As Easter approaches, no matter your age, it seems the jelly bean is the perfect treat for this time of year. I wanted to share some a great tasting jelly bean recipe that can be used to make right at home. It's easy and best of all they taste great. Here’s a list of what you’ll need to make these tasty treat right at home. Best of all, they can be enjoyed for the entire Spring season. I've also included some additional ideas to make them even tastier and healthier: Plain:
1 ½ cups water
2 ½ cups sugar
½ oz. powdered gelatin
Optional - Use the following ingredients to add flavoring:
1/8 teaspoon of Fruit Advantage Cherry Juice concentrate – to make cherry flavored beans
¼ cup of finely chopped dried cherries
¼ cup of finely chopped wild blueberries
Large pan or bowl ice – This will be used to prevent the temperature from rising after removing from stovetop and bringing to boil. Candy molds – jelly bean shaped mold. This recipe, you’ll need three to five pans. However, if you don’t have candy molds, use a cookie sheet. Lightly coat the mold/pan with oil. If using a cookie sheet, simply make small drops onto the sheet. Step #1: Combine water, sugar and powder gelatin in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Continuously stir until the mixture come to boil. Step #2: Using a hand held thermometer continue to test until the mixture reaches 230 degrees. Once the temperature is reached, remove from burner and place on bowl of ice to prevent the temperature from rising. Step #3: Stir in the additional ingredients, as mentioned above to the mixture. Continue to stir in the flavor. Once completed, let cool. Step #4: Lightly coat the mold/pan with oil. If using a cookie sheet, simply make small drops onto the sheet. And let set for four to five hour or until firm. Remove from mold/pan and light dust with cornstarch. This will dry them out. If the mixture, is difficult to remove from the candy molds, simply place the entire mold in the freeze for 15 – 20 minutes. Step #5: Coat the jelly beans. Using a large bowl, mix ½ cup of water with 1 cup of sugar then add in jelly beans. Once all ingredients are in the bowl, grab each side of the bowl and begin the move the entire bowl in a circular motion. This will allow the ingredients swirl around inside the bowl. After a few minutes, each piece should be coated with sugar mixture. Continue until most of moisture is gone. Step #6: Remove from the bowl and place on cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for three to four hours until dried and hardened. They should have a slight shiny, if not, you may decide to add an additional glaze by using confectioner’s sugar and water. During this step, you may also want to add food coloring. Step #7: For storage, simply place in individual plastic bags.
As Easter approaches, no matter your age, it seems the jelly bean is the perfect treat for this time of year. I wanted to share some a great tasting jelly bean recipe that can be used to make right at home. It's easy and best of all they taste great. Here’s a list of what you’ll need to make these tasty treat right at home. Best of all, they can be enjoyed for the entire Spring season. I've also included some additional ideas to make them even tastier and healthier: Plain:
