Apple Cider Gummies

Sep. 28

A classic fall flavour made chewy.

Have you noticed that when you buy or are given apple cider, you end up with a lot of it? It’s never a tiny little bottle, it’s always a giant jug of the stuff. Not that I’m complaining. But if you do end up with apple cider and want to try something a little different with it, try making a gummy. Apple and cinnamon in a gummy, why not? I love these little chews and they are so timely for fall.

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There are a couple of options in this recipe and I’ll explain them here.

Sorbitol
Sorbitol is probably not something you readily have in your pantry, even I do not readily have it and I make candy almost every day. Sorbitol is a powder that is used as a sweetener derived from glucose. It is used in candies that are chewy in nature like gum or gummies. It is an ingredient that gives firmness and resistance that we all love when we enjoy a chewy candy. This ingredient will get you closest to a Haribo chew - not totally there, but close for an at-home gummy. It is totally fine to omit this, but your gummy will be more of a jelly. I’m not knocking jellies but you just need to let go of the expectation that the texture will be like a store bought gummy. I bought mine online here, and I think I’m good for the next few years making gummies.
Citric acid
If you are a canner, then you’ve probably heard of or have some citric acid hanging around your cupboard. It is a powder, that is dried citrus. It gives candy that extra punch of flavour without adding in any extra moisture. Citric acid is what coats the outside of sour candies too, so you can either add a little and punch the flavour up a bit, or you can add more and make it sour, up to you. This ingredient is found where you would buy canning supplies, or here is a link. It is completely optional as it won’t affect the overall chemistry of the candy, but it definitely helps to bring the apple flavour out.
Silicone mold or pan
If this is your first adventure into gummy making and you don’t really want to buy molds yet, then you can always use a pan lined with foil, then once the gummies have set, you can slice them up into little squares. It will take longer to set though, at least give it overnight in the fridge.
If you do decide to get some molds because they are rather fun (plus you can use them for ice and other things you want to mold), pay attention to the size of them. I do find online when they say “large”, this means they are about 1 inch in size, which is a typical size for a store bought gummy, so I like to buy those ones. I’ve boughten molds in the past thinking they looked so cute and then when I got them, they were teeny tiny! So pay attention to the size and think about how big you want your gummies to ultimately be. I used this mold for the recipe pictured, but I also love these ones for a classic gummy bear look. The gummy bear mold also comes with a dropper to help you get the mixture into the molds.

Tools required:

Small/ medium saucepan
Wooden spoon
Silicone mold and dropper (alternatively, you can use a pan then slice into pieces)

The recipe

Apple Cider Gummies

Ingredients

4 tbsp (4 packets) gelatine mixed with 1/4 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
2/3 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
1/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sorbitol (optional)
1/2 tsp citric acid (optional)

Directions

Mix the gelatine and 1/4 cup apple cider together and set aside. This helps the gelatine to bloom and to activate.
In a small or medium saucepan, mix apple cider, sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon and sorbitol over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir until you can no longer feel sugar granules on the bottom of the pan. Do not bring to a boil.
Add the gelatine and stir until melted and combined. Do not bring to a boil.

Once the gelatine has melted, a foam will form on top as seen here. Scoop the foam off the top and you are ready to pour into a mold!

4. Remove from heat and scoop the foam off of the top of the mixture. Stir in the citric acid until fully incorporated.

5. Pour into a pan lined with foil, or into a silicone mold. I like to use a dropper to cleanly get the mixture into the molds. If bubbles start to form from the dropper, just suck them back up with your dropper, like you are vacuuming.

6. Let it set in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove from pan and cut into squares or remove gummies from the mold. You may want to roll them in sugar for a different texture or citric acid for a sour gummy. Store in the fridge, lasts about 2 weeks.

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