Candies and healthy do not belong in the same sentence, but, now that you’re here, we do have a few recipes for homemade candies for your kids to try. All the recipes fall on the healthier side of the spectrum and the fact that they are handmade means you have control over the nutrients and know what your child is eating. If that isn't an excuse you making these bunch of easy candy recipes for your child, we're not sure what is. To make most of these recipes, you’ll need silicone molds, lots of fridge space, a blender, and some bowls and utensils.
1. Chocolate Coconut Bars
(Makes 8-12 bars)
Ingredients
- 200 gm shredded unsweetened coconut
- 60 ml coconut oil
- 60 ml honey
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- Topping:
- 120 ml coconut oil
- 40 gm Cadbury cocoa powder
- 3-4 tbsp honey
- A splash of vanilla extract
- A dash of Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Warm the coconut oil until it is liquid.
- Add coconut, coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and salt to a blender and blend on high speed, until smooth, about five minutes.
- Spread the base mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan lined with foil.
- Freeze the base for about 15 minutes.
- While the base is freezing, prepare the topping by mixing the coconut oil, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Spread the topping over the coconut base and return to the freezer to set the chocolate.
- Remove the bars from the pan and chop them into pieces.
- Enjoy the Chocolate Coconut Bars and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
2. Healthy Gummies
(Makes 70 pieces)
Ingredients
- 80 ml fruit juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp coconut sugar, optional
- 2 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin
Instructions
- Place the silicone molds on a baking tray. Set aside.
- Add the fruit juice, honey, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Set the pan aside to cool, until warm.
- Add 1 tbsp warm water, in a small bowl, and sprinkle the gelatin. Stir and set aside to bloom. The gelatin will thicken with time.
- As soon as the gelatin blooms, add to the cooled juice bowl and stir to mix. Don't wait too long otherwise the gelatin will be too thick and take longer to mix.
- Quickly fill up the silicone molds, using an eye dropper.
- Carefully transfer the molds placed in the baking tray to the fridge, keeping it in for 30 minutes. You may cover the molds with plastic if you wish.
- After 30 minutes, pop them out of their molds and enjoy!
Notes: You can divide the ingredients into different bowls and use different flavored juices to make the gummies. You can also mix and match juice flavors and make it more interesting. Store the extra gummies to eat later, in the fridge for up to one week.
3. Candied Orange Peels
(Makes approx 60 candied peels)
Ingredients
- 3 large organic oranges
- 60 gm coconut sugar
- 60 gm honey
- 120 ml water (some extra for blanching)
- Chocolate dip:
- 60 gm coconut oil
- 60 gm honey
- 25 gm Cadbury cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cut orange peels lengthwise into thin, uniform strips and blanch them by adding them to a medium pot with water.
- Bring to a boil, then immediately drain completely. Repeat the boiling process once more with fresh filtered water and drain again.
- Add coconut sugar, honey, and water to another medium pot, and bring to a boil on high heat. Continue stirring constantly until the syrup has been boiling for a while.
- Add blanched orange peel strips into the boiling syrup mixture.
- Reduce heat to achieve a steady simmer and cook uncovered for an hour.
- Stir the mixture frequently to prevent the peels from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Cook until peels become completely translucent.
- Remove peels from the syrup and spread them evenly across a sheet of parchment paper. Let the peels dry completely at room temperature.
- For the chocolate coating, melt coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Whisk the remaining chocolate ingredients into melted oil until completely smooth.
- Dip each dried candied peel into the chocolate mixture.
- Arrange the dipped peels on fresh parchment paper and let them dry until the chocolate hardens completely.