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. If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious Christmas treats:
Gingerbread CookiesChristmas Gingerbread CakeHomemade EggnogSpiral Christmas Sugar Cookies
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. Δ Δ
