Easy, homemade vanilla nougat candy made in the microwave with just marshmallows, white chocolate chips and gumdrops (and a few other pantry staples). No candy thermometer required for this quick, no-bake candy recipe. If you know how to work a microwave and have a whole 5-minutes to spare, then you can make this candy from start to finish.
This sweet vanilla nougat with colorful gumdrop candies seemed like the perfect Spring-time candy recipe to share with y’all. When making these candies, I was trying to recreate the iconic Brach’s Jelly Nougat and this recipe is the perfect copycat recipe for them! You only need a few ingredients to make these, but make sure you use the highest quality white chocolate chips and vanilla extract. It REALLY makes a difference! I used Rodelle Organic Baker’s Extract for that sweet vanilla flavor in this candy.
And again….like I said. This candy recipe is super easy and can be made in the microwave. But with that being said, it only takes approximately 1-minute to melt the ingredients together in the microwave and requires you to stop and stir the mixture every 15-seconds. And once melted, you have to work QUICKLY to get the mixture into the pan. This candy is super sticky and sets fast. So make sure you have your pan prepared, gumdrops chopped (if needed….I could only find large gumdrops so I quartered mine) and vanilla extract and salt at the ready.
Gumdrop Nougat Candy
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 heaping cup white chocolate chips
- 4 cups mini marshmallows, packed (or 285 grams)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used Rodelle Bakers Extract)
- pinch of salt
- 1-1/2 cups assorted gumdrops, chopped
Instructions
Line a standard loaf pan or 8-inch x 8-inch baking pan with foil and spray the bottom and sides with baking spray. Gather your vanilla extract, salt and chopped gumdrops and have them ready next to your prepared baking pan.
In a microwave-safe bowl, add the white chocolate chips, marshmallows and butter. Microwave for approximately 1-minute, or until all the ingredients have melted together, stopping every 15-seconds to check and stir the mixture.
Immediately remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the vanilla extract, salt and chopped gum drops. Pour mixture into prepared pan and place in the refrigerator to set.
Once candy has set, cut into desired sized pieces and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
I hope you try out this easy candy recipe! If you do, leave me a comment below and tell me what you thought or take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. And DEFINITELY pin this!!
AND DID YOU SEE?? I WROTE A COOKBOOK! CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO BUY YOUR COPY TODAY!!
XOXO,
Kelly
59 Comments
Amy
April 9, 2019 at 11:25 AMThis candy reminds me of growing up! My mom use to buy them in mix. I think your look so pretty and I know that they are softer than the ones we had growing up. They will always remind me of my mom. XOXO
Kelly
April 10, 2019 at 7:14 AMThanks Amy!! These totally reminded me of my childhood too!! We always bought a large bag of the Brach’s candy mix 🙂 And these are softer and sooooo good!
The Baking ChocolaTess
April 10, 2019 at 10:12 AMOne of my favorite candies growing up too, the Brach’s! Looks delectable Kelly! Pinning!
Kelly
April 11, 2019 at 6:49 AMThanks Kim! And thanks for pinning 🙂 XOXO
Katherine | Love In My Oven
April 10, 2019 at 1:53 PMThese look terrific, Kelly! I love that you don’t need a thermometer. As you could guess, my boys LOVE candy so they would be over the moon if I tried this recipe!
Kelly
April 11, 2019 at 6:49 AMThanks Katherine! Your boys would definitely love these! The colors are so fun 🙂 XOXO
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
April 10, 2019 at 6:15 PMThis is so pretty that I’m thinking I need to make some Easter cookie trays (like Christmas but with spring cookies candy) to give my neighbors. Obviously, I’ll make a double batch of this because one batch is all for me 🙂
Kelly
April 11, 2019 at 6:51 AMOhhhhh wow….I wish I was your neighbor then!! If you make some cookie trays, you definitely need to make a few batches of this EASY candy! XOXO
Simply Styling
April 11, 2019 at 4:49 AMThis is fabulous ! I’ve wanted to make my very own.
Kelly
April 11, 2019 at 6:51 AMThank you!! I definitely hope you give this a try!! XOXO
Pat
April 11, 2019 at 3:30 PMI’m sure my grandchildren will enjoy helping me to amke this!
Kelly
April 12, 2019 at 6:28 AMI think they totally would Pat! If you make this, let me know what you think 🙂 XOXO
Linda
April 11, 2019 at 6:50 PMWhat a fun candy to make for Easter. Thank you for sharing on the Classy Flamingos Blog Party this week. poinsettiadr.com
Kelly
April 12, 2019 at 6:28 AMThank you Linda and thank you for hosting!
Shannon
April 12, 2019 at 5:17 AMMy kids would love this. Any reason you couldn’t melt everything on the stove instead of in the microwave?
Pinned.
Kelly
April 12, 2019 at 6:29 AMThanks Shannon! And you can totally make this on the stovetop over a double boiler 🙂 Let me know what ya think if you make this!! XOXO
Pam
April 12, 2019 at 7:47 AMThose look great!! I love nougat candies, and I love gumdrops, so these are perfect! So pretty too. PInning! I’ll be on my way to the store today to get some marshmallows and gumdrops. Thanks for sharing these at Thursday Favorite Things!
Pam
April 18, 2019 at 6:03 AMI’ve featured this yummy candy at Thursday Favorite Things today. So glad you shared!
Kelly
April 18, 2019 at 9:51 AMThanks Pam!! I hope you make these! let me know what you think if you do! And thank you for featuring my candy in your TFT party!! XOXO
Maria | kitchenathoskins
April 15, 2019 at 7:58 PMKiddos will go crazy for this candy!!! So pretty and colorful Kelly:)
Kelly
April 18, 2019 at 9:52 AMThanks Maria! XOXO
Beverly
April 16, 2019 at 12:34 PMKelly,
What a sweet reminder of my childhood. I never knew they were so easy to make. Congrats, you are being featured on Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.
https://eclecticredbarn.blogspot.com/2019/04/wonderful-wednesday-blog-hop_16.html
Hugs,
Bev
Kelly
April 18, 2019 at 9:53 AMYay!! Thank you for featuring my candy!! XOXO
Jill
May 29, 2020 at 3:43 PMI’ve been craving Brach’s jelly nougats and was so delighted to find your recipe. Thanks so much for posting it, Kelly! I made your recipe tonight and it is fabulous! You completely nailed the Brach’s nougat flavor. I cut Dots gumdrops in half and lightly rubbed cornstarch on the cut surfaces to keep them from sticking together. It worked!
Kelly
May 30, 2020 at 10:34 AMYAY!!! Thanks Jill!! This makes me so happy! I have such a love for all Brach’s candy and used to love getting them out of the bins at the grocery store. But who knew that these nougats were really that easy to make!! So excited you loved this recipe! XOXO
megha
May 2, 2019 at 4:50 AMvery nice recipe its looking so good thank you for shearing.
Mary Bailey Chapman
December 19, 2019 at 9:21 AMI made this candy a couple of months ago and it turned out perfect. I made more yesterday and even after setting over night in fridge it’s still very sticky and I can barely cut it. Did I do something wrong?
Kelly
December 19, 2019 at 12:49 PMHmmm….did you measure out the marshmallows? It sounds like there might be too many marshmallows.. Or it could also be because of the weather. If it was raining and humid, that would probably be the answer as to why it is sticky!!
Linda
December 5, 2024 at 6:47 AMI too had that problem this year. I don’t remember packed marshmallows, but noticed the grams equal about 1 bag of marshmallows. Did I get that right? I wonder what brand of white chocolate is used.
Kelly
December 5, 2024 at 7:04 AMDepends on the ounces in the bag of marshmallows, that’s why I listed the marshmallows packed into cups. And I just used white baking chips. Sometimes the generic brand but Ghirardelli definitely has the best flavor.
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Sonya Miller
July 27, 2020 at 11:13 PMHi thank you so much, these candies remind me off my childhood, they are so hard to find now. I am making this recipe as soon as possible. thanks again
Kelly
July 28, 2020 at 10:19 AMYay! Let me know what you think after you try them 🙂 XOXO
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smdurrant
December 21, 2020 at 5:28 PMThis was my favorite candy growing up. The recipe was very easy and turned out great. I used gummy LifeSavers instead of gumdrops.
Kelly
December 23, 2020 at 9:43 AMYay! I am so happy you made these. And thank you so much for coming back to post a comment! I love your idea of using gummy Lifesavers. That’s awesome!!
Deb RL
March 12, 2021 at 4:13 PMI lined my pan with parchment paper and believe me, nothing sticks! These were so delicious!
Kelly
March 12, 2021 at 5:58 PMAwesome!! This makes me so happy. Glad you liked the recipe and I super appreciate you coming back to leave a comment! Xoxo
Deanna Johnson
March 22, 2021 at 6:01 PMSo, I quartered the recipe and used espresso chips instead of the white chips. I also put pecans and cranberries in it. It was so amazing! Thank you so much for this easy recipe. It’s easy to make and remember for quick sweets fix. I will definitely come back to this recipe.
Kelly
March 23, 2021 at 6:16 AMSounds so yummy!! I will have to try some different flavors now! I am so glad you liked this recipe. And I super appreciate you coming back to leave a comment too!! Xoxo
Bobby Dorn
May 1, 2021 at 10:18 AMKelly, We really like the nougat candies. They remind me of the ones we got many years ago. I do have a question though. I’ve made these two times. It takes about three minutes to get the mixture to melt together, probably because of our microwave. After mixing in the gumdrops the mixture becomes very stiff and stringy in a hurry making if quire difficult to work with. It sticks to everything and is quite hard to spread. We really do like the candy and wonder if you have any tips on what I may be doing wrong.
Kelly
May 1, 2021 at 12:01 PMHi!! I’m so glad you like this recipe! Yes….they are super sticky and you have to work fast. Have everything ready to go so once the mixture is done, you can quickly add the gumdrops and immediately pour into the prepared pan. To help spread it out in the pan, try spraying your hand with baking spray and gently pushing the candy mixture evenly into the pan. Hope this helps!!
bobby
May 1, 2021 at 1:34 PMOkay thank you, maybe next time I’ll give them a little more time in the microwave. Once I get a batch made I ration them as long as I can. They are so good.
Jo-Ella
August 25, 2021 at 8:16 AMI received some nougat on a cookie tray for Christmas. It was amazing. I searched out recipes and found yours, and it is so easy and delicious. After I have cut mine into squares, I put them on parchment paper, and let them sit on the counter. Letting them sit and “air” set, makes them so easy to handle, and drier. We love ours done this way. We make it often…..much too often😊
Kelly
August 26, 2021 at 3:49 PMHi! Yay! Thank you so much for leaving such a sweet comment. I’m excited that you love this recipe. And next time I make this, I’m going to try you method of leaving them out to dry! Xoxo!!
Laura Potts
December 18, 2021 at 8:10 PMFinding this recipe is going to prove to be dangerous! I made a batch with the intention of taking them to share with my family while we decorated the Christmas tree at my mom’s house. I decided to take a taste while slicing them, and instantly decided I was not sharing! (Does that make me an awful person?) One bite and I was transported back to my childhood, raiding the candy dish on my grandparents fireplace! Maybe I’ll share with the family next year 😁
Kelly
December 20, 2021 at 12:21 PMAwww this makes me so happy!! So glad you love this recipe! Xoxo
Stacey Elizabeth Phillips
April 23, 2022 at 12:49 PMHi just wondering if anyone has tried I individually wrapping these candies and what to use if you have? I am making for gifts. Thanks for the recipe!
Kelly
April 23, 2022 at 3:07 PMI would lightly dust some waxed paper or freezer paper with cornstarch and wrap like you would caramels or taffy. But make sure you let the nougat set overnight before cutting them up!
Diane Armstrong
May 29, 2022 at 8:42 PMThese were my favorite candy growing up. I bought some from Vermont Country Store but they weren’t the same. I’ve made these about six times and both my daughter and granddaughter love them. I’ve also given them away as gifts and get many compliments. I used to make them on the stovetop until I found that you can use the microwave. So much easier!
Kelly
May 30, 2022 at 6:37 AMAwesome! I am so glad you found this recipe!! These were my favorite candies growing up too. And I love how easy these are to make 🙂 Enjoy!!
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Jessa
April 3, 2024 at 10:08 AMThese candies are so pretty! I can’t wait to try them.
Kelly
April 10, 2024 at 7:15 PMThank you!! I hope you enjoy them!
Marion Gresl
December 16, 2024 at 12:34 PMMy grandkids loved them. I’m going to make a double batch for Christmas Eve/Day. Hopefully they last until the 25th. Sorry Santa. None for you.
Kelly
December 17, 2024 at 9:53 PMAwesome!! Thank you so much! Glad you loved these. Happy Holidays!
Kathy
December 16, 2024 at 6:31 PMOh My Goodness! This is sooo good! Followed the exact ingredients, only thing I did differently was to microwave the ingredients until smooth then added the dots. The microwave worked perfectly. I just stirred it every 30 seconds anad it only took about 3-4 minutes top. Thanks so much!
Kelly
December 17, 2024 at 9:52 PMAwesome!! Thank you so much! Glad you loved these. Happy Holidays!