These Christmas Gumdrops are fruity and sweet, with a delicious jelly-like texture. Coated in sugar, they are like little holiday jewels on your dessert table!
These gumdrops, also known in our house as jelly squares, have been a must-have element on our holiday cookie tray for at least 40 years. In fact, I once had to order Jell-O from the American store in Paris so that I could recreate these when we lived in France. It is truly not Christmas in our house without them.
My mother thinks the original recipe came from my favorite 1978 Betty Crocker kids cookbook. I can’t find this masterpiece anywhere online and can't let this be lost to time, so I'm reproducing the recipe here—you're welcome!
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Why Make This Recipe
- So fun and festive!
- Applesauce adds great texture to these Jell-O squares
- Delicious fruit flavor that is not overly sweet
🥗 Ingredients
- Red and Green Jell-O: We generally choose Cherry and Lime-flavored Jell-O, but you can use whatever you’d like. Of course, if you don’t care about making Christmas colors, choose any flavor!
- Applesauce: Choose plain applesauce for this recipe, not one with another flavor.
- Unflavored Gelatin: You need an extra dose of gelatin to get the right texture on these squares.
- Sugar: Regular, granulated sugar is what you want for this recipe.
- Lemon Juice: I use fresh lemon juice, but my mom always puts in the bottled lemon juice. For this recipe, I’m not going get preachy about using fresh ingredients.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Mix ¾ cup applesauce, 1 packet gelatin, 1 box of Jell-O, 1 cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon lemon juice in a saucepan.
Heat just until it starts to boil around the edges, then cook for one minute, stirring frequently with a whisk.
Fill a loaf pan half way to the top with cold water. Pour the water out, then immediately pour the gelatin mixture into the wet pan.
Wash out the saucepan, then repeat with the 2nd box of Jell-O and the remaining ingredients. Pour into a second loaf pan, prepared with the cold water in the same way.
When the loaf pans are cool enough to touch, refrigerate for about 3 hours or until the candy is firm.
Cut around the edges of the candy, then pull out the sheet of candy and place onto a cutting board. (It can be easier to cut through the middle of the pan first, and pull up one half at a time. Use a sturdy spatula if you need it.)
Cut the candy into 1" squares, dipping your knife into a glass of water to keep candy from sticking.
Place each square onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Let stand for at least 8 hours at room temperature to dry.
After the candy has dried, place ⅓ cup sugar in a bowl, then roll each square in the sugar until all sides are coated.
Transfer to a serving platter, and enjoy!
Store leftover red and green Christmas gumdrops in an airtight container at room temperature. These are best eaten within about a week, before they start to dry out a little.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Christmas Gumdrops
I would not recommend freezing these. The texture will really collapse after freezing and then defrosting.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
For easiest removal of the jelly layer, use a nonstick loaf pan. Ceramic pans and glass pans are a little harder to work with. But using a stiff or metal spatula can help you scrape the jelly off the bottom of the pan.
A small offset spatula also works well. Scrape underneath the candy, and use your hands to pull the candy out of the pan.
Make sure to wait the full 8 hours for the squares to dry before coating in sugar—otherwise they will be too difficult to handle, and the sugar coating will just melt into the candy. You can wait up to 24 hours before coating.
Want more ideas for red and green Jello treats? Try these fun Jello Roll Ups next!
Other Holiday Recipes
Looking for more Christmas treats? We love these festive red and green Cream Cheese Mints that just melt in your mouth and these super-cute Santa Hat Rice Krispie Treats. And how about checking out some of these festive recipes?
If you try this Christmas Gumdrops recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter. We’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Christmas Gumdrops
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups applesauce
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (.25 ounces each)
- 3-ounce package red Jell-O
- 3-ounce package green Jell-O
- 2 cups granulated sugar plus ⅓ cup for dipping
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix ¾ cup applesauce, 1 packet gelatin, 1 box of Jell-O, 1 cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon lemon juice in a saucepan.
- Heat just until it starts to boil around the edges, then cook for one minute, stirring frequently with a whisk.
- Fill a loaf pan halfway to the top with cold water. Pour the water out, then immediately pour the gelatin mixture into the wet pan.
- Wash out the saucepan, then repeat with the 2nd box of Jell-O and the remaining ingredients.
- Pour into a second loaf pan, prepared with the cold water in the same way.
- When the loaf pans are cool enough to touch, refrigerate for about 3 hours or until the candy is firm.
- Cut around the edges of the candy, then pull out the sheet of candy and place onto a cutting board. (It might be easier to cut the candy in half first, and pull up one half at a time.)
- Cut the candy into 1" squares, dipping your knife into a glass of water to keep candy from sticking.
- Place each square onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Let stand for at least 8 hours at room temperature to dry.
- After the candy has dried, place ⅓ cup sugar in a bowl, then roll each square in the sugar until all sides are coated.
- Transfer to a serving platter, and enjoy!
Notes
Store leftover red and green Christmas gumdrops in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last for about a week before they start to dry out a little. Do not freeze. Expert Tips:
For easiest removal of the jelly layer, use a nonstick loaf pan. Ceramic pans and glass pans are a little harder to work with. But using a stiff or metal spatula can help you scrape the jelly off the bottom of the pan. A small offset spatula also works well. Scrape underneath the candy, and use your hands to pull the candy out of the pan. Make sure to wait the full 8 hours for the squares to dry before coating in sugar—otherwise they will be too difficult to handle, and the sugar coating will just melt into the candy. You can wait up to 24 hours before coating.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made these Christmas jelly squares, tag us @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because we’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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