These homemade fruit jellies are a fun little treat. When you share the jelly candy, you can also call it by fancy real name: French Pâtes. Below you’ll find recipes for a few fun flavor combinations, but all you need are the base ingredients, and then you can try your own flavors!
Recipe Inspiration (From 2008!)
Last week Graham and I went to dinner at Cosmos restaurant in Minneapolis where my friend Khanh Tran is the pastry chef. She is a brilliantly talented woman and all of the desserts were breathtaking. I am not generally this liberal with my praise of sweets. I’m often disappointed and rarely quiet about it. Khanh has managed to balance the art of beautiful presentation with deep and true flavors. The last thing we ate that night was a plate of mignardises (small bite sized desserts) and on the platter were two of my all time favorites: French macaroons and citrus fruit pâtes.
My husband quickly claimed the pâtes and I got only a small taste. I decided at that moment I would make my own. I got out my dog-eared 1979 translation of Gaston Lenôtre’s book on candy making. He is the ultimate French pastry chef, old school for sure, but his recipes are tried and true and used by just about every pastry chef cooking today. I’ve tried to make his recipes as simple as possible so you can recreate them easily at home. I’ve also added twists to the flavors to breath new life into this traditional candy.
It is the season of citrus still and the blood oranges are abundant. They make the most beautiful red juice with a slight perfume scent to it. Kumquats are also available and lovely combined with the rich aroma of vanilla. Lastly I combined the floral tartness of Meyer lemons with Rosemary. This one would make a great palate cleanser between courses, or just a lovely light dessert!
Three Basic Jelly Candy Ingredients
Read on to find out which flavors I made, but to start your fruit jellies recipe all you need are three simple things:
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter (I used salted, but unsalted will work as well)
- 2 pouches liquid pectin (I’ve tried others and Certo is the best!)
Homemade Fruit Jellies Recipe
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter I used salted, but unsalted will work as well
- 2 pouches liquid pectin I’ve tried others and Certo is the best!
Lemon and Rosemary Ingredients
- 1 whole Meyer Lemon
- 1 1/3 cups Meyer Lemon Juice add some standard lemon for more tartness
- 1 sprig Rosemary
Kumquat and Vanilla Ingredients
- 30+ kumquats Should equal 1 1/2 cups of juice when cooked and processed. You may end up adding some water.
- 1/2 vanilla bean
Blood Orange Ingredients
- 1 whole blood orange
- 1 1/3 cups blood orange juice You can combine juicing oranges and blood oranges.
Instructions
Lemon and Rosemary Instructions
- In a sauce pan of boiling water, cook the Meyer lemon for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin, which will be used in the recipe. Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the cooked fruit into sections.
- In a food processor finely chop the cut up Meyer lemon. Add the 1 1/3 cups of Meyer lemon juice and process until the desired texture. I like mine with some bits of rind and my husband likes his smooth. If you want the pâte to be perfectly smooth you can strain the mixture at this point.
- Add the Meyer lemon, sugar and rosemary sprig to a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Half way through, add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.
- Once the mixture has cooked for the full 5 minutes turn off the heat, remove the rosemary sprig and add the Certo. Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.
- Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
Kumquat and Vanilla Instructions
- In a sauce pan of boiling water, cook the kumquats for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin of the fruit, and remove some of the bitterness. Add the whole cooked fruit to a food processor and blend until well broken up.
- Press through a strainer to get out the seeds and the rind. You may have to add some water or orange juice to get up to 1 1/2 cups of juice.
- Add the juice and the sugar to a medium size sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Halfway through, add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.
- Once the mixture has cooked for the full 5 minutes turn off the heat and add the Certo. Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.
- Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
- In a sauce pan of boiling water cook the whole orange for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin of the orange, which will be used in the recipe.
- Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the cooked fruit into sections.
- In a food processor finely chop the cut up orange. Add the 1 1/3 cups of blood orange and process until the desired texture. I like mine with some bits of rind and my husband likes his smooth. If you want the pâte to be perfectly smooth you can strain the mixture at this point.
- Add the orange and the sugar to a medium size sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Half way through add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.
- Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.
- Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
Blood Orange Instructions
- In a sauce pan of boiling water cook the whole orange for about 10 seconds. This will soften the skin of the orange, which will be used in the recipe.
- Cut off the ends and discard. Cut the cooked fruit into sections.
- In a food processor finely chop the cut up orange. Add the 1 1/3 cups of blood orange and process until the desired texture. I like mine with some bits of rind and my husband likes his smooth. If you want the pâte to be perfectly smooth you can strain the mixture at this point.
- Add the orange and the sugar to a medium size sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling you will cook the mixture for 5 minutes. Half way through add the butter and continue to cook. Be sure to stir constantly and make sure it doesn’t boil over. You may have to adjust the temperature as you cook.
- Stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 2 hours.
- Cut with a sharp knife or cookie cutter and roll in sugar to serve. Can be served cold or at room temperature. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
