Rusty gave me this wonderful candy/mini jello mold for my birthday back in November. And at some point Janejai sent me an inspirational email with colorful photos of homemade gum drops in wintery flavors. I put two and two together and turned out a whole bunch of these little gum drops for my holiday party I hosted over the weekend. Made in mint, cinnamon, and orange flavors and rolled in sweet sugar, the cinnamon was my favorite. These were a huge hit and really simple to make. Have a Happy Holiday!

Gum Drops

2 tablespoons (2 envelopes) of unflavored gelatin powder
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup water, boiling
2 cups granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon extract
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
3 to 4 drops each green, red, and yellow food coloring
3/4 cup granulated white sugar to coat

In a bowl, sprinkle gelatin evenly over cold water and allow the gelatin to absorb the water for two minutes. In a saucepan over medium heat bring 3/4 cup water and sugar to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir into gelatin until gelatin is fully dissolved. Pour equal amounts into three separate small bowls. Flavor each with each of the three extracts. Add green food coloring to the mint, red to the cinnamon, and one drop red with 4 drops yellow to the orange.

Pour into candy mold, or those novelty silicon ice cube treys, or three small, shallow pans and refrigerate overnight.

Dip the mold or pans into hot water for 15 second and pry the candy out of the molds or cut into squares if you used pans. Place the 3/4 cup sugar in a dish and roll each gumdrop in the sugar until coated.