pans. Cover finished containers with plastic and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Lift plastic from pans and peel off candy. Turn candy onto a cutting board that’s been sprinkled with sugar. Coat a sharp knife with cooking spray, then cut candy into 1/2-inch cubes. Roll in sugar.
- Leave candies on parchment, foil, or waxed paper at room temperature for one to two days to allow the outside to crystallize. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Notes
- Measure out the gelatin in tablespoons as it may be more than 8 envelopes. If you have a partial pack at 6 tablespoons, just add all of the partial pack.
- Store finished gummies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 3 weeks for best results.
- People are always asking us for goodies that pack and ship well- and these fit the bill!
- If you’re experimenting with small batches in random-sized containers, a good trick is to use a measuring cup to measure how much water fills the container up about 1/2 inch so you know how much sugar mixture to color.
- A silicone pan with a spray of non-stick spray will work in place of a plastic-lined container.
Nutrition
Serving: 11/2 inch gummy, Calories: 9kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 0.1g, Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 0.3mg, Potassium: 0.1mg, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 0.1mg, Iron: 0.002mg
Calories: 9kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
How much flavoring did you use per batch?
It’s just to taste, so it really depends on what kind you use.
So, couple of lessons learned. First, be very, VERY light handed with the flavoring. First batch I made I wound up with waaaay too much flavoring, to the point where they were inedible. Second, you cannot use pectin + lemon juice to augment the gelatin (I was trying to make the candies gummier). They set up nice, but then the pectin goes all soft and gooey again at room temp. Third, gel food coloring really doesn’t work very well in these. I’m going to use liquid coloring from now on in them.
For the people who’ve had trouble with the candies melting when you sugar coat them: the humidity level in your kitchen is likely partly the issue. Allowing the uncoated candies to dry a few hours may help. Also, you can spread your sugar out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven on low for 20 minutes to make it as dry as possible.
@Krista: I don’t think freezing would work very well with these. Ice crystals from freezing will break the gelatin, and make it go all runny when it thaws back out.
Notes on test batch number 3: Method Matters- The Search for Gummy.
In a large pot combine 6 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Heat to 240 degrees F (soft ball). Remove from heat. In another large pot sprinkle 8 tablespoons gelatin over 1 ½ cups cold water. You may need to stir to get all the gelatin damp. When the sugar mixture cools to about 218 degrees, pour/scrape it into the gelatin. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then heat just to boiling while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and mix in 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons citric acid if you want a sweet-tart flavor. Add colors and flavors, mix well (but gently- try to keep bubbles minimal). Pour into two quarter sheet baking pans lined with lightly oiled plastic, refrigerate 4-6 hours.
The sugar mix went all grainy and stiff when it was cool enough to add to the gelatin, but smoothed right back out as soon as I started stirring. The candy was stringy and kind of gooey as it heated back to boiling, but again smoothed out as it cooked.
The candy set up quickly in the fridge, and is much closer to gummy bear texture than the jelly texture from following the original instructions. It’s even noticeably less sticky than from following original instructions, and cuts easily with a lightly oiled knife. I declare this test batch successful!
The final notes- a last bit of tweaking.
Replace 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of corn syrup. Reduce water in sugar mix by 3/4 cup. Increase cold water by 1/4 cup. Increase gelatin by 1 tablespoon.
Combine sugar, corn syrup and 1 1/2 cup water. Heat to soft ball (240 degrees F). Remove from heat, allow to cool to about 218 degrees.
In another pan, sprinkle gelatin over 1 3/4 cups cold water or juice. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then add sugar mixture. Heat just to boiling, remove from heat and add citric acid (if using), flavor and color. Skim off foam, pour into prepared pans, cover and chill.
How long do these keep? I want to make them for a Christmas gift how early can I make them? Do they freeze?
I’ve never frozen them so I’m not sure; you’d have to experiment. They should keep in an airtight container though for a week or so. Hope that helps.
First of all, thanks for posting this recipe! I am making candies for a “science of sour” night at a local museum and using different organic acids to demonstrate their unique flavors (citric, malic, lactic, acetic, etc.) I made a very small test back (1/6 of the recipe) and simmered it for 25 minutes. The entire time I had it on the stove it was opaque, though, and never turned clear again like your pictures have it. Did anyone else’s have a very white/opaque tone? Also, when I poured it into the molds a crust immediately formed on top as they cooled – you know, a sugary, crystallized type of crust. I still need to wait for them to completely cool and solidify. Perhaps my scaling down caused too much water to boil off since there was so little in the pot? Thanks for your help!
Gosh, I honestly don’t know- sorry! (But your museum night sounds really fun!)
Do you think they would work with a sugar substitute? Like stevia in the raw? I know it’s usually an even switch but curious if it would be gross.
Thanks, can’t wait to try these beautiful treats!!
The Kool-Aid Worked!!! I’m so excited! I wish my camera on my phone worked so I could send you a picture of how awesome my gummies turned out. I just tweaked your recipe (added more sugar, 10 packs of gelitan as directed with the additional water, replacing the food coloring and flavored oils with my “failed mixture of Rock Candy with Kool-Aid”)… and Wha-la-la-la… It looks and tastes great!!! Thanks so much for posting this recipe, so I could fix my mishap!
‘Im hoping your recipe will save me from a major fail I had trying to make rock candy!… I waited 8 days and it never crystalized! It might have been because I added a packet of Kool-aid to the sugar mixture for flavor and color. (?). Anyway, I found your recipe and decided I would combine my “Kool-aid Rock Candy” with your gummy recipe and see if I could salvage my mess. I’ve made the mixture and am waiting till the morning to find out the results, but I was wondering if you know by chance if the use of Kool-Aid will negatively effect the turnout? Signed, Patience is a Virtue!
Hi I used the pectin envelopes and I followed the instructions and boiled it…and then read after that you’re never supposed to boil pectin lol. Are there different rules
For candy making? Should I not have boiled it? Or was I (as per usual) skimming through the instructions and skipped something? The top seems to be forming a skin – will it still set?
Thanks in advance! And I love the recipe. Your candies are beautiful 🙂
LorAnn Oils makes a Tart & Sour product used to enhance flavors in candy making. My kids love the sour flavors added to homemade candies so much that I buy it by the quart!
Hi,
What type of sugar to use? and how much does this recipe make?
Thanks