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Homemade Fruit Snacks {Jello or Juice}

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Sometimes I just like to play in the kitchen. What is more fun than adorable homemade fruit snack animals?! I first tried homemade fruit snacks for my son’s LEGO party. I used them in LEGO shapes as a prize for one of the games (also helped kids to easily gather at the table when there were so many fun distractions). It was so fun experimenting, that I wanted to do more homemade fruit snacks and try out other recipes.

One of my girls sat with me as we scoured Amazon for more molds. She helped me pick these Gummy Bear molds, and they are fantastic. I liked that the little animals are more similar to the actual size of fruit snacks.

l’ve tried both with Jello and Juice with honey and sugar. There is one combo that my family and I decided was disgusting: Cranberry Juice & Honey. Cranberry Juice is my personal favorite as a juice, but it turns out not to be a delicious fruit snack. Go figure. My favorite of all is Orange Jello fruit snacks – so good. The Jello way is my favorite.

The juice recipes make a much subtler flavor. The recipe explains how to do it both ways, because I think there are times you want that more subtle flavor, like 5 year old birthday parties. And the rest of the time, if you want a strong fruity flavor that is more like a store-bought fruit snack, use Jello.

We had fun last weekend making all.the.flavors. and so many shapes!

Materials you’ll need:

Now let’s get to the recipe –

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Homemade Fruit Snacks

Have fun making homemade fruit snacks!
Author Mary Johanson

Ingredients

  • 3 oz. Jell-O packet, any flavor (JELLO OPTION)
  • 1 packet gelatin (JELLO OPTION)
  • 1/2 cup water (JELLO OPTION)
  • 1/2 cup juice, any flavor (JUICE OPTION)
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar (JUICE OPTION)
  • 2 packets gelatin (JUICE OPTION)

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, add water (no heat yet).
  • Sprinkle Jello Packet and Gelatin Packet over the water. Give the gelatin a minute to bloom in the water. It is normal for it to look like applesauce when it's ready – that's what you want.
  • Turn on the heat to medium high and stir continuously until the mixture doesn't look like applesauce anymore. Just heat through until everything is dissolved and the mixture isn't gritty. Do not boil!
  • Use a liquid dropper to fill your molds one by one. This goes quickly with a dropper. It definitely works best if the fruit snacks can harden individually and aren't connected by extra mixture.
  • Let mold chill about an hour in the fridge, then pop out of the molds.
  • Fruit snacks last for a week in an airtight container, in or out of the fridge.*
  • JUICE SUBSTITUTION DIRECTIONS: The directions are mostly the same as when using Jello, but instead of water in step one, mix the juice and sweetener in the pot before adding TWO gelatin packets in step 2. All other steps are the same.**
  • CAN DOUBLE: You can double this recipe if you'd like to make more, but I like working in small amounts at a time, because the mixture starts to harden pretty quickly. Also, smaller batches make it easier to create more flavors.

The recipe is so easy that my older kids (10, 12, and 12) can make these without me. The 5-year-old gives great moral support and is eager to eat them.

I hope you have so much fun making these, with or without your kids helping. I won’t judge if you make them while kids are at school and they never really know how many you made. šŸ˜‰

From my home to yours,
Mary

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Comments

  1. Penelope says

    Thank you for sharing this! I made these today and they are great! Do you have to store them in the fridge, or can they be left at room temperature for an afternoon?

    • Mary says

      They can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days, though the fridge is my favorite place to store them.

    • Mary says

      Kind of different than both. They kind of taste like the fruit snacks in the baby food section. The flavor isn’t as strong in the Juice ones and the Jello ones taste a bit like Jello (which we like). We like both kinds a lot, they’re just a bit of their own thing!

  3. Tasha says

    Also what do I think would happen if I added a few drops of lollipop flavoring .. my goal is to strengthen the flavor bc Iā€™m using them to cover up a strong flavor of some supplements to get into my little one.. to me if they arenā€™t the super healthiest treat it is worth it to get in the other supplements that are extremely important for her other health needs

    • Mary says

      I think the lollipop flavoring sounds brilliant! Let me know how it goes! Love the idea of hiding supplements in them!!

    • Mary says

      I think if they’re the bendable once where you can push out the fruit snack it would work. If they’re stiff and hard plastic, I can’t picture how they’d easily come out.

  5. Angie says

    Will this recipe fill all of both of the trays you’re using there? In other words how many will 1 single batch make (I’m looking to make gummy bear size)?

    • Mary says

      So, if I remember correctly, there was a lot more liquid than trays, so I just ended up using other molds I had until it was out. Definitely filled up more than just a single tray of gummy bears, but I can’t remember how many.

    • Jess says

      I make these all the time with these exact molds and this batch will fill two of the trays almost perfectly

  6. Deborah Madden says

    I love these! So easy to make! These were a fun craft to do with the family, turning out so yummy! Especially great for quarantine!!!

  7. Lillie Williams says

    Have you ever tried to vacuum seal them for storage? I want to ship some to my daughter and it takes several days with priority mail.

  9. CHARLETNEWTON says

    THANK YOU, THE FIRST TIME, I TRIED THIS YUMMY, DELICIOUS, SMOOTH, SUGARY FRUIT OPENED CLOSED DOOR’S, CLIMBED MOUNTAINS, AND MADE DREAMS BECOME REALITIES, I HAVE WENT FAR, AND NEAR, WOKE UP LOST, STAYED FOCUSED, AND YET BLINKING MY EYE’S AS I WRITE, THANK YOU.

  10. Tiffany says

    I love making these when I’m craving gummies!! To make it nice and quick, I throw the mixture into the freezer for a few minutes and they firm up quickly!

  11. Bay says

    Thanks for the recipe! Mine stuck to the trays and broke apart unfortunately. Might try again soon. Any advice?

    • Mary says

      Hmmm… if it stuck to the trays, you might be using the wrong kind of trays. Were they silicone and non-stick? Did they break apart as you were removing them because they were stuck, or were they broken in the tray?

  12. Jenny says

    I have looked at a good many gummy bear recipes and one said to use cornstarch to prevent sticking together and help come out of molds easier. But it gives a cloudy look to the so I was wondering would nonstick cooking spray work or would it mess them up?

    • Mary says

      Hi! I used silicon molds and didn’t use anything to help them not stick, because they don’t stick to the silicon. That’s what I would suggest so you can skip that step altogether!