Homemade Gummy Bears

Sure you can replace toiletries and cleaning supplies, but what about all that processed food? I cook a lot from scratch, but I totally take the easy way out with snacks. Working from home has definitely given me the opportunity to try making more things from scratch though. We were playing games at a friend's house and she brought out fruit snacks. Because of my dairy allergy, I took a peek at the ingredients (they were safe, I thought they would be, but the things I have found dairy in would surprise you!). Did you know fruit snacks have wax in them??? I mean, beeswax won't exactly hurt you, but I don't necessarily plan to eat it.

So I set out to figure out how to make my own. No wax, no mystery allergens, plus I could pick my own flavors. The question is how hard and expensive would this get? Not very. The gelatin is not very expensive, and the liquid you use is so flexible that you can also keep that cost down too. The molds can be pricey, depending what shapes you want, but given that you will be reusing them the price is reasonable if this is something you plan to keep up with.

Homemade Gummy Snacks
1 cup fruit puree and/or liquid
(juice--commercial or fresh, tea, water, any combo thereof)
1-2 Tbsp honey, or to taste
(optional, but recommended if using a fresh fruit puree)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
(optional, but recommended if using a fresh fruit puree)
3 Tbsp gelatin OR 2 Tbsp agar agar*
1/4 - 1/2 tsp citric acid
(optional, for sour gummies)
Candy mold or shallow dish

To make, gently heat your liquid component. Again this can be a fruit or veggie puree, fresh or commercial juice, tea, water, or any combo thereof that totals 1 cup. If using flavored gelatin, you can even use plain water (for this option use 1 Tbsp flavored gelatin and 2 Tbsp unflavored). Slowly stir in your gelatin until dissolved, along with the remaining ingredients if using.

Honey may not be needed if using a commercial juice, so use your judgement. You can also sub with any sweetener of choice if desired. The lemon juice may add a little tang, but will mostly work to help preserve the fresh fruit or veggie purees. Citric acid has far more punch, so if your intent is a sour gummy use this instead, adjusting to taste.

Once everything has combined, pour into your molds. You could easily pour into a large pan and cut into small cubes once set, or you can buy a variety of cute molds** (fruit shapes, gummy bears, even dinosaurs!). After your liquid has been poured into its molds, let set in the refrigerator 1-2 hours or freezer 20-30 minutes. Pop out of your molds and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Tips & Tricks:

• You may want to spray your molds with oil to help your gummies pop out after setting.
• The texture is likely to be softer than you are used to. If you want harder/chewier gummies let them sit out on the counter or in the refrigerator uncovered 1-2 days to dehydrate a bit.
• If your gummies stick together, toss them with a bit of cornstarch or arrowroot powder.

*What about vegan options? Gelatin is not vegan, but you could certainly use agar agar powder. I have not yet done this myself, but some research has suggested you may want to use only 2 Tbsp. If you choose to use agar agar, please comment and let me know how it worked and how much you used!

**Where do you get fruit snack or gummy bear molds? I found mine on Amazon, but a quick google search will show you all kinds of options.

You can really use any candy mold, or just pour into a large dish and cut into cubes once set. These are some of my favorite molds:

Gummysaurs  (4 different dinos!)

Gummy Bears

Traditional Fruit Snacks

Perhaps a bit late for DIY Thursday, a bit early for Food & Fitness Monday, but there you have it!

Simple Origami Box

I've been doing origami (the Japanese art of paper folding) since I was about 6. My best friend all through grade school had moved to American from Japan in Kindergarten. We became fast friends and spent a lot of time together. I remember all the time spent at her house, where they all still spoke Japanese, the trips to the Japanese mall (then it was called Yohan, now it is known as Mitsuwa), watching anime and reading manga with Shiho translating everything for me, learning enough Japanese to insult someone (that's what's important when you are under 10!). I also remember Shiho teaching me origami and my fast obsession with it.

Nowadays I don't do it as much as I used to. I find neat ways to use origami for decoration or gift wrapping though. Sometimes if I have a small gift, I'll even make a box (and if you ever ordered from me when my shop was Caiti Scarlet, then you received your purchases in origami gift boxes). If you ever run into me at my day job, you will notice I tend to whip them up for small candies as well...

Because I am lazy and did not want to waste paper testing out different boxes, I turned to Google and found this little gem. Simple, and larger than the "standard" box I usually make (and was avoiding in order to fit all my mints in there). This is a great basic box, and it is so easy beginner's should not have trouble.

If you are interested in the mints, they are home made butter mints. I've been wanting to make them forever and found this recipe online. Just like bread, the humidity will affect your dough and I found myself using closer to 4 cups of powdered sugar. I also do not much care for peppermint, so I picked up some "Pure Mint" extract instead. It's kind of a fresh mint/spearmint mix. I also found myself using much more extract...at least 1 tsp, and probably closer to 1.5. Don't take this to mean you should use this much though, especially if you are using peppermint (I think it is much stronger). It was easy to add more in at the end, so follow Averie's advice