Handmade Heart-Shaped Candy Recipe
Want to make your own homemade conversation hearts, just like the ones you buy at the store, but with a personal touch? Here's an easy and fun way to do it! You'll need a few simple ingredients, some special equipment, and a little patience.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lemon-lime soda
- 1 (1/4-ounce) packet unflavored gelatin
- A whole lot of powdered sugar (around 8 cups) plus extra for flavoring, coloring, and kneading
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Flavoring and coloring of your choice (e.g., mint, orange flower water, or rose water)
- Food-safe color markers or liquid food coloring
Special Equipment
- Disposable latex gloves (optional but recommended)
- 1-inch heart-shaped aspic/jelly cutter
- Food-safe color markers or liquid food coloring
Instructions
- Pour the soda into a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface. Let it stand for 3 minutes until the gelatin softens. Whisk to combine and bring the mixture to a simmer over low heat. Once the gelatin dissolves, remove it from heat.
- Transfer the gelatin mixture to a large mixing bowl. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and salt, mixing well between each addition. Continue to mix until the dough is smooth, pliable, and resembles thick frosting.
- Divide the dough into smaller portions, and add your preferred flavoring and coloring to each portion. Knead the dough until the colors and flavors are evenly distributed. If you want to make some hearts white, roll and cut them first before adding color to prevent staining the rest of the dough.
- Dust your work surface with extra powdered sugar, and roll out each portion of the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a heart-shaped cutter, cut out as many hearts as you can and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gather the scraps, reroll, and cut out more hearts until you've used up all your dough.
- Allow the hearts to dry at room temperature for 2 days. Flip them after the first day to ensure they dry evenly. Once they're completely hardened, you can use food-safe color markers to write messages on them.
Tips
- Don a pair of disposable latex gloves to save your hands from getting stained while working with food coloring.
- You can find heart-shaped aspic/jelly cutters in gourmet cookware stores or online.
- If you don't have food-safe color markers, you can use liquid food coloring and a rubber stamp instead.
- Experiment with different flavors and colors to make your hearts unique and special.
- For an added touch, consider writing personalized messages on your homemade conversation hearts using food-safe color markers.
- If you're concerned about the amount of sugar in these recipes, consider using a lower-sugar version of lemon-lime soda or adjusting the amount of powdered sugar in the dough.
- To category these valentine treats, you might label them as 'uncategorized' in your recipe collection since they don't necessarily fit under baking or candy-making.
- A nutritional analysis of these homemade conversation hearts isn't necessary since they're primarily composed of sugars and flavorings; however, it's worth noting that added sugars can contribute to health issues if consumed excessively.
