Recipe Gummy Bears

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I decided to make something somewhat healthy for the holiday. I decided on gummy bears. I had no idea how easy they were to make. And, the results were good

Ingredients

3 ounce packet of sweetened gelatin (I got Jolly Rancher Watermelon and Sour Apple flavors...the best jolly rancher flavors).

1/4 ounce packet of unsweetened gelatin

1/3 cup water

Candy molds (mine were Robots and Gems... people cleaned out the bear molds)

Directions

1. Dissolve both gelatin packets in cool water and stir thoroughly. Rest for 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to dissolve into the water.

2. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir again, and heat in 15 second increments until the gelatin is dissolved.

3. Spray candy molds compartments lightly with cooking spray. Then, distribute cooking spray in compartment with a paper towel.

I made the mistake of putting too much cooking spray, thinking that it wouldn’t be a big deal, and that it would unstick the candy. It did help, but it also left the candy a little bit greasy. This is easy enough to fix by blotting with a paper towel, but I would rather not have done it.

4. Pour liquid gelatin into compartments soon after warming up. If you let it sit, you’ll have to reheat it, and it will be hard to get the blend just right.

5. Cool in refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

6. Push gummy candy out onto a paper towel, just in case you weren’t listening and you put too much cooking spray.

7. Store in refrigerator on wax paper, with a separate layer of wax paper for each layer of candy.

 

[Morning Glory]

This is a first (possibly) - I've not seen anyone post a recipe for gummy sweets (candies) here before. Come to that, we don't get many (any?) recipes for candies at all. Why are they 'healthy'?

 

[CraigC]

Back in the mid 60s, way before today's litiginous society, I had a "toy" which had molds that you squeezed liquid plastic into, then heated them up and made little soldier figures. They also had a set that used something called "Gobbledygoop", which went into molds that were in the shape of insects and worms. These got heated/baked and produced "gummy", edible creatures. The "kit" came with the heater/oven. "Gobbledygoop" came in several flavors, but the cherry was my favorite.

 

[buckytom]

Back in the mid 60s, way before today's litiginous society, I had a "toy" which had molds that you squeezed liquid plastic into, then heated them up and made little soldier figures. They also had a set that used something called "Gobbledygoop", which went into molds that were in the shape of insects and worms. These got heated/baked and produced "gummy", edible creatures. The "kit" came with the heater/oven. "Gobbledygoop" came in several flavors, but the cherry was my favorite.

I had that toy! The one where you made spiders and snakes and such. Although, they weren't edible, just liquid plastic that you squeezed into molds then put on a heating platen to cure. Smelled something awful.

 

[CraigC]

I had that toy! The one where you made spiders and snakes and such. Although, they weren't edible, just liquid plastic that you squeezed into molds then put on a heating platen to cure. Smelled something awful.

I got mad with the soldier one because the liquid plastic only came in Army green. I couldn't make enemy or allied soldiers.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Why are they 'healthy'?

Only somewhat. The fact that there is no flour - plus the fruit flavoring – give me the illusion these are healthy.

 

[Morning Glory]

Only somewhat. The fact that there is no flour - plus the fruit flavoring – give me the illusion these are healthy.

Its an illusion. Flour is not unhealthy. And the fruit flavouring? As it happens, I love Jolly Ranchers but I fear they are not flavoured (or coloured ) with natural fruit. Their flavours are so intense.

 

[epicuric]

Flour is not unhealthy.

Flour=starch=sugar! I must confess to a guilty secret here. Despite an aversion to all things sugary, I do occasionally submit to cravings for small, fruity chewy things. Fruit pastills, wine gums, tangfastics, usually when im out in the car and need something to chomp on. I'm sure they put something in them that makes it impossible to resist grabbing another handful from the bag!

 

[Morning Glory]

Flour=starch=sugar!

There is very little sugar in flour (.3g per 100g). So you don't eat bread or potatoes or rice? What about drinking wine - that has .8g of sugar in 100ml. Carrots have a whopping 4.7g in 100g. Are you saying carrots are bad for you too?

Or are you meaning complex carbohydrates which are not the same as simple sugar?

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I just made sugar free gummy bears using this as the juice:

While many people might blanch at the idea of cranberry juice, this one is excellent. The ingredients are as follows:

1 cup Diet Cranberry Grape Juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Stevia
3 tablespoons (1/4 ounce packets) of unflavored gelatin

It's surprisingly tasty! Early indications are that they're much clearer and more consistent in taste than the ones I made above (some of the gummies created with the pre-sweetened mix were overly sweet, and others were less sweet). I will post a separate recipe when the gummies set.