Sour Easter Gumdrops

Ingredients

Sour Gumdrops

Baking spray and butter to grease pans
3/4 cup water
1 (1.75 oz) package powdered fruit pectin (do not use low sugar or no sugar fruit pectin)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon flavored candy oil (ex: green apple, watermelon, cherry, lemon)

Colored Sugar

2/3 cup Dixie Crystals Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
3 teaspoons citric acid powder (add more or less citric acid depending on how sour you like your candies)
Liquid food coloring

Directions

For the gumdrops, spray an 8x8-inch non-stick square baking pan liberally with baking spray.
Grease one medium-large saucepan with butter and set aside.
In another medium saucepan combine water, pectin, and baking soda.
Stir foamy mixture and set over high heat.
Bring to a boil then remove from heat and set aside.
Pour corn syrup into greased saucepan then add sugar on top.
Set pan over medium-high heat and allow it to cook for one minute.
Gently stir sugar into corn syrup and continue stirring until sugar begins to dissolve.
Place a lid on pan for two minutes. The steam build-up will help wash any sugar crystals down sides of pan.
Remove pan lid then clip your candy thermometer onto side of pan.
Cook, without stirring, until thermometer registers 260°F.
At this point place pan of pectin back over high heat and bring to a boil.
Once pan of sugar syrup reaches 280°F remove it from heat.
Begin stirring sugar syrup and then drizzle hot pectin into pan very carefully. The mixture will bubble up and steam will be very hot.
Once all pectin has been poured into saucepan, return it to medium-high heat and cook it for one more minute without stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in flavored candy oil.
To test if candy will set properly you can drop a spoonful of hot liquid candy into a cup of ice water. Let it sit in water for 30-60 seconds then lift it out.
The candy should have cooled down enough to safely touch and it should feel firm but pliable like a gumdrop.
If it’s too soft, then you will need to reheat the mixture to 280°F.
Pour liquid candy carefully into your prepared pan.
Set aside to cool and firm up for 8 hours.
For Colored Sugar, stir together sugar and citric acid.
Divide sugar into small zip-top bags according to the number of colors you’d like.
Add drops of liquid food coloring to each bag and shake and knead sugar until color completely coats sugar.
Pour colored sugar into bowls and set aside, stirring occasionally, until it air dries.
Just before cutting gumdrops place pan in freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from freezer and run a thin plastic spatula or metal knife around edge of pan to loosen candy from pan.
Flip pan upside down and allow gumdrops to fall out of pan.
Spray your mini Easter cookie cutters with non-stick baking spray.
Press a cutter into gumdrops to make a nice clean cut.
Push candy out of cutter into a bowl of colored sour sugar.
Toss candy to evenly coat it with sour sugar mixture then set it on a non-stick baking pan to dry.
Continue to cut gumdrops.
Gumdrop scraps can be cut into small pieces and tossed in remaining sour sugar.
Store covered for up to 2 weeks.