These Champagne Candied Grapes are a perfect snack any time of the year- a cool snack for summer, a pretty snack for the holidays, and a great boozy treat for New Year’s. The sour flavor of the grapes makes a perfect balance with their sugary exterior.
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Twelve Grapes: A Hispanic New Year’s Tradition
Did you know that in Spain and many Latin American countries, it’s tradition to eat twelve grapes when counting down to midnight on New Year’s? There is a belief that eating twelve grapes (all within one minute!) will bring luck for each of the twelve months of the coming year. This comes from late 19th century Spain, when the Alicante province had a surplus of grapes and came up with a new tradition in order to market them.
Why This Frozen Candied Grapes Recipe is a Keeper
This tiktok trend is so popular all the kids love this recipe. This bite-sized sweet and tart treat tastes just like Jolly Rancher hard candy for adults! There are lots of reasons to make candied grapes, including:
- Great for Parties: These festive and elegant candy grapes are perfect for a classy gathering. These candied grapes are a fun and tasty tradition.
- Easy Prep: This easy recipe for champagne grapes only take 15 minutes to prepare.
- Versatile: In addition to serving these frozen grapes at a variety of functions, you can make them with different kinds of champagne, or different varieties of grapes.
Why Are Candied Grapes So Sweet?
These candied frozen grapes are a delicious treat, soaked in champagne and coated two times in sugar. Of course, you can use tart grapes to balance the flavor more, but the sugar coating will definitely make these grapes very sweet!
Ingredient Needed to Make Candied Grapes
Here are some of the key ingredients you need for this delicious candy grapes recipe:
- Champagne: Grapes are coated with champagne which will give your grapes a subtle alcoholic flavor. Use any variety that you’d like.
- Grapes: Green seedless grapes, but you can use both red grapes and green grapes. Red and green or even purple make a great presentation.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions to Make Candy Grapes Recipe
- Non Alcoholic: Kids will love a non-alcoholic variety of this sweet and sour snack. Just substitute grape juice for the champagne.
- Coloring: For a pop of color, dye sugar with food coloring. You can also use your favorite flavor of Kool-aid powder or Jello powder; watermelon and green apple flavors will work well for the fun dip.
How to Make Frozen Grapes Step-By-Step
These champagne candy grapes will add a wonderful flair to your New Year’s party! Here are the steps to making the perfect sweet treat:
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These are the basic steps for making champagne candied grapes. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Step 1: Wash the Grapes
Make sure to rinse the seedless grapes well. Then, in a medium bowl, pour the champagne over the clean grapes. Afterwards, cover the bowl and store them in the fridge or in an airtight container. Let them sit for 12 hours to chill.
Step 2: Remove Grapes and Roll the Grapes
Place half of the granulated sugar in a small bowl, then remove the grapes from the fridge. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the grapes out of the champagne and let them drain but grapes are wet. Roll and dip the grapes in the sugar.
Step 3: Coat in Sugar in the Sugar Mixture
Coat about 10 grapes in the sugar at a time, making sure they’re completely coated. Place coated grapes onto a plate lined with parchment paper, in a single layer making sure not to pile them on top of one another.
Step 4: Second Coating and Place Grapes in the Freezer
Once the sugar begins to clump and no longer sticks to the grapes, toss it and coat the grapes in a second covering using the remaining sugar. Store them in the freezer bag and freeze for two hours, or until completely frozen. After freezing, place the grapes on a plate to thaw and use toothpicks to serve and enjoy this fun treat!
Recipe FAQs for this Favorite Grapes
Expert Tips and Tricks for Making Candy Coated Champagne Grapes
The flavor variation of the tartness of the grape and the sweetness of the sugar will satisfy your sweet tooth with every bite. Satisfy your sweet tooth with this new recipe. Some tips and tricks to make candy grapes even more fun:
- Skewers: If your grapes are a little softer, you can serve them on fruit kebab skewers with apples, pears, etc.
- Different Fruits: If you like these champagne grapes, try making this recipe with different fruits, like cherries or berries.
- Extra Sugar: Instead of tossing your extra champagne infused sugar, you can use it in baking and confectionery.
- Sugar Substitute: For a somewhat healthier option, you’ll want to use sugar-free Jello mix to add flavoring to the plain grapes.
Champagne Candied Grapes
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl
- Slotted Spoon
- Plate or small baking sheet
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Seedless green grapes, washed and dried
- 1½ to 2 cups Champagne or sparkling wine, enough to cover the grapes
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
Instructions
- Wash the grapes thoroughly and pat them completely dry.
- Place the grapes in a medium mixing bowl and pour enough champagne over them to completely cover the grapes.
- Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
- Place half of the granulated sugar in a small bowl.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the grapes from the champagne and allow any excess liquid to drain.
- Working in batches of about 10 grapes at a time, toss the grapes in the sugar until evenly coated. Transfer them to a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet in a single layer.
- If the sugar becomes wet or clumpy, discard it and use the remaining fresh sugar to finish coating the grapes.
- Freeze the coated grapes for about 2 hours, or until firm.
- Serve immediately while frozen.
Christina’s Notes
Work in Small Batches: Coating a few grapes at a time prevents the sugar from becoming sticky too quickly.
Use Any Sparkling Wine: Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, or another dry sparkling wine all work well in this recipe.
Try Other Fruit: This method also works well with seedless red grapes, cherries, blueberries, or strawberries.
Make Ahead: Freeze the grapes up to 2 days before serving. For the best texture, enjoy them straight from the freezer.
Storage: Store the frozen grapes in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 1 month. The sugar coating may soften slightly over time but the grapes will still be delicious.
Save the Sugar: If desired, allow the used sugar to dry completely before using it in baking or to sweeten beverages. Discard it if preferred.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.