Gummy Candy

For a few years when I was a kid, my family lived in a tenement in Germany. The building sat on top of this really big hill that we used to run, roll, and fall down. At the bottom of the hill sat a little neighborhood shop. The man who ran the store was short by my standards, with peppered hair and rosy cheeks. He always wore a grey tweed sweater of different variations, with an apron of some kind. He smelled like grass, musty underarms, and gumdrops. Distinct smells separately, but earthy and lovely when combined all together.

But those weren’t the only smells in the store. There were woodsy chocolates, maple-ly roasted nuts, and ooh – sweet Jesus – there were gummies till the end of kingdom come. They swirled around the store in scents of strawberries, peaches, and sour apple. And when you placed just one on your tongue, rolling it around to feel the smoothness of the treat, only to bight down into a chewy, gooey, sensation, then you knew. . . .life couldn’t get any better than this.

I wish my kids had a memories like that. They don’t live on the top of a hill in some foreign land; they live on a quiet street in Houston. No cute little gingerbread shops around here, though the Taco Truck that feeds the construction workers drives by daily, does that count? I didn’t think so. Well, I can’t move that German man and his shop to H-town, and honestly I’m not sure he’d come. And then there’s that problem of the hill. So instead, maybe we’ll make gummies in our little homey kitchen, and they’ll make memories of their own.

Gummy Hearts

What you need:

*Non stick cooking spray (optional – we didn’t use it, and our molds came out easily)

Some type of small mold (i.e. candy mold, small ice cube tray, mini muffin tin, etc.)

2 packets (.25 oz each) of unflavored Gelatin

3 packs Jell-O (regular or sugar-free)

1/3 cup water

*some recipes call for the nonstick spray, but we didn’t use it because we didn’t want greasy gummies. Our gummies were very sturdy and came out of their molds, without any ripping or tearing!

What to Do:
  1. Pour water into a small sauce pan. Add Jell-O and Gelatin, and stir to incorporate. Let sit 10 minutes.
  2. Over a medium heat, stir the mixture until is has completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
  3. Cool slightly, and pour into a small pitcher or water to make pouring into the molds easier.
  4. Fill molds and cool completely, or place in freezer for faster jelling.
  5. Remove gummies from mold.  These gummies are sturdy, so don’t be afraid to apply pressure.
Enjoy!

3 thoughts on “Gummy Candy

  1. Hey, Nicole-I love gummy candy and these sound really simple. Did they tast like jello jigglers or more like gummy bears or unsugared gumdrops? Guess I could always try the recipe myself

  2. So super simple and really yummy. We tried a few batches and I think the ones with real sugar Jello tasted much more like gummy bears. These are much more firm than jigglers and more tart, and not as sweet as gumdrops. Also, the flavor Jello also made a difference. Our favorites were Cherry and Orange, they seemed to be the tangiest.

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