Tart Cherry Fruit Jellies

I have always wondered how to make these jelly candies, and now that I’ve made them I kind of wish I didn’t know how.

Why, you might ask? Because they are immensely easy, and immensely freaking amazing. And now I have another thing I can just whip up and eat too much of. Hm.

(Seriously- I just texted The Husband to ask him to come home from work to help stop me from eating the entire batch. He suggested I take them and lock them in the mailbox downstairs, which is really quite pointless because if I can open the box to put the candies in the box, that means I can also open the box to take them out again when the urge to swallow them all in one bite strikes me stronger than the urge to get them out of sight. The Husband; he’s sweet, but doesn’t understand the anatomy of a binge.)

Okay, so these candies are totally, excitingly versatile. You can puree any fruit you want (strawberry! mango! whatever!), or use a combo of fruit juice and applesauce if you don’t have fruit on hand/ want a flavor you can’t get on hand (like how I used tart cherry juice because where am I going to get tart cherries in Chicago in December?).

I’m so excited by these! Enough to use exclamation points in a gratuitous fashion!! You should be excited too!!!

(IMPORTANT NOTE: as I type this, Mike the Oven Repair Guy is here. Is it possible the oven will be fixed tonight? It better be. I have 85 things to make in the next 3 days, so Mike better get a move on.)

Adapted from the Culinary Institute of America’s recipe…

1 lb (2 cups) fruit puree (any kind of berry, stone fruit, etc.)*

3 cups sugar

6 oz. (2 envelopes, 3 oz. each) liquid pectin

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or lime juice)

1/2 cup sugar, for coating jellies after cutting
1. Lightly coat a 9″ pan with cooking spray, line with plastic wrap, and set aside. Open the pectin envelopes and have ready (standing upright in a cup or something so they don’t spill in the meantime); set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, combine sugar with fruit puree* and stir constantly over medium-high heat until mixture reaches 238º on your candy thermometer.
3. Add the pectin and bring the contents to a boil for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and remove pan from the heat.
5. Pour jelly goo into the prepared pan and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over top to coat the top of the jelly. Allow to set at room temperature until cooled (at least 2 hours).
6. To slice, turn the pan upside down to release the jelly; peel off the plastic wrap and sprinkle the newly exposed side with sugar to lightly coat. Cut into pieces and roll each piece in sugar to coat. Set the candies on a wire rack lined with parchment wax paper and let air-dry for at least 8 hours. (Sprinkle a bit of sugar on the paper before setting your candies on it.) Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Tips:
- *Want to use fruit juice instead, like pomegranate or grape juice? Yep, it’s so easy. Use 10 oz. (1 1/4 cups) of juice and 8 oz. (3/4 cup) of unsweetened apple sauce instead of the puree.
- Getting to 238º takes a while. My thermometer felt like it was stuck for almost ever at about 221º, and then finally did start to climb again up to the right temperature.
- You will need to stir constantly because the CIA people say that “jellies scorch easily” and I think they’re right. (Culinary Institute of America, doy yoy, not what you’re thinking.)
- Have your pan ready, like instructed in step 1. If you wait to line your pan after you’ve cooked the jelly candy, it will start to set in your saucepan.
- Cutting your jellies is quite easy. I used a long knife, but some like to coat a pizza cutter, kitchen scissors or decorative cutters with cooking spray so the candies won’t stick when cutting the candy.
- No freezing, sorry.
- Enjoy!
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December 13th, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Candies, Cherries