Mama's Strawberry Candies
These coconut strawberry-shaped confections make a pretty addition to any dessert tray and require no baking.
Ingredients
First, keep in mind that the base takes 48 hours to set while refrigerated. If you need these for a party today, no.!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup finely chopped nuts Pecans are the best, and you can just get those cookie pieces. Easy! You can safely omit the nuts.
- 3 3-oz. boxes strawberry gelatin (DO NOT use sugar-free)
- 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 1-2 jars red sugar crystals
- slivered almonds Not sliced! Not sliced! (You’ll need around 36 pieces, so probably a ½ cup.)
- green food coloring
Supplies-
- 1 medium mixing bowl and a cover or plastic wrap
- A large spoon
- A small rubber spatula
- 2 small mixing bowls one for green food coloring and one for red sugar crystals
- Paper plates
- Wax paper
- A teaspoon
Instructions
- In the medium bowl, combine the coconut, nuts, and gelatin powder, stirring well.
- Open the sweetened condensed milk and carefully lick the lid because you don’t want to cut your tongue, and you were just going to toss the lid anyway, so why waste that bounty?
- Using a small rubber spatula, scoop every, last drop of sweetened condensed milk into the medium bowl.
- Mix the sweetened condensed milk with the dry ingredients until a lovely red goo forms.
- Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours. See? What did I tell you?
Two days later:
- Remove chilled red dough from refrigerator and form scooped teaspoonfuls into strawberry shapes. (Makes about three dozen depending on your strawberry shaping skills.)
- Roll strawberries in red sugar and place on wax paper.
- Dye almond slivers green in bowl of food coloring and place slivers on paper plates until dry.
- Stick one green almond sliver in the fat end of each strawberry as a stem.
- Store in the refrigerator.
- For everyone’s safety, tell me your fridge is on the blink if I come over.
Notes
For a great gift idea, save the plastic strawberry containers from your strawberries, or you can purchase some from any craft store. Fill the containers with these strawberry candies and cover with plastic wrap. Tie each container with a pretty ribbon or bow.