It is no secret that I have a sweet tooth.

Giant Chewy Nerds, made by the Willy Wonka Can...

Giant Chewy Nerds, made by the Willy Wonka Candy Company. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Give me Chewy Runts and I’m a happy girl!  Give me peanut butter cups and I am in heaven.  I am certain my graphics business runs, in part, on sugar.  Yet, it is exceedingly difficult to find corn-free candy.  Corn syrup is the basis of most candies, and even when it’s not, there’s dextrose, corn starch, citric acid and fructose to be concerned with (yes! All these things DO come from corn).  Even more difficult is finding corn-free candy that actually tastes good.  There’s no feeling quite like setting yourself up for disappointment.

Now, pair that up with my goal to Be A Good Mom. You know: don’t rot the kids’ teeth but let them enjoy some sweets in life; don’t poison them but realize their peers get treats and they’ll feel left out.  A tricky line to walk, no doubt about it.  In addition, my middle child has very soft enamel on his teeth and I have to be so, so careful as we’re in a season of life that leaves us with no dental insurance.

Corn-Free Candy Inspiration

As I was researching dental health care on Dr. Ellie’s site, I was reminded of the anti-cavity properties Xylitol has.  Encouraged by Dr. Ellies use of Xylitol mints and gum, I casually wondered (aka googled) if I could make xylitol mints on my own.  As it turns out, Mom’s Frugal blog says I can!  Not only that, but I have oodles of corn-free xylitol on hand, languishing in my pantry – so this will be a no-cost experiment.  Win!

So today, I put together the ingredients, and made a small batch of xylitol mints.  They are cooling right now.  They taste fine to me, and will totally work in my efforts to help the kids’ teeth.  But… will the kids eat them?