Homemade gummy candy is a fun kitchen project with kids that is surprisingly easy. If you like store-bought gummy candy, you’ll definitely want to learn how to make homemade gummy bears so that you will never be without this fun treat.
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When my boys head back to school Bella and I are always looking for fun projects! Yesterday, we decided that learning how to make gummy bears with jello would be a fun project with a sweet reward.
Supplies for Making Sweets at Home
It only takes a few ingredients to learn how to make gummies at home. Making candy with gelatin is easy and by using Jello you can pick your favorite flavors.
- 1 -3 oz box of flavored gelatin
- 2 – 1/4 oz packages of unflavored gelatin
- water
- candy molds (we used two candy gummy bear molds)
- droppers (optional, however it is an easy and fun way for kids to fill the molds)
Watch How to Make Gummy Bears
Gummy Candy Recipe
With a measuring cup, place 1/3 cup of water in a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the Jello and unflavored gelatin over the water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. (If you like chewier gummi candy add in another packet of unflavored gelatin.)
Place saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved about 2-5 minutes. When the mixture is liquid and all gelatin has dissolved, remove from heat. Let cool a minute and then pour into a container that is easy to pour from. I use a small ceramic creamer pitcher.
Fill molds with the gummy mixture. If you save the inside of the advent calendar for projects like do, it works perfectly! The sheet of star molds worked a bit better than the bears because they are a bit deeper. However, I must say we were just needing an activity so our standards were pretty low— we thought they all turned out great!
Allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes. They may be placed in a refrigerator for about 10 minutes if the kids are eager to eat these DIY gummy bears. Once cooled to room temperature, the backs can be lightly dusted with corn starch, if desired.
Peel the gummi candy out of the molds. Don’t be shy, you won’t hurt them when peeling them from the molds. There is no need to oil the molds!
Enjoy! I hope you’ll love this fun gummy recipe with jello!
Gummy Bear History
Did you know gummy bears were invented in 1920 by German candymaker 1920, Hans Riegel Sr. He had established a new candy company called Haribo. The name is made up of his name and hometown of Bonn (Hans Riegel Bonn).
What are Gummies Made of?
This homemade gummy bears recipe is naturally gluten-free because it is made with Jello and plain gelatin. There is no gluten in gelatin because gelatin is a collagen protein. However, gelatin is made from animals so this recipe is not vegan or plant based.
Homemade Gummy Bears Recipe
Gummy Candy Recipe
Equipment
- plastic or silcone candy molds
Ingredients
- 1 3 oz box of flavored gelatin
- 2 1/4 oz packages of unflavored gelatin
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Place 1/3 cup of water in a small saucepan.
- Sprinkle the Jello and unflavored gelatin over the water. Let sit for 5 – 10 minutes. If you like chewier gummi candy add in another packet of unflavored gelatin.
- Place saucepan over medium heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved about 2-5 minutes. When the mixture is liquid and all gelatin has dissolved, remove from heat.
- Let mixture cool a minute and then pour into a container that is easy to pour from.
- Fill molds. There is no need to oil the molds!
- Allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes. They may be placed in a refrigerator for about 10 minutes if the kids are eager to eat these DIY gummy bears.
- Once cooled to room temperature, the backs can be lightly dusted with corn starch, if desired.
- Peel the gummi candy out of the molds. Don’t be shy, you won’t hurt them when peeling them from the molds.
RELATED: Make homemade stickers with the unused unflavored gelatin packets.
Notes: My son felt the blue ones weren’t flavorful enough, however, he liked the strawberry. Next time we will try to adjust the gummy bears recipe to 2 boxes of Jello, 3 packages of unflavored gelatin, and 1/2 cup of cold water to boost the flavors.
We are on the lookout for gummy worm silicone molds as the kids decided we need a couple of gummy options.! And, we also want to try sugar-free gelatin next time too. A lot of experimenting in our future. Now you know how to make gummy candy with jello! I hope you have as much fun as we did. Don’t forget you can make adjustments for your taste.
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The gummies can be kept at room temperature.
This looks pretty cool. I just recently started buying candy molds to do with chocolate, but this looks great for variety.
Let me ask a question though, do these need to be eaten right away because they are made from jello? Do they need to be kept in the fridge or can they be room temp?
🙂
ndisilvio @ gmail . com
I did this my daycare kid and he loved it. Thank you so much for sharing this.
This is the best thing I’ve read in a while. Especially with different flavor combination. Definitely going to add this one to the book, thank you very much.
I saw a show on how gummies were made. Instead of casting in molds, an impression was made cornstarch and gummy syrup was poured in. When cooled, the trays were flipped over and the corn starch was reused. The gummies were “polished” with a bit of mineral oil. Pretty cool DIY project!
thanks for sharing this. i can’t wait to try with my girl.
This is so inviting. I am going to make my own Gummi bears / whatever shapes I want. Great idea to make a kid’s day.
Fantastic! I’m making these today with my kiddos. I also plugged this on Cook Play Explore’s Facebook page. Thanks for sharing it!
I can’t use regular flavored gelatine because I’m allergic to the food colorings they add…do you think it would work using just plain gelatine but substituting juice for the water to get the flavor?
Might be a silly question, but what’s the corn starch on the backs do? Does leaving that out make a big difference?
Oh I wish I could make these, I used to love gummy candies – but I can’t get my head around the fact that it’s made of pigs’ bones!
any tips on making these vegetarian friendly?
I made some of these before Christmas for a friend at work. She said “I’ll love you forever!” ;->
The recipes I found use one package of Jello and 5 to 7 envelopes of unflavoured gelatin (I used 5) with half a cup of water. I made one batch with Jello and 5 envelopes plain, and another with about 1/3 cup of honey, 7 envelopes of plain, and the half cup of water. (I’d use more honey next time, maybe half a cup.) Since I had no molds, I put each batch in a little pan I folded out of foil, about 4 inches by 6, and put it on a small baking sheet. I stuck it in the freezer for 5 or 10 minute to set.
Both turned out pretty good. But then, maple syrup would be good (have to adjust the water), or maybe molasses or brown sugar. Or infuse some cardamom in the water for a day or two, or cinnamon, or ginger (Yum!), or whatever spices you like. Wine might work too; I think the gelatin sets even with some alcohol around.
I saw a list of fruit juices NOT to use, including pineapple and kiwi – those will keep it from setting.
I might be talking myself into making another batch.
mine turned out awesome! i posted on FB to share with my friends!
Anyone know where to get molds that look like turtles?