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Halloween is almost here and I’m not done sharing fun, easy, family-friendly ideas. This year, I picked up a bag of gummy brains and was trying to figure out what to do with them. My friend Sarah thought it would be fun to use them in a Halloween mocktail. Genius! I’m so excited to share my newest creation — a candy apple mocktail.
I bet you’re wondering how we came up with this idea. I was brainstorming in the car with my oldest daughter, trying to think of our favorite Halloween flavors. We realized that caramel apples are overdone and that there weren’t many candy apple mocktails.
Candy apples have a distinct flavor, so I knew we needed to capture both the crisp apple flavor and the sweet candy flavor. After testing a couple of options, I’m sure we nailed it. This candy apple mocktail is so good your family will be requesting it every Halloween.
Tips for making this candy apple mocktail:
While you can use regular ice, I decided to freeze gummy brains inside my ice cubes. It was a fun surprise for the kids; once it melts, they have a little treat. It also brings more color to the candy apple mocktail. By the way, this silicone ice cube tray makes giant ice cubes! You’ll need to freeze these the day before, so keep that in mind.
I’ve found the best way to add sanding sugar to the rim of a cup is by using lemon juice. I slice a lemon in half and then make a small slit on one side of the lemon. I slip the glass into that slit and rub the lemon along the cup’s brim. Pour the sanding sugar onto a place and roll the glass around in the sugar to coat your glass.
You can use any brand of sparkling apple juice. We use Izze Sparkling Juice as it’s a perfect size and has a perfect, crisp apple flavor.
You have two options to make sure that the colors are separated in the glass. First, you can put a spoon inside your cup, just above the sparkling apple juice, but to the side. This helps you to pour the grenadine syrup much more slowly. Pour just enough until you see the bottom of the cup turn red. You can also just pour on the side very slowly for the same effect, though the spoon helps to keep them separated.
If you find this drink is too much on the sweet side for your liking, you can swap out the lemon-lime soda for seltzer or sparkling water.
You can use any Halloween-themed gummies that you find. I found these gummy brains at Target. They are the Hyde and EEK! Boutique brand. You can usually find them in the Halloween section.
What are the steps to make this candy apple mocktail?
It’s incredibly easy to make candy apple mocktail. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Slice a lemon in half and then make a small slit on the side. Rub the lemon along the brim of a cup, using the slice you just made, and coat the top of the cup with green sanding sugar.
Step 2: Add ice. For a fun Halloween effect, make ice cubes with gummy brains inside.
Step 3: Fill the glass with sparkling apple juice, leaving about 2 inches on top.
Step 4: Place a spoon on the side of the cup, pointing toward the right side, and pour grenadine slowly until there is a red tint to the bottom of the drink.
Step 5: Fill the rest of the glass with any lemon-lime soda
Step 6: Place gummy brains or fun Halloween gummies on two toothpicks and place them on top of the glass.
If you love candy apples, you’ll love this non-alcoholic candy apple mocktail. Grenadine, sparkling apple juice and lemon-lime soda combine to create your new favorite Halloween drink that the whole family can enjoy!
Ingredients
sparkling apple juice
grenadine syrup
lemon-lime soda
green sanding sugar
Lemon
Instructions
Slice a lemon in half, then make a small slit on the side.
Using the slice, you just created, rub the lemon along the brim of a cup and coat the top of the cup with green sanding sugar.
Add ice. For a fun Halloween effect, make ice cubes with gummy brains inside.
Fill the glass with sparkling apple juice, leaving about 2 inches on top.
Place a spoon on the side of the cup, pointing toward the right side, and pour grenadine slowly until there is a red tint to the bottom of the drink.
Fill the rest of the glass with any lemon-lime soda.
Place gummy brains or fun Halloween gummies on two toothpicks and place them on top of the glass.
We’d love to hear your thoughts if you try our candy apple mocktail. If you take a picture or share it on social media, don’t forget to tag us! Don’t forget to check out all of our Halloween ideas!
I'm so honored that you've found us! I'm Heather, a Mom of 3 who blogs about parenting, food, occasional travel and how I overcame my daily struggle with anxiety. I miss sleeping and rely on coffee and laughter to get me through the day. I hope you enjoy and visit often!
Yum, that sounds amazing!! Reminds me of those rocket candy suckers from back in the day. I’m sure your teeth don’t get stuck in this, like they did in those, though! 🙂
What a cool drink. I just love the way you garnished the drink.
This looks so delicious and refreshing. I love the flavor of candy apple. I must give this a try.
What a SPOOOKY drink! I adore how fun this drink is! I would love to make this for a Halloween party with the kids!
Those gummy brains are the coolest! I think I’d incorporate them in all our cocktails from now on lol.
Yum, that sounds amazing!! Reminds me of those rocket candy suckers from back in the day. I’m sure your teeth don’t get stuck in this, like they did in those, though! 🙂
This looks like a fun Halloween mocktail for the kids to drink. I’m sure my son would love one too.
I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, so this is perfect for me! My kids would enjoy it as well so we’ll have to make it for movie night this week!