Homemade gumdrops are a fun and tasty science experiment you can easily make at home. Give this colorful candy making a try!
Gumdrops are something we recommend every home cook make at least once. Not only are they fun and cute, it’s actually really good practice in the science of cooking. Lots of different chemical reactions are happening in this recipe and it is a fun experience to watch the process as it moves along. Sure, you can’t eat the candies for a few days, but it’s a great kitchen experiment. Kids will love watching the process as well as eating the results. We really do love some good, clean kitchen fun!
What kind of flavoring should I use in Homemade Gumdrops?
This candy can easily be customized using various flavored clear extracts. We enjoy traditional citrus flavored gumdrops using orange extract or lemon extract, but you can also get creative and use any other flavored extract as well. We have found that vanilla extract is a bit too subtle of a flavoring and is not recommended. It is important that the extract is clear so that it does not taint the color of the candy.
What kind of food coloring should I use?
You can use any kind of liquid food coloring. Gels and powdered food coloring work, but we have found that it is much easier to use liquid food coloring for this particular recipe. We used McCormick Neon Liquid Food Coloring.
What kind of candy mold should I use?
Gum drops are best made using silicone candy molds. DO NOT use plastic molds as the will melt and deform. You can use a square silicone mold and then cut each square into 4 pieces so that the candies would be bite sized, but there are lots of other options. Everything from squares and circles to cartoon, bugs, and robots. In the video and photos we’ve used the squares as well as a heart shaped mold and a fluted round mold. You can even find lego shaped molds!
Thermometer Pro Tip:
We recommend the use of a good thermometer in this recipe for an accurate texture. Our favorite thermometer is the ThermapenMK4 which is what can be seen measuring the temperature of the candy in the video below.
Sour Gum Drop Instructions:
Instead of rolling the candies in plain sugar, add a tablespoon or two of citric acid to the sugar mixture.
Storage Instructions:
Once gum drops are crystalized, you can store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 weeks.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious Christmas treats:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I made the gum drops with my 2 granddaughters ages 7 and 9 we split it in two so they each could have a color and flavor. They had so much fun deciding what color to make their half and what flavor. We used silicone molds of little animals and 1 with shapes. They had fun coating them in the sugar. Was just a fun grandma project on hot days this summer when too hot to play outside . Of course I did all the stirring and stove use but they watched so not to get any burnt fingers. They added coloring and flavor. Their part was sugar coating them and of course eating them.
These gumdrops turned out wonderful!!! I used the Neon gel food coloring which made them bright and colorful… a little tip: I sprinkled sugar on the top of the gummies before taking them out of the mold then I sprinkled sugar as I was removing them out of the mold.. this prevented them from sticking to my fingers and each other….these gumdrops will be my go to for adding a little color and pop to entertaining.. thank you for sharing
Made these a few days ago..these turned out great!.. ..I tried to do 6 flavors but that was too much..I’ll do less next time…love these! And the citric acid makes this soo much better
it tastes so good!!!
Rachel, why did my gummies turn out hard and grainy?? I’m so sad… Would 2tsp of sy lecithin have caused this?
Possibly. The recipe doesn’t call for that so it may have had an impact.
Rachel, I make a nougat candy (Like Brachs used to make, and you bought in bulk) and they have gumdrops in them. I use gummy bears cut in half. But these homemade gummies would be perfect. To make the nougat you just melt together 500 g.. of mini marshmallows and 450 g. of white chocolate chips. in the microwave. Stir stir stir, then add in the gummies and stir some more. I don’t think I would roll the gummies in the sugar though because of a crunchy texture. Then just pour into a parchment lined 13 X 9 pan and put in the refrigerator to set up. I usually let sit overnight. That simple. Everyone loves them.