Ann Reardon

How to make Jelly Beans Recipe

how to make jelly beans ann reardon
This is a great activity for the school break, make jelly beans at home.  Parent supervision is needed when handling the hot sugar syrup.

My wonderful husband is away speaking interstate and I miss him greatly.  I go to bed later when he’s not here, it is like I am subconsciously waiting for him to get home.  Then it gets later and later until I realize he’s not coming and I’d better go to bed because the kids will be up bright and early.

My youngest woke up bright and happy this morning singing “you’re my cutey mummy”, melting away all the memories of the hour long tantrum the day before.  Why did he have a meltdown?  He didn’t want to put on his socks and jacket.  The memory is not quite wiped, but as he sings and gives the best cuddles it all fades.

Lets make jelly beans today.

To make your own jelly beans you will need:

1 packet 500g (17.64 ounces) or 4 cups and 3 Tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
A shallow baking tray

108g (3.81 ounces) or 1/2 cup sugar
40millilitres (1.35 fluid ounces) or 3 Tbsp water
20g (0.71 ounces) or 1 Tbsp corn syrup (glucose syrup)
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

For coating
food colour and flavouring
caster sugar or superfine sugar

Use the cornflour to make the molds as shown in the video.
Mix together the sugar and cornflour until smooth then add the water and syrup. Heat to 245F (118.33 degrees Celsius) using a Candy Thermometer to check the temperature.
Pour into the molds and leave to cool for at least a couple of hours.
Sift off the cornflour.
Coat as shown in the video.

how to make jelly beans

If you want the jelly beans smooth you will need to tumble them, I used a kids rock tumbler.  The blue ones stuck together a bit in the tumbler which made them not look as good.  The red ones turned out beautifully.  To tumble the red ones I added 1/4 cup of extra caster sugar and tumbled for one hour.  Then tipped it out of the tumbler and removed the excess sugar.  Add the beans back in with the grated cocoa butter and tumble for one hour more.

2014

by Ann Reardon How To Cook That

My Cookbook

ann reardon crazy sweet creations cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook
All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

78 Comments View Comments

  1. Hi there What can you recommend for flavorings if I’m doing a Harry Potter Bertie Bots kind of deal? I’m looking for “gross flavors,” so like “dirt” and “earwax” and “grass.” Maybe “booger.” No thanks on “vomit.” Clearly, those real extracts are not what I wanna do. But what would you recommend for those or other Every Flavor Beans flavoring?

    • Hi Hilary, That requires a bit of creative thinking. Let me get back to you on this.

    • Thanks, Ann. I’ve been thinking this through, and I think I could do cucumber essence for “grass.” In making my own Bertie Bots, you have to have questionable flavors, but I want to keep them mild. So, cucumber essence for grass seems good. I’m also ok with “paper” and “booger.” That’s probably my limit, and while I feel pretty good about sussing out what to do for grass, I’m at a loss for paper and boogers. I might figure “soap” and use like violet or rose or lavender. But again, “paper?” “Booger?” I thought maybe combining some completely uncomplimentary flavors, like black licorice and rose or something. One more question, can you tell me why I wouldn’t just use extracts instead of essences? The latter are just chemical crap, right? Or wrong? Can I use extracts?

      • Hi Hilary, maybe for paper go with an almond time flavour mixed with a milk. For booger it is tricky but what about doing a Eucalyptus flavour. I cam e across that on a website and while it is more than a smell than a flavour it might fit the bill. Depending on the actual flavour you could mix it with something uncomplimentary like a lime or coconut. An essence is made from the real thing. An extract is chemically manufactured. Which you use depends on the importance of the flavour and the purpose you are using it for. Essences are much more expensive, which is often the deciding factor.

        • OMG. Those are perfect! Eucalyptus is brilliant for booger. And I think almond and something is a good fit for paper. Thank you so much, I think I’ve got a good plan, now! Fantastic, this is what I needed, thank you! On the extract vs. essence, I googled, and it said the opposite, that the essences were chemically created. But I thought about this, and we’re talking about Jelly beans. Not a nice loaf of bread or a chicken diner. I think I can deal with a few drops of something for a batch of jelly beans (to say nothing of the food coloring). This has been great, Ann, thanks for the recipe and the discuss!

  2. I unfortunately have no glucose nor corn syrup. Is there another alternative

    • No I am sorry. You can purchase these online in most countries.

  3. Hi aunty ann i don’t have corn flour can i use wheat flour

    • Hi venus, wheat flour is not as fine a powder as the cornflour so will not work as well. It is called corn starch in some countries.

  4. Do i need a mould or can I shape them by hand. Thx

    • You wouldn’t want to touch the sugar liquid mixture. 245°F/119°C is way too hot to handle. You’d get serious burns.

  5. One question. The flavor must always be added to the coating or can we make the inside flavored too? I’m from Argentina and we don’t have store jelly beans here and every recipe I tried ended awfully. I want to try making every flavor beans like the ones in harry Potter and sold by jelly belly. Is there a way to add flavor to the inside or just the coating?

    • Hi Jero, To make the inside of the jelly bean, you would need to add oil based flavour to the syrup after it has reached 245F and before you pour it into the molds.

  6. HI!! Can I use that homemade mold to make something with chocolate? Or it just works with jelly beans?

  7. Hi, I’m new around here, I was just wondering, i am trying to do this for a gift for my mum and dad but I can’t find a “kids rock tumbler” can you give me a website or a name on where I can find one.

  8. Hi Auntie Ann , I am Audrey can I ask you something. If we doesn’t have any candy thermometer, what can we do

    • Hi Audrey, You really need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

  9. Thanx ann. U so awesum 🙂

  10. lady tell us cornstarch weight in grams

  11. i love you vids . thank you so much i make this all the time with my two wonderlful daughters.

    • Bad girl mental

  12. I love your web site and your channel! I’m a big fan of all of your recipes, and I want to know have you or will you make a video about Candy Corn? I’ve try to find the recipe but none seams to work completely (or maybe I don’t understand them completely) I’m from Mexico and it’s very hard to find a place that sells candy corn… and I love it, so.. it’s sad with Halloween and no candy corn at sight…

  13. HI!!
    Im from Mèxico, I love all your videos, thank you very much, God bless you..

  14. Great! Amazing taste! Thanks!!!

    • 😀

  15. HI I AM MONGOLIA MI NAME IS NARAA WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

  16. I’m not americain, australian or english but I’m french and when I look a this website I was very happy because you wrote the quantitys in g or ml and not only in cups so I can understand the recipes. In France, I don’t have all those things but I can do it with what I have!! Finally I’m very happy of this website!!!:)
    Oh and one more thing Could you Please do a video too make an assortiment of cakes pops!!

  17. I love all your videos Including this one why not make a strawberry shortcake ice cream actual short cake not the carecter thanks bye!!!!!!!!

  18. Dear Ann
    If I put 100 gm liquid sugar instead sugar what happens the result?
    r

  19. hi ann

    i am planning to make the giant snickers bar and at my local shop they only sell single, double and whipping cream is there any other cream i can use instead of 35% and full cream ?

    thankyou in advance 🙂

    • whipping cream or double cream will be fine Sian

  20. What am amazing use of a rock tumbler. As I watched I wondered how you were going to get the candy shell on the outside and was amazed to see just how you did it. I’ve made homemade gumdrops, but always wanted to make my own jelly beans and now I know how. Thanks!

    • Hi! My name is Husnaa and im from south arfrica.I’d surely like to make the jelly bean’s but right now I dont have corn flour would it be the same if I use wheat flour? Or do I have to use corn flour

      • Hi Husnaa, You could try it but the cornflour is a finer powder and makes a much better shape.

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