Creepy, crawly, and delicious DIY homemade gummy worms make the perfect October Halloween treat! And the recipe is so easy!
No matter how old I get, I still love gummy worms! I sneak them into my cart at the grocery store check out, grab a bag of them at the gas station, and my fellow passengers can almost always count on them as a road trip staple. But, this month, in honor of my very favorite holiday, I figured that I’d take a stab (no Halloween pun intended) at making one of my favorite sweets. These DIY homemade gummy worms turned out even better than I planned and now I’m a convert. They are more flavorful than the store bought ones and I got to pick out my own flavors too. Plus, during the month of October, these little guys seem especially fitting! Who doesn’t love creepy, crawly, and delicious gummy worms during Halloween?!
They are really easy to make, perfect for tasty Halloween treats, and fun to make with the kids too!
These DIY homemade gummy worms use Jello powder in the recipe, but the flavor choices are totally up to you! I used lime, black cherry, and berry burst Jello flavors for these worms, but any of your favorite Jello flavors will work.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
- 1 3-Ounce Box of Jello Powder
- 1 Pkg. Unflavored Gelatin
- 1/4 Tsp. Citric Acid
- 1/4 Cup Corn Syrup
- 1/3 Cup Water (Room Temperature)
- Cooking Oil Spray
- Silicone Gummy Worm Mold
In a medium, microwave safe bowl, combine the Jello powder, unflavored gelatin, and citric acid. Stir to combine.
Add the corn syrup and water, and stir gently, to prevent unnecessary bubbles, until well blended. Set aside and allow the mixture to set for 5 minutes.
Stir the syrup mixture again gently, then microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove, stir again, then add back into the microwave for another 15 seconds on high.
Repeat again, 3 more times, heating the mixture for 15 seconds and then stirring in between each microwave cycle.
Once done, let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, stirring gently every few minutes.
Using the cooking oil spray, spray your gummy worm molds lightly.
Pour the syrup mixture into a measuring cup with a spout. If your mold came with a liquid dropper, you can use that to fill each of your molds, but it does tend to add air bubbles to the finished worms, so I like to pour the mixture directly from the measuring cup into the molds. It’s a little tricky, and you have to be gentle, but it keeps those pesky air bubbles out!
Leave a tiny bit of room at the top of each mold when filling, to prevent your mixture from spilling out.
Once the molds have been filled, let them sit for 30 minutes, then pop them into the fridge for another 30 minutes.
Remove the worms from the fridge and carefully push each piece out of the mold.
I like to arrange them on a parchment covered baking sheet to make clean up easy and to prevent the worms from sticking while they dry.
Let the worms sit for 24-48 hours. The longer you can let them sit, the better. As time passes, they will begin to firm up and lose the Jello texture and take on that classic gummy worm texture that we all love!
After they have firmed up, store them in a zip top bag or a plastic container. They will stay fresh for a couple of weeks, but I doubt these DIY homemade gummy worms will last that long! 😉
