Homemade Gumdrops

This recipe is made in partnership with Organic Hive Honey.

These homemade gumdrops are the perfect festive treat made without artificial colors! They’re made with fruit juice, gelatin, and honey instead of corn syrup.

Why you’ll love these homemade gumdrops

• Holiday perfection! Gumdrops are one of those perfect holiday classics, and this recipe brings all of that nostalgia.
• No corn syrup or refined syrup. I found gummies at the store the other day that had glucose syrup as the very first ingredient, and sure enough, they were super sweet and artificial tasing. This version using honey is way more balanced and delicious without being overly sweet.

Recipe Ingredients

• Pear and pomegranate juice.
• Organic Local Hive Honey. I used Local Hive Honey’s brand-new organic honey! Local Hive Honey has 100% raw and unfiltered varietal honey, and their new organic honey comes from Brazil, which produces pure and sustainable USDA-certified organic honey with remarkable floral taste and quality!
• Gelatin.

Modifications & Substitutions

• Agar. You can swap gelatin for agar by using 1/3rd of the amount of agar than gelatin.
• Cherry juice. This would be a great swap for the pomegranate juice.

How to make Homemade Gumdrops

Here are the simple steps, with photos, to make this recipe. Find full instructions in the recipe card.

Step one. Combine the fruit juice, honey and gelatin, allowing the gelatin to set.

Step two. Heat on the stove to allow the gelatin to melt and return to liquid. Repeat for both the green and red gumdrops.

Step three. Use a dropper to add the juice to molds, like this star mold. Allow to set in the fridge.

Step four. Carefully remove them from the molds and place them on a wire rack. Raise the rack using two glasses and put a small fan next to the rack. Turn on low and allow to dry for 90 minutes- 2 hours.

Step five. Pour the sweetener in a bowl and add the gumdrop.

Step six. Toss to coat and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Make sure you dry the gumdrops. Storebought gumdrops go through a drying process over 24-48 hours. However, that can’t be safely done with this recipe as it uses real fruit juice. You can, however, do a home-friendly process in less time! Carefully remove them from the molds and place them on a wire rack. Raise the rack using two glasses and put a small fan next to the rack. Turn on low and allow to dry for 90 minutes- 2 hours. The gumdrops need to undergo a drying process for that chewy texture. If you don’t have a fan, you can set them at room temperature for 2 hours, they just won’t dry as well. 
• Make them fresh. Since they use real fruit juice, these gumdrops need to be stored in the fridge, but this granulated sweetener will slowly liquify once placed in the fridge, so I highly recommend enjoying them immediately. If you plan to enjoy part of the gumdrop recipe for later, store them without sweetener in the fridge, and then dry and add sweetener to serve.

Recipe FAQS

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5 from 1 review

Homemade Gumdrops

Cook Time: 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 5 minutes mins

Author: Michelle

These homemade gumdrops are the perfect festive treat made without artificial colors! They’re made with fruit juice, gelatin, and honey instead of corn syrup.

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Ingredients

 

For the red gumdrops 

• ▢ 1 cup pomegranate juice
• ▢ 2 tbsp Local Hive Honey
• ▢ 2 ½ tbsp gelatin
• ▢ 2 tbsp granulated sweetener

For the green gumdrops

• ▢ 1 cup pear juice
• ▢ ½ tsp spirulina, for color
• ▢ 2 tbsp Local Hive Honey
• ▢ 2 ½ tbsp gelatin
• ▢ 2 tbsp granulated sweetener

Instructions

 

• For the red gumdrops, pour the juice in a medium pot and add the honey. Whisk well. Sprinkle the gelatin over the juice mixture and lightly mix. Allow to harden for 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pot to the stove and heat over low heat for 3-4 minutes or until fully liquid.
• Use a dropper to transfer the liquid into the mold carefully. Alternatively, you can use a large glass container. Transfer to the fridge for 4-6 hours or until fully set.
• For the green gumdrops, pour the juice in a medium pot and add the honey and spurilina. Whisk well. Sprinkle the gelatin over the juice mixture and lightly mix. Allow to harden for 2 minutes. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the green gumdrops.
• After both sets of of gumdrops are hardened, carefully remove them from the molds and place on a wire rack. Raise the rack using two glasses and put a small fan next to the rack. Turn on low and allow to dry for 90 minutes- 2 hours.
• Toss both of the gumdrops in the granulated sweetener to coat and enjoy!

Notes

The gumdrops need to undergo a drying process for that chewy texture. If you don’t have a fan, you can set them at room temperature for 2 hours.

Since they use real fruit juice, these gumdrops need to be stored in the fridge, but this granulated sweetener will slowly liquify once placed in the fridge, so I highly recommend enjoying them immediately. If you plan to enjoy part of the gumdrop recipe for later, store them without sweetener in the fridge, and then dry and add sweetener to serve.

To make this recipe vegan, you would swap out gelatin for agar. Agar is a lot stronger than gelatin, so you need to divide the amount of gelatin by three, and then you’ll have the amount of agar needed! This comes out to a little bit under 1 tbsp of agar.

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