I’m sharing SPLENDA® Sweetener Products in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™. As always, thanks for reading!
This fun, candy corn inspired gin cocktail will have everyone feeling SPOOKtacular at your next Halloween party! At just 150 calories, this cocktail is made with gin, healthy orange and carrot juice and simple syrup made with less added sugar thanks to SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia and Sugar Blend.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am super excited about Halloween. For the first time in several years (translation- since college), I am ready to really have fun with all the craziness that is Halloween.
Octavian will be just shy of four years old and is not helping my eagerness to turn our house upside-down and into a haunted house…like right now. This is actually quite hilarious since, if you met my child, you would quickly learn that he is quite the sensitive Sally and does not like to be scared.
And everything scares him. The Magic School Bus has been known to scare him on more than one occasion and he has yet to finish Finding Dory.
Bless his sweet little innocent heart getting more and more corrupt by the second…but I digress.
Let’s stay on topic; and the topic for this post is Halloween and a candy corn inspired cocktail.
Unlike most cocktails, this super fun cocktail comes in at just 150 calories and is actually loaded with Vitamin C thanks to orange and carrot juice.
Now, before you write off the carrot juice, let me just say it’s amazing. And since you’ll be adding some Splenda Simple Syrup (less added sugar, but same amazing taste!) it’s a good one.
SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Blend is made with only cane sugar and stevia leaf extract, so it looks and acts like sugar but with only half the calories! A ½ teaspoon of SPLENDA® Sugar & Stevia Sweetener Blend gives you the same sweetness as a full teaspoon as traditional sugar, so you only need to use half as much.
Please and thank you.
Anywho, contrary to the name, there is no candy corn in this drink. Sorry guys. Candy corn, after all, is made of practically all sugar and it is literally impossible to make a cocktail containing candy corn that is 150 calories.
I tried.
But, we don’t need all of that. Too much sugar with alcohol gives me super gnarly headaches, so I’ll take the vitamin C any day of the week.
As for the layering…
It’s all about putting the most dense (or the most sugary) liquid on the bottom and the less dense (or less sugary) liquid on the top. Naturally, orange juice contains more sugar than carrot juice. Even though carrot juice (at least the one I used) was thicker, it is less dense. Keeping this in mind, I decided to use a cocktail shaker to combine the orange (or tangerine) juice and Splenda Simple Syrup in the bottom layer and the carrot plus gin as the top layer. Gin, just in case you were wondering, is one of the least dense liquors.
Happy Halloween, friends!
RECIPE CARD
Candy Corn Inspired Carrot and Orange Juice Gin Cocktail Recipe (150 Calories)
Ingredients
FOR THE SPLENDA SIMPLE SYRUP-
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract - optional
FOR THE CANDY CORN COCKTAIL
Bottom Layer:
- 2 fluid ounces tangerine or orange juice - 30 calories
- 1 tablespoon simple syrup - see recipe instructions below (25 calories)
Top Layer:
- 1 fluid ounce gin - 72 calories
- 2 fluid ounces carrot juice - 22 calories
Ice
- Highball glasses or Old Fashioned Glasses
- Optional- - top off your drink with an ounce or two of soda water/tonic water/or regular water and drop in a couple small pieces of dry ice for a smoky effect
** important: make sure all dry ice has fully dissolved before consuming**
Instructions
- First prepare the Splenda Simple Syrup (this can be made ahead of time)- in a small sauce pot over medium heat whisk together the ingredients and bring to a low simmer. As soon as the SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia and Sugar Blend has fully dissolved, remove from heat and refrigerate until ready to use.
- For the Candy Corn Cocktail- Fill desired number of glasses with ice. Starting with the bottom layer, use a cocktail shaker filled with ice to combine the orange or tangerine juice with 1 tablespoon of the Splenda Simple Syrup. Shake well and carefully pour into the glass filled with ice. Repeat this process for the middle layer- fill a cocktail shaker with the gin and carrot juice and shake. When ready to pour into the glass, invert a spoon and very slowly pour the gin and juice mix into the glass. It should create a layer on top (the ice will help create a buffer, too).
- If desired, top with a splash of soda water or water. Note, however, that the carbonation may disturb the layering effect.
- Get really fancy and drop a couple small pieces of dry ice into the top of your drink to create a smoky effect. PLEASE, take care when handling dry ice and wait to consume beverage until ALL the dry ice has dissolved.
Jessica's Notes
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Have fun and please drink responsibly!
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but where/what brand are the gummy candy corn garnish pieces you used in the photo? I came for the candycorn!
Thanks,
These would be the gummy candy corn ๐
A wide range of flavors are available for use in cocktail machines. These include fruit flavors as well as cocktail flavors, so you can choose what sort of drinks you want to serve. You add the alcohol to the mixture, so you can also decide how strong you want your cocktails to be, or even leave out the alcohol altogether and serve mocktails instead.
This is a cute idea. Interesting with a carrot and gin combo.