An easy to make and fun, sweet treat!
Oh the afternoon slump…. Sometimes there are just days when I just need a little something to give me a boost after a long morning! We are not big coffee drinkers, so when I need an energy boost I try to find a more natural sweet treat. There are days when I just need something quick, but healthy! I came across a fun way to use up some fruit we had frozen in the freezer, Fresh Blueberry Gummy Bears!
A Fun Treat
Making homemade fresh fruit gummy bears is surprisingly much easier than you may think. For this recipe all you need is 2 cups of your favorite fruit (we love blueberries), 1/2 oz unflavored gelatin (2 Knox Gelatin .25 oz packets work great!), 2 tablespoons of honey, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
You will also need a mold for your “gummy bears”. You can use really any shape but using the gummy bear shape is so fun!
Prepare Your Fruit
To prepare your fruit, give your fruit a good washing. If you are using strawberries, remove the tops and cut into smaller pieces. Next you want to puree your fruit. A food processor makes quick work of this! We like our gummy bears to not have as many seeds, so we like to strain the fruit mixture with a fine sieve. This just takes a few minutes, and you have a wonderful seedless mixture. We save what is left in the strainer and give it to the chickens.
After your fruit is strained, set that aside for just a minute and prepare your molds. Give them a good cleaning if needed, and place them onto a cookie sheet. It is super convenient to put your molds onto a tray for making moving to the fridge much easier.
It is Jelly Time!
Into a medium sauce pan, add your strained fruit, honey, and lemon juice. Head your mixture until it just starts to boil. Be very careful to stir often, and keep a lid handy in case you have any splattering. Don’t leave the pan unattended. This is a time you want to watch a pot boil!
After your mixture has come to a boil, remove it from the heat, and quickly whisk your gelatin in. You want to gradually add your gelatin while continuing to whisk. If you don’t slowly add the gelatin in, or just dump it the whole packet in, you will end up with a chunky mixture. Trust me, I know! Keep mixing up everything until it is full incorporated.
Time to Fill the Molds!
You are going to want to move a little quickly before your gelatin sets up, and fill your molds. There are many ways to fill your molds. You can use food safe pipettes, a piping bag, even a spoon. Recently I came across a candy silicone squeeze bottle that works perfectly when filling the gummy bear silicone molds.
Fill your gummy bear molds just to the top of the mold. If you spill any extra don’t worry, you can remove that after the gummy bears have hardened. Place your molds into the fridge, and allow the gelatin to harden. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. Being patient is important or you will end up with a bunch of broken gummy bears!
You will know the gummy bears are hardened when they easily come out of the mold. The gummy bears will be squishy but hold their shape.
Time to Enjoy!
After you have removed all of your gummy bears from the silicone mold, place them into a storage container, and enjoy when you want a quick pick me up treat! We like to store ours in the fridge, and they last up to 2 weeks, but are usually eaten way before then! This recipe makes about 40 gummy bears.
We hope we have given you the inspiration to make some fresh fruit gummy bears of your own! You won’t be disappointed with this fun treat!
