Hello there, Pooh! You, little gummy bears!
I know it is Halloween on Saturday. But I didn’t make these for little trick-or-treaters. In fact, Bryan and I are going on a small road trip later this week, so I want to bring along some sweet snacks on the road.
This brilliant gummy bear idea comes from Wajeeha at I Knead to Eat. She made these cute mango gummy Poohs. When I saw them, they melted my heart. Winnie the Pooh is my favorite character ever since elementary school. When I graduated from college, my parents bought me an adorable Pooh figurine who dressed up in graduation outfit. My sister got me a Pooh Tsum Tsum plush for my birthday last year. I keep it on the couch at all time (nice hugging). 🙂 Last month at Disneyland, Bryan got me an art piece with Pooh drawing. So, how could I not make these gummy bears?
Since mangoes are not in season right now, I thought it would be a good idea to use apple cider instead. They turned out to be amazing. To better deliver a stronger apple flavor, I first reduced some cider by half. Then combined with extra cider and gelatin. Pour into mold and chill for about 2 hours. Voila! Gummy bears are done! The cider flavors definitely come through. They are not exactly like store-bought gummy bears. They are like very dense jello cubes. Even though they are not entirely the same as regular gummy bears, they are still tasty little treat. They are also less sweet and made with fruit juice. Fun for kids or adults!
Apple Cider Gummy Bears
Ingredients
- 1½ cups plus ½ cup apple cider
- 3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Place a silicon mold on a small baking sheet. Set aside.
- Refrigerate ½ cup apple cider if it is not already cold.
- In a small pot over medium high heat, add 1½ cups of apple cider. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Reduce by half to ¾ cup, about 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the cider almost finished reducing, prepare the gelatin. Take out the ½ cup cold cider. Pour into a medium bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over evenly. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
- With a spatula, stir in the gelatin mixture to the hot cider. Stir gently until fully dissolved. Add the honey. Stir to melt.
- Transfer the hot liquid to a glass cup or measuring cup. Let it cool for 15 minutes. Remove any bubbles or solid that float to the top. Just before pouring, gently stir with a spoon to ensure everything is mixed well. Carefully pour into prepared silicon mold. Transfer the silicon mold and baking sheet to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Once ready, carefully remove the gummy bears from the mold. Serve or store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy within 1 – 2 weeks.
Notes
- Silicon mold makes it easy for the gummy bears to be popped out. Use any mold you like. I bought the Winnie the Pooh one from Amazon.
- I used Trader Joe’s Flash Pasteurized Apple Juice (fridge isle). If you can get your hands on freshly pressed cider, do that.
- While reducing the cider, use a glass measuring cup to help you measure how much cider you have reduced.
- If using Knox gelatin, use 3 envelopes.
- Taste and add more honey if needed.
- These gummy bears are little bit dedicated. Keep them in a single layer if you can. Some of the edges of mine got squashed a little after sitting in the fridge overnight.
Lokness, these are ADORABLE! What fun to have Winnie the Pooh gummies! And in flavors Winnie would definitely approve of. 🙂 Winnie has been dear to me since I was tiny. My mother read the original A.A. Milne books to me as bedtime stories. It took me awhile to get used to the Disney version of Pooh and his friends! I wonder if this would work with vegetarian gelatin? I am going to try it and report back.
Oh Pooh would love that honey in it! I have actually never read the book before. I am more a Disney Pooh kind of fan. But any Pooh is adorable! 🙂
I don’t see a problem with vegetarian gelatin. Let me know how it goes if you try it. Have fun making and enjoying the bears!
OMG, these are the most adorable treats ever! I cannot thank you enough for sharing this healthy gummy bears recipe 🙂 I am obsessed with gummy bears and finally I can have tons of them, without worrying about what’s in them.
Cannot wait to make these!
Thanks so much, Oana! They are really cute. Almost too cute to bite into. The texture of these gummy bears ain’t exactly the same as store-bought one, but I promise you that they are tasty! Hope you will like them. 🙂
OK these are absolutely adorable! Nice work and I love the apple cider flavor!
Thanks Amy! I can’t get enough apple cider. I love that it makes perfect seasonal gummy bears!
Okay, this is ridiculously cute!! I have a fish mold, and this would make cute gummy fishes!
Fish would be adorable too! 😉 Have fun!
This is one of the cutest things ever! So adorable! I love seeing something different like this and how smart are you with using up the apple cider! I also love Pooh (who wouldn’t!) and that mold is just adorable. Thanks for sharing where you bought it..always love your tips, btw!
Thank you Monica for your sweet words! It happens that apple cider is somewhat yellowish orange, so it works out perfectly for pooh. Looks like someone is going to buy the mold soon. 😉
These are so adorable! I’m so glad I found your blog, I love it!
Thanks Kylee! Glad you enjoy reading my blog. That makes me happy. 😀 Have a good one!
Omg…. I have a serious addiction to gummy bears! Anytime I see a bag, I snatch it! But I never ever thought of making them myself – I’m not ever sure where I would have started! But now I have this incredible recipe of yours! Thank you!
You are very welcome, Kathleen! These gummy bears do not entirely have the same texture as store-bought ones. But if you dig these, you can use different fruit juice to create different flavors as well. Enjoy! 😉
I’d like to try them, they look so cute! I made watermelon gummy bears once but they were a huge disaster…
Sorry about your watermelon gummy bears last time. You should nail these ones this time. 😉 Enjoy!
wow, this is just so incredible.. love it.. the pictures are just so amazing and out of the world..
Thank you for the sweet words! These were so fun to make, and even better when eating them!
Oh my! These are adorable! I usually make citrus flavor gummies for my kids. I”m sure they would love this apple cider version as well. thanks for sharing.
Thank you Amy! Aren’t these cute? They are great for both kids and adults. I love the idea of citrus flavor gummies. Need to try them next time. 😉