Strawberry Candy Recipe
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This old-fashioned homemade strawberry candy recipe is made with a scrumptiously sweet combination of strawberry gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, chopped pecans, and sweetened coconut flakes. Rolled in red sugar with a dyed-green slivered almond on top, they look nearly too cute to eat (nearly…).
I have my Grandmother Cornetha to thank for this homemade strawberry candy recipe. She and my Papa Reed (mama’s daddy) got married when my mother was fourteen, adding a whole other branch to our family tree. Honestly, at this point, we got one of those HUGE oak trees with all of the branches jutting out all over the place!
But let’s get to the recipe. This deliciously sweet strawberry-flavored hard candy recipe will make your tastebuds sing! They’re also known as Christmas strawberries as back in the day they were often only made around the holidays. I’ll often wrap up these fun candy berries and give a bag as a gift nowadays. But whether you treat yourself or someone you care about to these little gems, just promise me you’ll give this candy strawberry recipe a go.
Fortunately, they’re easy candies to make. Plus, one of the steps is to let the mixture chill for up to 48 hours. They also have such a unique texture: a combination of chopped nuts and coconut flakes with creamy condensed milk and sweet strawberry gelatin powder. Add the red sugar and these totally sweet treats are so addictive! I love how we shape them to resemble , although there is no fresh in sight.
Alright, who’s ready to make some strawberry candies?
Recipe Ingredients
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Strawberry gelatin powder
- Green food coloring
- Red crystal sprinkles (red sugar)
- Sweetened flaked coconut
- Finely chopped nuts (I’m using pecans)
- Slivered almonds
How to Make Strawberry Candy
Pour your sweetened condensed milk into a large bowl.
I could just drink a whole can of this if my blood sugar would let me. I swear, anything with sweetened condensed milk in it is delicious!
Add your coconut and chopped nuts.
And gelatin powder.
Stir and stir and stir and stir and stir until it looks like this.
(It won’t take long, I just felt like being dramatic).
Cover with foil and let sit in the refrigerator for 48 hours.
24 hours later…
Oh, who are we kidding? Like I’m gonna wait 48 hours on anything. I didn’t even let my own kids wait until their due dates. I have the patience of a hyperactive gnat on sugar.
So the next day, go ahead and take out your strawberry candy mixture (unless you want to follow the original instructions and not be a rebel with me, whatever cranks yer tractor).
Spoon up about a teaspoonful like this.
Shape into a strawberry…
And then roll it around in the sugar mixture.
Now add the a whole bunch more times.
Like this.
Now we need to dye our almonds.
I place mine in a sandwich bag and pour about a tablespoon or so (I use too much so feel free to use less) of green food coloring into the bag.
Seal that and move them around to give them a good coating.
Then pour them out onto a paper towel-lined plate to dry.
If you like, you can also put them on a and bake them in the oven at 250 to speed up the drying process.
Stick one at the end of each of your berries.
Like so.
And that’s it! Aren’t they pretty? They taste YUMMY, too!
Storage
Store leftover candy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
- If you want, you can make red sugar yourself using beetroot powder. Check out this recipe for DIY Beetroot powder or Kale powder.
- Swap the chopped pecans for chopped walnuts or omit them completely if you prefer.
Recipe FAQs
Where can I get red sugar?
I order mine from Amazon or Target. I usually get this red sanding sugar. If you choose to purchase from this link, Southern Plate will receive a small commission to put toward updating recipes, providing new ones as well as videos, and more. Another option is to roll each in strawberry gelatin powder if you’re in a pinch, but I definitely prefer the red sugar coating.
What else can I use to make the tops green?
You can also use green sugar crystals and just dip the tops of these candies in those crystals. That works as well. You can also add a green toothpick to the top to make for easy eating.
You may also enjoy these bite-sized treats:
Homemade Fudge With Variations
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup finely chopped nuts I used pecans
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz
- 3 boxes strawberry gelatin 3 oz boxes
- 1-2 jars red sugar crystals you can get by on one, but I used 1 1/2
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds you just need about three dozen pieces, 1/2 a cup is more than enough
- green food coloring
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine milk, coconut, nuts, and gelatin powder, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours.1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, 1 cup finely chopped nuts, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 3 boxes strawberry gelatin
- Remove and form teaspoonfuls into a strawberry shape and then roll them in red sugar.1-2 jars red sugar crystals
- Dye almonds green with food coloring and once dry, place one at the end of each strawberry as a stem. Store in refrigerator.1/2 cup slivered almonds, green food coloring
Keep a green tree in your heart
and perhaps a singing bird will come.
Chinese Proverb submitted by Leigh. Submit your quote here.
You don’t have to just use strawberry jello…you can use any flavor you like and make that shape of the fruit..My mother and I used to make these at Christmas..we made pears, peaches, strawberries, oranges and almost any other type of fruit we could find in jello flavors. They are really good..I liked to think of them as Southern Marzipan. We never used nuts in them either..just coconut. They are really tasty.
I love these and hope to make some when we have open house for my daughter’s college graduation/new house/we finally moved back home open house next month.
And about clotheslines; I had one of those square ones when my son was in elementary school. He insisted that I always hang his underwear on the inside lines so that no one could see it. Never mind that the line could not be seen from the street! And of course, good Mommy that I am I humored him and did it!
Mornin Christy!
I live in Va. and have never heard of strawberry candy but it sounds sooo yummy. Hubby & I are raising our 3 grandchilren so I am going to make a memory with them this weekend by making up some candy together.
As for the clotheslines and fresh eggs, I’m a true country girl and have both,hehe. We have a rooster and 3 hens, the little ones love to gather the eggs and they are so much better then store bought. Homemade goodies are so much more tastier made with them. I plan on gettin bout 3 more hens as I keep running outta eggs. As for the clotheslines, I always hang the undies on the middle lines to hide them from sight, lol.
Love all your recipes and stories, you always make my days so much brighter and my cooking so mush tastier. Thanks for all you do for all of us.
Oh my word, I’d forgotten all about those adorable strawberry candies. I remember making them with my (then) pastor’s wife (a dear Southern lady from Rocky Mount, NC) and her daughter. They were so easy and so very yummy. I can’t remember what event we were making them for, but I remember thinking how cool it was to make something so adorable, yet so easy to create.
Thanks so much for bringing back a good memory of a delicious homemade candy.
Made these for easter. Poured the sugar out on a cookie sheet and let my 4 year old twins roll them in the sugar. It was a huge mess, but they loved it!
Christy,
I just found your site for the first time, and boy do your recipes make a southern girl’s mouth water! The thing I love the most about the pictures of your recipes is that your dishes remind me of my mother’s and grandmother’s. That old corningware works so well for YEARS. I still have several of my grandmother’s pieces that she bought Lord knows when…
Cain’t wait to try the homemade nanner puddin!
Ya’ll take care,
Cindy
Sending a Texas sized grandma hug out to all you sweet ones. We’ll see those loved ones again some day.