Gumdrop Cookies
These soft, buttery Gumdrop Cookies studded with sugar-coated candies are perfect for any holiday dessert table and are sure to stand out from the rest! GUEST POST by Hungry Happenings
Christmas is a time of sharing and I am honored to be here today In Katrina’s Kitchen to share my favorite cookie recipe. Thanks, Katrina for inviting me to join in on the fun.
Making festive food for holidays and special occasions is the great joy in my life and I have such a wonderful time making edible crafts for my Hungry Happenings blog. My family and friends love eating my work, and are always up to trying something new, but if I ask most of them what they’d prefer I bake, they’d want my gumdrop cookies.
Baking has always been my passion, and as a child, I’d bake dozens and dozens of cookies to give to family and friends, and the most requested cookies were always my gumdrop cookies. The original version of this recipe came from my neighbor. I remember when she first handed me a gumdrop cookie, I resisted, but once I finally gave in and took a bite, I couldn’t get enough. Each soft sugar cookie is loaded with sweet little gems of fruity goodness.
This recipe has evolved a bit over the years and it is still my most requested cookie at the holidays or anytime of year, really. I personally enjoy the lemon, orange, grape, lime, and cherry flavors that the brightly colored gumdrops bring to these cookies, but they can be made with just red and green gumdrops for Christmas, if you prefer.
Special Equipment Needed:
- kitchen scissors or a sharp knife
- parchment paper lined baking sheets
- #30 ice cream scoop, optional
Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut gumdrops into small pieces, drop into a bowl of sugar, toss to coat. Remove from sugar, allowing excess sugar to fall back into the bowl.
Cookie Dough:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix in about half of the gumdrop pieces.Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of dough using a spoon or preferably a #30 ice cream scoop, onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
These cookies do not flatten out in the oven, so you have to flatten them. You can, if you’d like, flatten them all using your hands or the bottom of a glass, but I’m going to share a little trick. Place a piece of parchment paper over the tray of cookie dough. Set another baking sheet over the parchment paper. Press down on the baking sheet to flatten the cookies all at once.
Peel the top piece of parchment paper off of the cookies. Then use the edge of your hand to re-shape the cookies into nice rounds.
Use the remaining gumdrops to fill in the empty spaces on the cookies. Add a variety of colored gumdrop pieces to all of the cookies.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, just until the tops of the cookies start to look dry.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove and place on a wire cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.
Gumdrop Cookies
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fruit flavored gumdrops
- 1/3 cup sugar to coat gumdrops
- 1 cup margarine, softened (I have always used Country Crock Sticks)
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut gumdrops into small pieces, drop into a bowl of sugar, toss to coat. Remove from sugar, allowing excess sugar to fall back into the bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until blended.
- Stir in half of the gumdrop pieces. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten cookies. Top with more gumdrop pieces.
- Bake 8-12 minutes until tops of cookies look dry, but edges are not yet browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days or wrap and freeze for up to a month.
This post is part of our Third Annual I’ll Bring the COOKIES Virtual Blogger Cookie Swap. Be sure to check back here every day in December leading up to Christmas where some of the best bloggers will be sharing their favorite cookie recipe! You can also follow along Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ with the hashtag #BringtheCOOKIES. Thank you to OXO for being our exclusive #BringtheCOOKIES sponsor. Be sure to visit Beth’s blog, Hungry Happenings to enter a sweet OXO Baking Prize Pack.
15 Comments on “Gumdrop Cookies”
I made these cookies & the Jujube’s melted all over the place!!!!!
Hi, is there such a thing as baking gumdrops, or will any one do…..?
love these!! Thank you – and I am always perplexed at people who look at a recipe and then give their version of it?? Crazy!! If you want to keep doing what you’ve been doing then do it!!
We always just use a toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe and ONLY spice gumdrops which have been cut and no chocolate chips. Just plop on a cookie sheet and bake. No muss, no fuss, no bother. No smashing and reshaping or adding gumdrops on top. Easy. And loved by all. We also called them “stained glass cookies” as you could hold them up to the light and see through them. Yummy.
Isn’t 1 3/ 4 cup of sugar too much ,can l just use 1 1/4? Waiting for you reply so l can make them tomorrow,Thank you ,Vi
I’ve never made them with 1 1/4 cup sugar.
these cookies are wonderful, congratulation
Can butter be used instead of margarine? i never use or eat margarine since its really bad for u and one molecule away from plastic..
I like spiced gum drops, maybe I’ll try that. Hmm
Great idea since you love the spiced candies!
These are so cute. I need these in my life. Now.
These look fabulous!! I will definitely be trying them out soon. I was wondering if you think they would work with gummy bears, too?? My husband is a gummy bear fiend and I think he would enjoy a gummy bear cookie! Happy Holidays!
Thanks so much for inviting me to share my favorite cookie recipe here with your readers. Have a happy holiday season!
In your recipe there is a missing ingredient component. I see on the line under the margarine “1 3/4 cup” but there is no ingredient listed there . I’ve deduced that it might be sugar, but I want to make sure before attempting the recipe. Thank you!
Yes- it’s sugar! Thank you for catching that. Happy holidays!