Homemade Spicy Gummy Bears

Today we’re going to make homemade spicy gummy bears. This recipe is very adaptable. If you do not wish to make your gummy bears spicy, you can simply leave the hot peppers out.

Spicy candy may seem repulsive to some, but here at Pepper Geek, we really enjoy it! The sweetness of the candy balances out the spice of the peppers and makes for an enjoyable treat.

We like experimenting with different flavor combinations. You can make this recipe with habanero peppers, ghost peppers, or even reapers if you dare. Choose peppers with a flavor profile that you enjoy.

Here is what you will need to make your spicy gummy bears:

• 1 box of Jell-O (3 oz) – any flavor
• 1 packet of Unflavored Gelatin (0.25 oz)
• 1 tbsp Lime Juice (or lemon)
• 4 Hot Peppers chopped and seeded
• 1/2 cup Cold Water
• 1/4 cup Honey (or corn syrup)
• 1 medium Sauce Pan
• Candy molds (we used these)
• Patience! (this recipe does require a bit of waiting, but the results are worth it!)

Watch the video tutorial on how to make the homemade gummies:

How to make spicy gummy bears:

The first thing we’re going to do is make a “hot pepper juice”. Using a high-speed blender, blend your chopped peppers with 1/2 cup of cold water. You’re going to let this sit for a minute after blending.

Now is a good time to throw on a mask and goggles if you’re using extra hot peppers!

In a medium saucepan, mix your Jello-O packet and packet of Knox Gelatine and give it a little stir so the powders are mixed together.

Strain the blended pepper juice directly into the saucepan. You don’t want any pepper chunks, so make sure you use a fine-mesh strainer.

Stir gently, being careful not to create any air bubbles.

Add lime juice and honey, then stir more until thoroughly combined. At this point we’re going to leave the gelatin to sit and bloom for about 5 minutes.

Now that our candy syrup has sat at room temperature for 5 minutes, you’ll notice it becomes more transparent.

Now we’re going to heat our mixture over medium heat for 3 minutes. You do not want the mixture to boil. Stir the syrup gently as it heats and be careful not to cause air bubbles.

Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to sit for another 5 minutes before putting the syrup into the candy molds. Don’t allow the mixture to harden.

We like using these silicone molds from Amazon. We don’t recommend spraying the molds with cooking spray because the gummy candy can get greasy. We had no trouble getting the candy out of these molds without using cooking spray.

Now we’re going to use the included droppers to carefully fill our molds.

After your molds are completely filled, you’ll want these guys to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before transferring to the fridge for 1 hour. Be sure to clean your dishes and droppers at this time. The gelatin mixture hardens up, and it becomes very difficult to clean!

Now that your gummies have sat in the fridge for an hour it’s time to pop them out onto a flat surface like a cutting board. They will be sticky, but that’s perfectly normal.

These gummies are perfectly fine to eat right now. If you want a chewier candy like a traditional gummy bear, you want to leave these guys out to dehydrate at room temperature (or in the fridge) for 24-48 hours.

You’ll notice they will firm up and shrink in size after dehydrating. On the left is a fresh gummy bear, while the red one on the right side has dehydrated for a couple days and firmed up.

That’s all there is to it! If you have made gummy bears (spicy or not), be sure to leave a comment and tell us what flavors you used.

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