Make Easy Gelatin Fruit Snacks With Mini Cookie Cutters
Here’s how I make easy gelatin fruit snacks for my kids with mini cookie cutters! It’s such a great hack to make the whole process easier, faster and more kid friendly.
Why Would I Want To Make My Own Fruit Snacks?
Fruit snacks from the store are so delicious because they’re usually chock full of unnecessary refined sugar, even if they are made with fruit juice. When I tried making them myself for the first time, I followed all the information already on the internet and they turned out rubbery, bland, and definitely not worth the time, energy or money spent on the silly gummy molds!
I decided I needed to make a better alternative, and here it is. These gelatin fruit snacks are juicy, bursting with flavor, and a cinch to make – my 2-year-old helps with the whole process and especially likes cutting them out with these mini cookie cutters.
Using cookie cutters within precut squares allows you to make cute cutouts and end up with negative shapes in the the squares! It’s so easy, there are no scraps left behind and nothing goes to waste.
Can I Add Fresh Fruit To These Fruit Snacks?
You can, but you also don’t want to add any tropical fruit with enzymes which will not allow the gelatin to set. Some common ones are pineapple, kiwi, or papaya. If you plan on adding fresh fruit, look it up to see if it has the enzymes called proteases. If not, you can use it without any issues. Any cooked fruit can also be used.
Can I Add Cream Or Coconut Oil As A Healthy Fat?
Yes! Cream makes the fruit snacks milky white and creamy. One fun thing to do is add some cream to half the batch layer it in the pan, cooling each layer in-between pours.
If you want to add some melted coconut oil or any other oil, I would add it last and use a handheld blender to emulsify the fat and water. Otherwise, you might end up with separation issues.
The Necessary Ingredients
Really, all you need is fruit juice and gelatin. Slightly concentrated fruit juice will give you all the flavor you need. You may add lemon juice, honey, fresh fruit and cream according to your own preferences.
- 4 cups fruit juice (in the concentration that tastes best to you)
- 1/4 cup honey (optional)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup gelatin powder
- 1 cup fresh fruit, whole or pureed (optional)
- 1/4 cup cream (optional)
Why Are These Fruit Snacks So Sweet And Flavorful?
For some reason, gelatin seems to rob fruit juice of its flavor! So, I like to make sure my fruit snacks end up tasting great by using one of two methods:
One method is to add honey or any other unrefined sweetener after the mixture has been heated.
The other method is to use or make a concentrated juice. You can either use a can of concentrated juice and mix it up with less water. Or, you can make a reduction of any other juice you want to use.
Pour double the amount of juice you need into your pot and boil it down until it reduces to about half – the amount you want to use in your recipe. This makes a juice concentrate that just bursts with natural flavor and the sweetness.
In short, you have three options:
- use as is, but you might end up with bland fruit snacks
- add an unrefined sweetener such as honey or maple syrup
- reduce the juice to increase its potency, or, use a juice concentrate mixed with a lower ratio of water.
Then, add in anything you want to enhance your fruit snacks.
I highly recommend adding lemon juice for a nice tart flavor. You can add honey as desired, or fresh or cooked fruit for more nourishment.
How To Make Easy Gelatin Fruit Snacks
- Prepare 4 cups of fruit juice according to method of choice described above.
- Sprinkle the gelatin powder on top of cool juice. Allow the juice to absorb all of the gelatin and “bloom.”
- Slowly heat over medium-low heat until fully liquid.
- Taste test and add any optional ingredients, such as honey, lemon juice or fruit to make sure you have a mixture that bursts with flavor!
- While still warm, pour the mixture into a stainless steel sheet pan at least 10″x15″.
- Carefully transfer pan to fridge.
- Once firm, remove from fridge, slice into squares big enough to contain your mini cookie cutter shapes.
- Let the kids cut one shape out of every square. They love to see how their shape leaves a hole behind that’s just as cute!
Easy Gelatin Fruit Snacks With Mini Cookie Cutters Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Sheet pan 10"x15"
- 1 Cooking pot
- Mini cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 4 cups fruit juice in the concentration that tastes best to you
- 1/4 cup honey optional
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup gelatin powder
- 1 cup fresh fruit, whole or pureed optional
- 1/4 cup cream optional
Instructions
- Prepare 4 cups of juice to the desired concentration: reduce fresh or bottled juice, or add less water to fruit juice concentrate.
- Sprinkle the gelatin on top of cool juice. Allow the juice to absorb all of the gelatin and “bloom.”
- Slowly heat over medium-low heat until fully liquid.
- Taste test and add any optional ingredients, such as honey, lemon juice or fruit to make sure you have a mixture that bursts with flavor!
- While still warm, pour the mixture into a stainless steel sheet pan at least 10″x15″.
- Carefully transfer pan to fridge.
- Once firm, remove from fridge, slice into squares big enough to contain your cookie cutter shapes.
- Let the kids cute one shape out of every square. They love to see how their shape leaves a hole behind that’s just as cute!
Nutrition
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I’m sure this recipe will become a favorite in your family too! Remember, you can ask me any questions here in the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.