Soy-Free Homemade Nerd Clusters
Get ready to indulge in a nostalgic treat with a modern twist—our Soy-Free Homemade Nerd Clusters! This delightful candy recipe captures the sweet-tart crunch of your favorite childhood snack while keeping things free of soy and packed with natural fruit flavors. Made with real freeze-dried fruits like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, these bright and flavorful clusters are bound together with a simple homemade candy syrup, giving them an irresistible crisp texture. Perfect for gluten-free and allergy-conscious treat lovers, this recipe uses just a handful of pantry staples like granulated sugar, light corn syrup, and unflavored pectin to create a mouthwatering candy that’s fun to make and even more fun to eat. Customize the colors to match your party theme, gift them in a jar, or enjoy them as is—these soy-free clusters are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!
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Recipe Information
Ingredients
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 0.5 cup Light corn syrup
- 0.25 cup Water
- 0.5 teaspoon Citric acid
- 1 teaspoon Gelatin
- 1 cup Freeze-dried fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
- 1 tablespoon Unflavored powdered pectin
- optional Food coloring
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine granulated sugar, light corn syrup, and water over medium heat.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then bring the mixture to a boil. Do not stir once the boiling begins to avoid crystallization.
Allow the mixture to reach a temperature of 300°F (hard crack stage) using a candy thermometer.
While the syrup is cooking, in a small bowl, mix gelatin and citric acid with a tablespoon of warm water to dissolve and set aside.
Once the syrup reaches 300°F, remove from heat immediately and stir in the gelatin mixture. Add the powdered pectin and stir quickly to combine.
If using, add a couple of drops of food coloring and stir until evenly distributed. The color will depend on your preference, corresponding to the flavor of the freeze-dried fruits.
Quickly fold in the freeze-dried fruit until they are well coated with the syrup mixture.
Using a spoon, drop small clusters of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
Let the clusters cool completely at room temperature until they are hard and crunchy, about 30 minutes.
Once fully set, break up any larger clusters and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Facts
Calories |
1424 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
% Daily Value* |
|||
| Total Fat | 1.5 g | 2% | |
| Saturated Fat | 0.0 g | 0% | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% | |
| Sodium | 21 mg | 1% | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 369.2 g | 134% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 19.2 g | 69% | |
| Total Sugars | 348.9 g | ||
| Protein | 3.0 g | 6% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 mcg | 0% | |
| Calcium | 64 mg | 5% | |
| Iron | 1.5 mg | 8% | |
| Potassium | 601 mg | 13% | |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
