Homemade Gumdrop party favors

Of all of the bazillion treats I made for Gigi’s pony party, I’d say the homemade pony gumdrops got the biggest, “WOW!” And the thing is, they were probably one of the easiest treats to make!

The hardest part about the homemade gumdrops is that I didn’t listen when the recipe suggested, “a large pot.” I thought a medium pot would suffice, but IT DID NOT. My gummy mixture boiled ALL OVER my gas burning stove, so a goo-like film covered the stove, AND dripped down under the burners. The mixture is not like jello, it doesn’t easily wipe up. Instead imagine melted gumdrops stuck all over your stove, and well, that’s what I was dealing with at 2AM while my husband was out of town, because I was too excited about trying to make gumdrops to wait until the next day.

But other than the gigantic mess I made, homemade gumdrops are a PIECE OF CAKE. I love mixing baking metaphors.

Moving on, here’s how to make your own.

DIY GUMDROPS IN ANY SHAPE

What you will need:

1. One batch of gumdrop goo. I used this recipe from Bakerella
2. A 9×13 inch glass pan (like a pyrex)
3. Flavoring of your choice (I used raspberry, but any extract will work)
4. Food coloring
5. Cooking spray
6. A mini cookie cutter

How to make your gumdrops:

Like I said, I used Bakerella’s recipe, but I did not follow it EXACTLY. In order to make a sheet of gumdrop mixture suitable for cutting into shapes, I made some modifications. I used one large pan, and before pouring my gumdrop mixture in the pan I sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. It did not flavor the gumdrops (you’re going to cover them in sugar) and it made my life a lot easier.

Next I upped the flavoring because I flavored the whole batch, I added 1/2 tsp. of raspberry flavoring. I used 2 drops of blue and one drop of green food coloring to get the soft sea foam color.

When your mixture is flavored and colored, pour it into your pyrex dish. Make sure you sprayed it down real guud with your non-stick cooking spray.

In the morning put your toddler in front of the television, and then skip into the kitchen like a giddy child! Using a metal spatula, carefully loosen the sides of your gumdrop sheet. You will probably be able to remove the whole sheet of gumdrop in one swift move, but if it’s sticking break it into two parts and pull them out whole.

Place your sheet of gumdrop on wax paper.

With your cookie cutter cut out as many shapes as you can close together.

You will have leftovers, and unlike cookie dough you can’t squish it back together. So I used a pizza cutter with my scraps to make a bunch of odd shaped chunks. I used these as decoration and to fill up goody bags.

Coat your tiny shapes in sugar and let them sit for 1-2 days. I sugared mine in my pyrex and then covered it with cling wrap. I actually made these almost a week before the party and they got better with time. So this is a great thing to check of your list ahead of time.

Do not be intimidated by these tiny ponies! I swear to you it’s as easy as boil, cut, sugar, scarf.

I think I might have to make some orange pumpkins or black bats for Halloween! But! Next time I want to try making them sour. Mmmmmm. Perfect.

10 Comments

You are a baking/crafting/party thrower genius. I love your DIY projects because a lot of them seem “doable” for someone like me. In fact, I’m making sugar cookies tonight with your royal frosting technique!

Help me think of a theme for Oliver’s third birthday party in a couple of months. I loved Nichelle’s Super Mario Brothers party she threw for Oscar a while ago. You both are amazing!

This party is saving me. I intended to put together my own horse party for my daughter in 2 days! However I love yours so much, I’m just going with it! So thank you! I have the lovely horse hat printable, do you offer any of the other printables from the party, like your labels? Thanks for your genius! Angie

Homemade gummies. Cool.
Tried to send fan mail through your contact form but it had some internal error. Just wanted to say, your site, your stuff and you, all very cool. Love the personality that you exude. 🙂
Keep on keeping on.

As a new Grandmother of two precious baby girls I applaud your post! As a glass artist I make my own silicon molds and wonder if that warm goo could be poured into a dozen little Minnie Mouse mounds . I would put the rest on a. Flat surface like you did and cut them out. I did make tiny glass babies for my daughters baby showers! I bet this would have been 100 times easier.