Homemade Gummy Snacks

I adore gummies of any kind. They are more tempting to me than a candy bar. I especially love sour gummy worms! Sugary goodness! I try to ration them out, but it's hard because I could easily eat an entire bag in one sitting if I'm not careful. I thought these would be a fun treat for Valentine's day and you can customize them by making them into whatever shape you would like. I used a silicone heart shaped ice cube tray for these and it worked great.

I have to admit that I had two attempts prior to this one with a different recipe. The first time I let it boil too long and burned it and my kitchen filled with smoke. The second time I think I still let it boil too long and it was a hard gooey mess and I couldn't even get it in the molds. User error I am sure! So I scratched that recipe, ran to the store for more gelatin and went with the recipe below. Success, Finally!! They are a little bit softer than the gummies you buy at the store, but still a really good sweet treat. And once I got the recipe right, surprisingly easy to make. Also visit the about.com link below for info on how to make these into gummy worms.

Homemade Gummy Snacks
Recipe: Elizabeth LaBau at About.com
Method for filling molds: Suite101.com
Makes about 28 gummies

Ingredients:
6 tbsp sugar
2/3 cup 100 % Berry Juice or flavor of choice
4 tbsp corn syrup
4 packets unflavored gelatin
Food coloring, optional

Directions:

Prep your silicone mold by brushing them with a tad of canola or vegetable oil, set aside.

Place gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water to soften for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add berry juice, sugar, & corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Once sugar is dissolved, add in the gelatin and stir continually until it dissolves. At this time, add food coloring if desired (I added just a tad of pink).

Using a turkey baster, fill baster with berry mixture and squeeze into the molds, filling about 2/3 of the way full. Place molds onto a baking sheet for stability and refrigerate for at least one hour. Remove from refrigerator. Pop out the gummy snacks & enjoy a sweet treat! Store in an airtight container.