Homemade Gumdrops (No Sugar Option)

More Homemade, Healthy Treats for Later:

Dandelion Candy

Easy Keto Gummy Recipe

Low Carb Coconut Gelatin

What are Homemade Gumdrops Made Of?

These homemade gumdrops have three ingredients:

1. Organic fruit juice or a combination of freeze dried/dehydrated fruit powder and water
2. Organic gelatin
3. Sweetener

You heat these in a pan and pour the mixture into a dish to cool. The last steps include cutting the gumdrops and rolling them in crystalized sugar or low-carb sugar. 

You can also leave the gumdrops as they are and serve them cut into bite-sized pieces and serve cold.

The best part is, there’s no need to use chemical dyes to create color because the fruits and fruit juices create a beautiful naturally dyed treat.

• If you want a color like yellow or blue, you can use herbal teas like turmeric and butterfly pea flower tea as a natural dye.

Homemade Gumdrops Recipe

Use three healthy ingredients to make homemade gumdrops and tailor them to your family’s needs. Use your favorite fruity flavors, best sweeteners, and organic gelatin to make gumdrops for special occasions or a simple family treat.

• These are so easy to make that the kids can whip them up in no time on their own.

Healthy Homemade Gumdrops

Homestead Lady Tessa Zundel

Healthy homemade gumdrops can be made in minutes with the best ingredients. Organic gelatin, delicious fruits and juices, and healthier sugar are the three elements of this super easy gumdrop recipe. A classic candy made healthy!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Chill Time 4 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine Candy

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 Cup Fruit Juice*
• 1/3 Cup Sweetener
• 3 Tbsp. Organic Gelatin

Instructions

 

• Place the 3 Tbsp. of gelatin in the bottom of a medium sized saucepan. Pour the 1 cup of juice over the gelatin, whisking vigorously to incorporate.
• Add the 1/3 cup of sweetener to the pan and whisk again.
• Place the pan on a low-medium heat until all the gelatin and sweetener are completely dissolved.
• Place the mixture into a 9" x 9" pan and cool to room temperature.
• Cover the dish and finish cooling in the fridge for 2-4 hours until completely firm.
• When ready to serve, cut into bite-sized pieces and use a sharp spatula to pop them out of the pan. Toss in granulated sugar for a lovely finish and to keep them from sticking to each other.
• If you have any leftovers, keep them in the fridge for a week in a covered container.

Notes

*You can subsitute the fruit juice with one cup of water and 1/3 cup of powdered fruit but it will create more of a suspension than an emulsified gumdrop.

The absolute best results will occur if you use strawberry syrup. To make low carb strawberry syrup:

1. Blend 2 cups of sliced strawberries (greens removed), 2 1/2 Cups of Water, 1 Cup of Allulose, 2 tsps. Lemon Juice (to preserve color).
2. Place the blended mixture into a saucepan to warm over medium heat until the allulose melts and the mixture is cohesive. Do NOT simmer or boil!

This will yield around 3 cups of syrup which you can use for other things or to triple this recipe.

• If you make and use the strawerry syrup, taste test adding the sweetener called for in the recipe. Sweet is a very relative taste, so adapt this recipe to your preferrences.

To make a non-low-carb syrup, simply swap out the allulose for honey or sugar. When making a sugar-based syrup, you may bring the mixture to a simmer without worry.

Now, this process takes a little longer, so feel free to use juice because the gumdrops will be delicious. The strawberry syrup simply gives a more robust fresh strawberry flavor.

You can use your preferred sweetener; cane sugar or honey are recommended because their flavors blend well with fruit. 

If you want to use a low-carb sweetener like Allulose, reduce the amount to 1/4 cup. Taste test for sweetness and add a few more tablespoons, if needed.

• Do NOT let the mixture simmer.

Once you've tossed the gumdrops in sugar, you can wrap them in small pieces of parchment paper to give as gifts. Or you can purchase small candy bags made of plastic or organza to place into Easter eggs or Christmas stockings.

These homemade gumdrops are also fantastic for decorating gingerbread houses, cakes, and cookies.

Keyword gelatin, homemade candy, low carb

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Roll the Gumdrops or Leave Them Plain

I like my gumdrops plain, without added sugar on the surface because I don’t like the extra sweetness. However, if you want to ship these gumdrops or prefer a more classic look, you’ll want to roll them.

After you pour the warmed mixture into a dish to cool the gumdrops will set up into a solid slab. Cut each gumdrop into bite-sized pieces.

Half fill a dish of your favorite granulated sugar and roll your pre-cut gumdrops gently to coat the surface.

Homemade Gumdrops Recipe No Sugar Option

As the recipe mentions, you can use pretty much any sugar to make these homemade gumdrops. I recommend cane sugar or honey for the best flavor blending with fruit.

However, to reduce the sugar/unhealthy carbs, you can also substitute in keto sugar. If you want to use a low-carb sweetner like Allulose, reduce the amount to 1/4 cup. 

The only trick when using low-carb sugar options is to be sure not to simmer or boil the mixture to avoid the formation of sugar crystals.

If you want to further lower the carbs, use lower carb fruits and juices. Lower carb fruits include:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Rasberries
• Blackberries

Another favorite low-carb flavor for homemade gumdrops at our house is hibiscus or passion fruit tea. Simply use a tea bag to infuse a cup of boiling water with healthy herbs and flavor. Use this in place of the fruit juice.

Homemade Gumdrops Recipe Other Notes

You can subsitute the fruit juice with one cup of water and 1/3 cup of powdered fruit. Fruit is one of the best foods to freeze dry, but it also does very well when dehydrated.

Use a mortar and pestle to powder freeze dried fruit; a blender works best for dehydrated fruit. If you have a large amount of either, use a blender for the sake of time the fineness of the final product.

To learn more about drying fruit, please read:

Best Foods to Freeze Dry

The Best Foods to Dehydrate

Dehydrator vs. Freeze Dryer, Which is Best

Once you’ve tossed the gumdrops in sugar, you can wrap them in small pieces of parchment paper to give as gifts. Or you can purchase candy bags made of plastic or organza to place into Easter eggs or Christmas stockings.

These homemade gumdrops are also fantastic for decorating gingerbread houses and trees, cakes, and cookies.

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