Gumdrop Nougat Candy is a traditional candy that’s equal parts creamy, sweet, and delish! This classic holiday recipe is great for gifting.
While it’s great as a filling for a chocolate bar, nougat is perfect on it’s own! Our recipe for this Christmas Nougat Candy mixes some gumdrops in for a little added holiday flair.
Gumdrop Nougat Candy
We’ve got another classic candy recipe for you all today! We’ve talked about our love for old-style candies in the past- toffees, fudges, brittles and the like. Today, we’re finally tackling nougat- a tasty, creamy candy that’s usually used as a filling but tastes great all on it’s own!
If you’ve ever had a 3 Musketeers, Charleston Chew, or a Milky Way, then you’ve had nougat before! It’s that pale, cream stuff that’s usually either an off-white or a light-brown. If you’ve had any of these bars before, you know what nougat is… and that it’s delicious! So delicious, in fact, it’s not weird to enjoy it just on it’s own like many people do, especially around the holiday season.
We mixed some red and green gumdrops into this traditional holiday candy to keep it interesting and add a little Christmas flair. It’s easy to make up a big batch of these sweet treats and give them out as gifts. Follow along with our recipe for some creamy delicious Gumdrop Nougat Candy- we know you’ll love it!
Other Holiday Candy Recipes
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For more delicious, melt-in-your-mouth flavors, check out our Peanut Butter Meltaways Recipe. This delicious, Reese-like recipe uses that timeless combo of chocolate and peanut butter to make a heavenly sweet! Perfect for the holidays or any time of the year- they’re that yummy.
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Few other homemade candies are as timeless as simple Butter Toffee. This delicious, chocolate-coated caramel brittle has been a favorite for decades and centuries- and it’s easy to see why. Don’t forget that pecan nut topping!
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Our Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe is perfect for the holidays- not to mention Valentine’s day! Using a little bit of invertase, you can make these sweets at home. Enjoy the gooey, cherry filling or gift it to your sweetheart!
Ingredients for Christmas Nougat
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Mini Marshmallows
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White Chocolate Chips – I prefer Ghirardelli
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Gumdrops – We used these DOTS for our recipe and- man, did we have to work through a lot of boxes! It took us around 8 boxes to get enough red and green drops for this recipe. Look for the holiday versions, they should be available around Christmas time.
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Butter
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Shortening
How to make Nougat Candy with Gumdrops
We’ll first prep our gumdrops- we want them in slightly smaller pieces for our Christmas candy. Slice them in halves or thirds from top-to-bottom- so they retain that recognizable bell-shape.
Set those off to the side for now. Line a baking dish with parchment paper- we used an 8×8 for our nougat candy. Leave a bit of overhang for easy removal later.
For convenience, we’re going to make this a simple microwave nougat recipe! To start, add our chocolate and shortening to a large microwave-safe bowl.
From here, the recipe is going to involve microwaving our nougat for 30-second intervals and stirring vigorously. Microwave and stir the chocolate in 30 second intervals until it has fully melted.
Put that chocolate off to the side for now- try to work quickly so it doesn’t set too much. Now, we’re going to work on our marshmallows. To start, first, melt your butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.
Once again, we’re working towards this “just melted” consistency. We don’t want any big, unmelted lumps but we don’t want it too thin!
When you finally reach that consistency, add in our gumdrops. Stir them in vigorously and work quickly through the next few steps!
Pour your melted nougat mixture over to the lined baking dish. If your nougat has set too much, you should be okay microwaving for another one or two 30 second intervals. Just to loosen it back up. If you’re having trouble working the mixture down into the corners of the baking dish, lightly grease a piece of parchment paper. Use it to press the sticky nougat down into the corners.
All that’s left is to let your nougat candy set up. Overnight is preferred, but if you’re pressed for time 2 hours is all it needs!
Once the nougat has set, you can cut it into bite-sized pieces. Enjoy!
Storing Leftovers and “Can You Freeze Nougat?”
Gumdrop Nougat Candy
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 22 oz White Chocolate Chips
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Shortening
- 20 oz Mini Marshmallows
- 1 1/2 cup Red and Green Gumdrops We had to buy 8 boxes of Dots to get enough red and green
Instructions
- Line an 8×8" square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut the gumdrops in half (top to bottom). Set aside.
- Combine chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl.
- Heat for 30 seconds then stir. Repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside.
- Melt butter in another microwave safe bowl.
- Add marshmallows to bowl and heat for 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat until marshmallows are melted and smooth.
- Quickly add chocolate mixture to marshmallow mixture.
- Stir until incorporated. Note if mixture starts to bind, microwave for 30 seconds and stir to loosen.
- Fold in cut gumdrops to distribute evenly.
- Lightly grease a piece of parchment paper. Use it to press the sticky nougat down into the corners.
- Allow to set up before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
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