Do your kids like gummi candies? Most kids do so why not spend some family time making gummi worms for a summer treat. It’s fun, it’s quick, and you can control the amount of sugar your child is eating by varying the recipe.
July 15 2013 is National Gummi Worm Day. In celebration use this recipe to make these yummy sweets. You can even dazzle your kids with the following facts. Gummi worms were created in 1981 by the German company ‘Trolli’ and they were the second gummi candy invented (about 60 years after gummy bears). The word ‘gummi’ means rubber in German; this type of candy gets the name ‘gummi’ because of its rubber like texture. That texture and the yummy fruit flavor makes it popular with many kids.
Ingredients
- 2 packs (3 oz) Raspberry Jell-O
- 1 pkg unflavored gelatin (add more for extra firmness)
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 3 cups boiling water
- 15 drops green food coloring
- 100 flexible straws (or enough to fill your container)
- Tall container (1 quart or 1 liter carton of milk)
Directions
- Combine gelatin in bowl and add boiling water.
- Let it cool to lukewarm and then add the whipping cream and 15 drops green food coloring.
- Gather your straws (don’t forget to flex them out) and put them in the container. It’s important that the straws have a tight fit so the jello stays in the straws. For this reason, a 1 liter carton may be better; you will probably get longer worms since there is a tighter fit. If you have a bigger container, a rubber band around the straws is helpful. Or you could just add more straws to fill the container.
- Add the gelatin mixture to the straw-filled container and let it set until firm.
- There are multiple ways you can remove the worms from the straws. You can roll a rolling pin over the straws and squeeze them out or you can hold the straws over warm water (the preferred method). The worms will slip right out.
For kids this is fun whether it’s in the summer or for Halloween. For moms you can change the recipe, use different kinds of Jell-O – even sugar free Jell-O, skip the dye, or use a non-dairy powdered creamer if your child cannot have dairy. It’s recommended you fill the liter container with straws (or the Jell-O will not stay in the straws) but if you don’t want to make that many you can use fewer straws and rubber band them together. No matter what you do you it’s easy and it’s something the entire family can do together.
