My favorite type of candy is gummies. I love Haribo (it has to be Haribo, because they are extra hard and chewy) mini frogs and bears.So when Aaron made these vodka-infused bears last month, I had to try them. They were so addicting, but that may be the alcohol talking.
The texture of these vodka-infused gummy bears is a cross between jello and those asian lychee jel candies (the ones that made the news for being the cause of kids choking).
The beginnings of my experiment. I had a bunch of mini bears which were becoming super chewy and dried out. 
Recipe (modified from "Instructables")3/8 c. apple juice
1/4 c. vodka
1/2 c. gummy candies (bears, worms, frogs, etc)
Combine all ingredients in a container and cover it. Refrigerate.
Stir the gummies daily, so that they do not end up sticking together.
Soak the gummies for at least five days (you can taste the gummies prior to the five day soak, but the middles might be super hard)
**Modifications***
*If you like the taste of a different alcohol, use it. The dominant flavor is the alcohol, so you can make tequila or rum-flavored gummies. I am not sure if Bailey's is a good idea.
*Non-alcoholic gummies can be made. Just use a flavored juice instead. Or, li hing mui juice. (that's how my sister used to eat gummy bears when we were younger).
For those of you who have ever gone drinking with me, you know that I cannot handle my alcohol. I think I can get drunk off less than one shot of alcohol. So, I modified the recipe. I used more apple juice than vodka. When Aaron made his gummies, he soaked the bears in grape juice and vodka, so all the bears were a dark shade of plum, and you could not appreciate the colorfulness of the bears. Aaron, Erika, and I discussed that a white cranberry juice or apple juice would be better to help retain the colors. 
I made a tiny portion of gummies, so just multiple the recipe if you want to make more...and believe me, these are quite yummy so you might want to make more.
So if you want to be that "uuber-cool" person at your next social gathering, bring these gummies. How cool would it be to sip an apple martini with floating chewy gummy bears? or frogs? 
Look how much liquid the frogs absorbed! The marshmallow portion of the frogs remained intact, but might have not survived a 10-day soak. They were slightly disintegrating, so marshmallow-type gummies might not fare as well as traditional gummies.
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8 comments:
do they still pack a punch with the alcohol or does it kind of mellow by the 5th day?
Wow—a gummy bear extravaganza. That's great. They got so much bigger!
I would never have thought of gummy bears and alcohol together, but that just goes to show what I know. ;)
kat-the gummies taste more like alcohol on the 5th day...and the next few days too.
That is a great idea, 2 of my favorite things combined - Gummy Bears and Vodka!
Do you need to keep the Gummi's in the fridge after they have been soaked?
Looking forward to the next experiment :)
Cool, they sure do plump up!
hi gummy guy! I am not sure if you have to leave them in the fridge (I mean it's really just candy and alcohol), but to be on the safe side, I'd keep them refrigerated.
so for some reason I am just cracking up at how big the gummy bears get from being soaked in the liquid...it just looks weird when you compare it to the original size...
I'll have to try this and cute idea to put them in martinis! I'll let you know...
reag,
we'll definitely have to make these when i visit you next month. i'll bring all my haribo gummies from my apartment.
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