Sugar-Free Fruit Juice Snacks

3 packets of unflavored gelatin

1 cup fruit juice- any flavor (We used 1/2 pineapple juice which gave it a nice sweet flavor and 1/2 cup unsweetened grape juice to give the snacks some color!)

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Molds (We suggest using very small molds.  If they are bigger, it is just too much chewiness in one bite!)

Pour juice and lemon juice into a small pan.  Sprinkle gelatin over juice and let set for a minute.  Add fructose and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved.

Fill molds (I suggest using a small syringe to do this.)  You can also pour gelatin into a pan.  With your fingers pull to break suction against one side of pan.  Pull side up and lift onto cutting board to slice or dice.  (Snakes work best if they are sliced thin.)

Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until well set.

They should easily unmold- just give a little push with your finger.  For variety, you can toss them in citric acid for a sour punch of flavor!

Now Go Do Right Thing and Make These Today!

In honor of jello week, please take note:  Jello isn’t just for jiggly salads and desserts, it has lots of different yummy uses!

Jello popcorn balls

1 C. light corn syrup

1 small box sugar free or regular flavor jello, any flavor

1 C. Sugar

4 quarts air- popped popcorn

Whisk corn syrup, jello, and sugar together in a pot and bring to a boil.  Boil 1 minute.  Pour over popcorn and mix well with a large spoon.  When mixture is cooled just enough to touch, grease hands and form into balls.

* I got this recipe from the simply de*lite*ful cookbook, which by the way has some very good recipes!

Now Go Get Poppin’ and Have Some Jello Joy!

Celebrate Jello Week with these yummy treats!  What kid could resist them?  So cute!  How fun would they be in a lunch box or for a holiday or party treat!  You can do them in any color for any theme:  red for Valentines, red and green for Christmas, orange for Halloween, green for St. Patricks, red and blue for 4th of July etc.

My kids were not in agreement as to the name of these treats.  On the Kraft website http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-marshmallow-pinwheels-51697.aspx they are called Gelatin Pinwheels, but some of my kids thought that fruity roll-ups sounded better.  Either way they are fun, easy and delicious!

Gelatin Pinwheel/ Fruity Roll-Ups

1 (3 oz.) pkg. jello

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch pan square pan with non-stick cooking spray and make sure it is spread well.

Stir together water and jello powder in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute.   Remove bowl and stir well making sure jello is dissolved.  If necessary, return to microwave for 20 seconds or so to make sure jello is dissolved and stir again.

Add marshmallows and return to microwave for 20-40 seconds or until marshmallows have just begun to puff.  This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer!  If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your roll-up will not have two distinct layers.

Whisk quickly until marshmallows are dissolved.

Pour quickly into prepared pan and chill in fridge for 45 minutes or until well set.  Creamy layer will float to the top.

Remove the pan from fridge.  At this point,  the jello should be very firm and easy to handle.  Gently pull one side away from pan and lift entire sheet onto counter.  Starting at one end, roll up tightly.  With seam side down, cut into 10-12 (1/2) inch slices.  We found it easiest to cut with a piece of thread or dental floss.  Just put the string around roll-up, cross and pull.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now Go Spread Some Fruity Gelatin Pinwheel Joy!

We are linked to the link party on fingerprints on the fridge,  Tatertots and jello and So you think you are crafty,go there and check out all the other cool links!.

* Check out our cookbook giveaway here.

Now you can be a jello super star and make fruit snacks of your own!  Your kids will adore you, you will astound your neighbors and your friends will admire you.  Awhile back I saw a recipe for making homemade fruit snacks.  Then today I came across some heart candy molds.  I decided that it was time to try making valentines fruit snacks.  It was surprisingly easy, all you need is…

1- 3oz box of any flavor of jello

2 packets of unfavored gelatin

1/2 C.  Water

Candy molds

(We recommend very small candy molds-close to the size of a gummy bear.  If they are too much bigger you will have too much chewy-ness in one bite which isn’t a good thing.)

Place 1/3 cup water in a small sauce pan. Sprinkle the Jello and unflavored gelatin over the water. Let sit 5 – 10 minutes.

Put sauce pan on stove over medium heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved,  it will be a weird congealed lumpy consistency. Stir for about 2-5 minutes. When mixture is liquid and all gelatin has dissolved, remove from heat.  Let cool a minute and then pour into a container that is easy to pour from:  an easy squeeze bottle or a syringe works well for small molds.

Pour mixture into molds and let cool all the way and set up.  It takes about 20 minutes on your counter.  My kids didn’t want to wait that long so we put them in the fridge for 10 min.  They pealed out of the molds just fine, no need for oiling the molds.

Now go and have some jelly fruit snack joy!

Our Egg Jigglers

Watch that wobble, see that wiggle, taste that jiggle…  Stop!  If you were alive in the 80′s you are probably now humming the tune, but did you ever stop to ask yourself how exactly do I taste a jiggle? Make the recipe below and maybe you will find the answer.

Creamy Egg Jigglers

2 1/2 cups boiling water

2 large packages jello ( or 4 small)

1 cup cold milk

1 package (4 serving size) instant vanilla pudding

This recipe and picture comes from kraftrecipes.com

Dissolve jello in boiling water.  Cool 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pour milk into medium bowl.  Add pudding mix.  Beat with wire whisk 1 minute.  Quickly pour into gelatin.  Stir with wire whisk until well blended.  Pour into 9×13 pan.

Chill for 3 hours or until firm.  Dip bottom of pan in warm water for about 15 seconds.  Press egg shaped cookie cutter into gelatin.  Lift from pan with spatula.

We recommend decorating the eggs with jello cream- it flavors the cream and colors it as well.  The recipe below makes a small amount so you can make several colors/flavors for more colorful eggs.  (We tried using colored piping gel, but found that it tends to slip off the slick surface of the jigglers.)

Jello Cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp. dry powdered jello

Combine in a medium bowl and beat until it holds stiff peaks.  Pipe decorations onto jiggler eggs with a small round cake decorating tip.

Now Go Have Some Jiggly Jello Joy!