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.
I had a dear neighbor, Sadie, who made these for special occasions. I used to love when to help her when she would be making these because I always got to take a couple home. I may have to make some soon,I haven’t made them in years! Thanks for your recipes and words of wisdom Christy!
I love your milk dish. My late husband grew up in the South and loved the milk glass dishes. When he was alive he collected all kinds of milk glass from estate auctions. I’m going to make this candy 2 days before Easter because I gave up candy for Lent. That way I can eat it on Easter Sunday *- *
I make these every Christmas and they are always a hit! But for the stems, I just pipe on a green frosting leaf.
Yep, these are good candies and so pretty, too. I could eat condensed milk with a spoon right out of the can. Christy, have you tried the fat free? It’s good, too. I don’t have a clothes line, but wouldn’t it be good to sleep on some fresh bed sheets tonight that had been hanging out on this lovely Alabama day?
I’ve eaten sweetened condensed milk out of the can! It’s fabulous! I have a friend who feels the same and one time we opened a can, got two spoons, and had a wonderful chat between bites. 🙂
We’re gonna make these too. I have a child who is homebound right now and I’m thinking we need to make a strawberry cake with this as garnish for sure. Christy, do you have a Strawberry cake recipe? I have fresh strawberries and would have made the punch bowl one yesterday… but too many diffferent taste around this here house…. Thank you for your input into my day.
I recently made these with my granddaughters who are 2 and 5. We mixed the mix and put it in the fridge in the bottom drawer and somehow forgot about them. For a week. I thought it was ready to toss but the girls wanted to make the berries so I tried it and it was just fine. The girls had so much fun with the sprinkles and making the strawberries that we decided to have them for their Pinkalcious birthday party too. We made platters of them and some we rolled in PINK sugar too. They were so pretty and we got so many compliments and the girls were so proud they’d made them. Thanks for sharing this. We have pictures of them on my facebook. Everyone loved them.
I also THANK YOU so very much for this wonderful post and recipe! My grandmother made these every Christmas as well. She passed away when I was 7, and I miss her more every year. I’ve been asking my aunt for her famous recipe to make these, but she never would give it to me. You have no idea how much this means to me. As someone else on here that posted, put it best, “it may be my granny’s way of saying Hi and this has made my entire year!” Thank you again for sharing.