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Homemade Lemon Drop Candies

September 18, 2013 by Cara

I have a special soft spot for Lemon Drops.  theme

There are few memories I have of my grandmother but one that sticks out the most in my mind is how she always had Lemon Drops candies waiting for my sister and I whenever we came to visit. Now it is of no surprise to all of you that as a kid I loved candy and showed no partiality to anything sweet so again, no surprise that I would eat drop after drop until my tongue was battered from the rough sugar.

lemondrops

This homemade version makes me feel like I am 6 again with my sister, reaching my hand into the candy dish… (Happy Birthday, Sissy!)

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Homemade Lemon Drop Candies

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1/4 c. corn syrup
  • 3–4 Tb water
  • 2 tsp citric acid
  • 2–3 drops all-natural yellow food coloring
  • Lemon flavoring

Instructions

  1. Place parchment paper into a small pan (I used my 7″x5″ one)
  2. Place sugar, corn syrup, and water into a saucepan. Bring to soft boil, stirring constantly.
  3. Place candy thermometer into saucepan. Do not stir anymore at this point. Once it reaches 310 degrees, remove from heat.
  4. Allow the mix to sit for 30 seconds-1 minute. Place a couple of drops of coloring, flavoring, and citric acid and stir.
  5. Pour into parchment-lined pan. Let it cool briefly for 4 minutes (you want the candy harden a little but still soft so you can cut through it).
  6. Using kitchen scissors, cut into desired shapes. Dust with powdered or fine-textured sugar (this keeps from the candy from sticking together).

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @forkandbeans on Instagram and hashtag it #forkandbeans


 

 

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  • Vegan Salted Caramels (Corn Syrup-Free)Vegan Salted Caramels (Corn Syrup-Free)

Filed Under: Kid-Friendly Tagged With: candy, dessert, gluten free, Lemon Drops, vegan, VeganMoFo

About Cara

Based in Chicago with her husband and son, Cara is the creator behind the site Fork and Beans: A place where kids can have fun with their food.

Previous Post: « Homemade Vegan Heath Bars
Next Post: Homemade Gluten-Free Vegan Kit Kats »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melanie

    December 16, 2016 at 7:42 am

    I wish to make these as puckery as possible. Got any suggestion for the sucking in the cheeks motion?

    ★★★★★

    • Yana

      March 23, 2019 at 11:32 am

      Hi, I love it them to be sour as well. I add double the amount of citric acid to make it more sour.Add more each batch until you have reached your desire.

    • Yana

      March 23, 2019 at 11:36 am

      Hi,about 2 to 3 drops of flavoring is what I use.
      Hope this helped

  2. Janie

    October 29, 2016 at 11:26 pm

    Any idea if a lollypop stick could be pushed into the freshly cut candy to form small suckers similar to Dum-Dums?

    ★★★★★

  3. Jenni

    April 18, 2016 at 8:04 pm

    How much lemon flavor should be used?

  4. Rachel

    May 28, 2014 at 8:31 pm

    Looking to get non-gmo, organic citric acid….where should I buy it? Thanks

    • Debbie

      June 25, 2014 at 7:49 pm

      Hi Rachel, I couldn’t find any non-gmo organic citric acid, so I searched online and found on ehow.com it says to replace each teaspoon of citric acid in the recipe with 4 tbsp.of lemon juice. Hope that helps.

  5. Lee

    October 11, 2013 at 11:10 am

    Substitute the sugar for coconut sugar and the cornsyrop for either pure maple syrop or stevia+water…for an extra punch, add a bit of fresh lemon zest instead of sugar crystals to coat the drops. Then you’ll have a yummy healthy treat!

  6. Kirsten

    October 11, 2013 at 7:16 am

    I will definitively give this one a try- I have made candy before, successfully. It’s just hard to find cornsyrup here in switzerland- could you recommend a substitute? And I also take it you mean 310° Farenheit (can’t be Celcius, I guess that would produce lava-like chacoral ;-p ). Thanks for sharing!

    • Dave

      July 21, 2014 at 5:59 pm

      Kirsten, I know it’s been a while but one thing you could do to get the same smooth texture is to up the water to 1/2 cup or so and add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar.

  7. cake girl

    September 20, 2013 at 6:17 pm

    lemon drops were my childhood fav. thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!

  8. Laurel

    September 20, 2013 at 11:33 am

    Wish I had a copy of “The Lemon Drop Kid.” I love Damon Runyon, a great author.

  9. richa

    September 19, 2013 at 8:41 pm

    you amaze me with every post Miss Cara! these lemony bites of goodness look so perfect!

  10. Brooke (Crackers on the Couch)

    September 18, 2013 at 5:09 pm

    My boys would be all over these!

  11. Sissy

    September 18, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    I remember those candies too! And thanks for the birthday wishes! You made my day! LOVE YOU!!!!

  12. Sharon Delamore

    September 18, 2013 at 11:08 am

    I don’t really care about candy, Vegan or not, but I would REALLY like to find a vegan cookbook for one (or maybe 2: left overs! ).
    Can you help? I have a half can of Cannellini beans in my kitchen right now.

    Thanks
    SharonDelamore

    • Somer

      September 18, 2013 at 11:13 am

      Sharon, I’m gaga over Cara’s candy, but if you are looking for a vegan cookbook for one, this might be the thing for you:

      http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Slow-Cooking-Two-Just/dp/1592335632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379527997&sr=8-1&keywords=kathy+hester

  13. Carie

    September 18, 2013 at 10:44 am

    My great grandma always had those gummy orange slices. Fond memories!

  14. luminousvegans

    September 18, 2013 at 10:29 am

    Weirdly enough, I think I have all those ingredients in the pantry. These look wonderful!

    ~Ketty

  15. Amanda

    September 18, 2013 at 8:43 am

    I am so impressed that you made these! 🙂

  16. Bianca- Vegan Crunk

    September 18, 2013 at 8:36 am

    Whoa! For some reason, I would never think of lemon drops as something one could make at home. Awesome. Loved those things as a kid!

  17. Dawn

    September 18, 2013 at 6:54 am

    My mouth is watering!

  18. Bobbie {the vegan crew}

    September 18, 2013 at 6:50 am

    I was never super big on candy (I liked it, but it was one of those things where I could always take it or leave it), but…I could eat lemon drops like crazy. I adore *anything* lemon and can’t wait to try these!

  19. Your Biggest Fan!

    September 18, 2013 at 6:40 am

    Oh, what a sweet (no pun intended) memory! I too remember her lemon drops. MY grandmother also had lemon drops when I was a kid. Your post just conjured up so many wonderful memories!
    These lemon drops look great! I want to pop one in my mouth right now.:-)
    P.S. I already sang happy birthday to your Sissy.
    XOXOXOX

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