Lifesaver Candy Recipe is made with real fruits, but there are no specific fruits. The Wrigley Company created lifesavers in 1912. In the 1920’s they added holes to their candy so they could put a promotional flyer inside.
The original 5 flavors of Lifesaver Candy are mint, wintergreen, cherry, lemon, and orange. But the original flavors weren’t very popular because people thought that “flavor” meant an actual fruit flavor.
In 1933, Life Savers made an Apple flavor, and it became their best-selling flavor of all time!
Why Is It Called A Life Saver?
The name “Life Savers” started during World War I when soldiers would give them to each other in case we ran out of food on missions or became wounded on the battlefields. They thought life savers would help them survive!
Are Life Savers Made With Real Fruit?
Lifesavers were created to be a simple candy – something for children who didn’t want to eat their vegetables. But Lifesavers were inspired by a Swiss candy that used real fruit! They actually don’t contain real fruit at all.
At the time Lifesavers were created, fruits were more expensive than sugar and not available on store shelves in the United States, so Lifesaver’s creator chose to use sugar instead of real fruit.
Lifesaver Candy Recipe
Prepare Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 36 Lifesavers Candy
Recipe Ingredients
- 1 Cup Butter (softened)
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 3 Cups Flour
- 3/4 Cup Cornstarch or 14g Cornstarch (or starch) substitute for cornflour. One brand that does work is Bob’s Red Mill cornstarch.
Your ingredients should be at room temperature before you start. If the butter is too hard, it will not mix well with the sugar and eggs. Wait an hour before starting if you need to soften your butter first.
How To Make Life Saver Candy?
- Prepare your baking pans by lining them with parchment paper, so they only stick to the paper and not the candy itself.
- Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Add the eggs and beat until combined.
- Mix well with the flour and cornstarch in a small bowl or 2 cup glass measuring cup.
- Add 1/3 of flour mixture + 1/3 of water to the batter and mix thoroughly. Repeat 2 more times until all ingredients are used up, ending with the flour mixture and no water.
- Spread out onto lined pans as evenly as possible using either a tablespoon, cookie scoop, or your hands (not advised).
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10–12 minutes until golden brown and puffy.
- Remove from oven and cut into desired shapes before they harden.
- Move to a wire rack to cool completely before firming it in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
Tips For Making Life Saver Candy
Making Lifesavers Candy can be tricky sometimes when you are rolling them out, so they don’t break or leave big holes in the middle, but there is an easy fix for this problem.
Make sure your butter isn’t too hard but not too soft either and that both your sugar and eggs are room temperature as well as your flour.
Also, the baking time is different for each person, so check them at about 10 minutes to make sure they are done.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving
| Nutrition | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 80 |
| Fat | 1.5g |
| Saturated Fat | .05g |
| Carbohydrates | 13.00g |
| Sugar | 12.50g |
| Protein | 0.10g |
| Fiber | 1.00g |
10 Life Savers Facts
1. The Wrigley Company that makes Life Savers has been making them since 1912.
2. The original 5 flavors of Lifesaver Candy are mint, wintergreen, cherry, lemon, and orange.
3. The original flavors weren’t very popular because people thought that “flavor” meant an actual fruit flavor. In 1933, Life Savers made an Apple flavor, and it became their best-selling flavor of all time!
4. The name “Life Savers” started during World War I when soldiers would give them to each other in case we ran out of food on missions or became wounded on the battlefields. They thought life savers would help them survive!
5. In the 1920’s Lifesavers invented holes in their candy so they could put a promotional flyer inside.
6. The holes in Lifesavers are actually made with a tiny cookie cutter. Before baking, the lifesaver is covered in melted chocolate, and then the tiny cutter goes through it.
7. There are 8 different flavors of Lifesavers that aren’t sold to customers, they are only sold to companies who make things like gum or soda flavorings and are used for research and development purposes only, but there are rumors that you can purchase them at a candy/soda convention for around $100 per pound!
8. In the 1930’s Lifesavers made a flavored candy with licorice inside called “Lime Life Savers,” but it was never very popular.
9. You can make your own Life Saver flavored chocolate! Here is the recipe!
10. If you leave your Life Savers in the fridge, they get hard and crunchy and are less chewy and delicious but more brittle, so you should eat them as soon as possible because they will stay soft for 15 minutes at most after being put in the fridge!
Are Life Savers Bad For You?
Lifesaver Candy is not unhealthy but contains artificial flavors, and the nicotine in Lifesavers can harm your health.
However, many people love the taste because it is a very sweet, creamy, refreshing candy with a hard candy center.
The Bottom Line
Life Savers were invented in 1912 and have been a popular treat for many years, especially during the holidays. They are sold all over the world, not just in the United States. They come in a variety of flavors and are nostalgic to many people because of their candy taste and delicious flavor.
Since its creation, Life Savers have been tweaked with artificial flavors to make them more appealing to everyone who eats them. Do many people think Lifesavers are bad for your health but are they truly? I think Lifesavers are as healthy as any other candy and do not cause any type of harm.
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