When I lived in Arizona, we practically lived on candy made from Prickly Pear. It was everywhere. I didn’t have to make it, because it was readily available in every store within walking distance and beyond. I loved my time in Arizona for so many reasons, and I long to move back there some day. It probably won’t happen. But a girl can dream.
In the meantime, I can at least give myself a little taste of Arizona via some homemade Prickly Pear Gum Drops.
I’ll be totally honest, I was not convinced this was going to work. We make fruit gum drops all the time, but this is prickly pear fruit (cactus fruit) which for whatever reason, is just different than regular fruit and different to work with.
But guess what? It totally worked. It’s great!
Just a note: I am in Missouri. St. Louis to be exact, and both of our local chain grocery stores carry Cactus Fruit/Prickly Pear fruit. It’s in a really small section by itself, but you might consider asking your produce manager if they ever get it in. It was super easy to find.
Fun and different candy made from Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ripe prickly pear cactus fruit, peeled, pureed and de-seeded
- 1 1/2 cups plain no sugar added applesauce
- 2 teaspoons of powdered pectin
- 2 1/2 cups sugar , divided
- Sugar for dusting each gumdrop at the end
Instructions
Spray an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Then set it aside.
In a large saucepan, combine the pureed and de-seeded prickly pear cactus fruit with the applesauce.
Whisk the pectin and a 1/2 cup sugar together in a small bowl.
Clip a candy thermometer onto the side of your saucepan and bring your mixture to a boil.
Whisk in the remaining 2 cups of sugar.
Bring everything to a boil and stir constantly until your mixture reaches 225°. (this took me less than 5 minutes)
Remove from saucepan from the heat. (and shake your arm from all that stirring!)
Pour the hot mixture into your 8x8 prepared glass dish.
When slightly cool (about an hour), sprinkle sugar on top.
Allow to set about 2 hours.
Once set, cut your mixture into 1-inch squares, or use a mini cookie cutter sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to make hearts, flowers, whatever.
Dredge in some sugar and allow to dry overnight on a piece of parchment paper. Store covered for up to two weeks.
http://dailydishrecipes.com/cactus-fruit-prickly-pear-gum-drops/
Have you ever used a unique ingredient to create candy?
Nicole Cook
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They are so pretty!
Thank you Starla! They taste really good too!
I seriously need to make these gum drops for my kids…but where do I find the cactus fruit? Or can I substitute any fruit???
Jocelyn, I’m pretty sure you can use any fruit with the recipe, however don’t think you can’t necessarily find it.
I was actually surprised to find in my local grocery store. It’s a really odd looking fruit and we were looking for the star fruit which they also had. So don’t assume they won’t have it, and it might not be there all the time, but you might find it at some point.
Oh my goodness I need these in my life. I love prickly pear and miss having access to it.
Laura, it’s amazing, isn’t it? They were super easy and such a fun treat!
I am not a huge sweets person but I would have a couple of these cactus fruit pear gum drops in a heart beat!
They are just so good! Totally different flavor than anything else.