Homemade Fruit Snacks

This recipe appeared in the Hinton Voice's February 7th Edition. 

[A common favourite for kids and adults alike, fruit snacks are one of those foods that you’ll likely find in most households at one time or another.  Making homemade fruit snacks is so unbelievably easy; as soon as you finish reading this recipe you’re going to wonder why you haven’t tried making them sooner.  When I first made these fruit snacks I was half expecting something sticky and slightly firmer than jello – instead I was pleasantly surprised that what I ended up with closely resembled store bought fruit snacks.  They are even better in fact because not only can you use healthier ingredients, the possible flavour combinations far surpass the usual five possibilities.  

I remember as a kid I almost always had fruit snacks in my lunch. I would tear into the package hoping the contents were mostly made up of the orange or grape varieties.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the yellow or green kinds, mostly due to their intense artificial flavours.  This worked out well for whichever friend I sat with for lunch that day, since most of my friends weren’t quite as picky as I was.  Needless to say with five or six fruit snacks in a package, my chances of having to share a couple were pretty high. 

Fast forward to present day and I’ve gotten a lot better at sharing (and less picky depending on who you ask).  I’m still not a huge fan of yellow or green fruit snacks because I still think they bear no resemblance to real fruit.   No problem though as now I can make all my favourite fruit snack flavours at home.  Since I already have the heart shaped cutter and all, I might even make some more wild raspberry ones next week as a Valentine’s Day treat for my special someone.]

Tip:  For homemade jello, use 1 package gelatin and 2 cups of your favorite fruit juice.  For sweeter jello, add up to 1/3 cup sugar.

Ingredients

- 1 (3 oz) package gelatin, any flavour

- 2 (.25 oz) envelopes of unflavoured gelatin

- 1/3 cup water or fruit juice

or

- 2-3 (.25 oz) envelopes of unflavoured gelatin (2 for soft, 3 for firm)

- 1/3 cup of your favourite fruit juice

  

Directions

Place water or juice in a small saucepan and sprinkle gelatin overtop – let sit for 2-3 minutes to soften gelatin.   Heat over medium heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolve (about 3-5 minutes).  Pour into molds and allow to set for about a half hour.   You can speed up the setting process by placing your mold in the fridge. 

If you don’t have a mold, pour into a small (preferably ceramic or glass) pan and let set.  Once set, remove from pan and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter or sharp knife.

- Nutritional Info (1/2 recipe using fruit juice) -

Calories - 36   Fat - 0    Carbs – 7     Protein - 3   Fibre – 1

Enjoy!