Chewy Lemonade Fruit Snacks
By Afton CyrusPublished on January 4, 2023
Time
1 hour, plus chilling time
Yield
Makes 72 fruit snacks
What Kids Are Saying
“The gummies were delicious!! A really cool texture and tastes great.” —Trevor, recipe tester, age 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Our favorite frozen juice concentrate for these fruit snacks is lemonade, but pink lemonade or limeade concentrates work well, too. Don’t use orange or grapefruit juice concentrates—they are too thick. We love lemon slice molds, but any 1-inch-wide by ½-inch-deep silicone molds will work.
Instructions
- In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine thawed lemonade concentrate, lemon juice, and sugar. Sprinkle gelatin over surface of liquid. Use rubber spatula to stir until no large lumps remain. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat lemonade mixture in microwave for 1 minute. Stir mixture with rubber spatula. Heat in microwave until mixture bubbles and foams, about 1 more minute.
- Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave (ask an adult for help—mixture will be VERY hot). Stir mixture until fully combined and smooth.
- Place 2 silicone lemon slice molds on rimmed baking sheet. Use eyedropper to fill molds following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Fill Silicone Molds,” below.
- Place baking sheet with filled molds in refrigerator. Chill until lemonade mixture is firm, about 30 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet with molds from refrigerator. Push each shape inside out to remove fruit snacks, and transfer to airtight container.
- Heat remaining lemonade mixture in microwave until warmed through and liquid again, about 30 seconds. Repeat steps 4 through 6 using clean eyedropper and molds and remaining warm lemonade mixture. Serve. (Fruit snacks can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)
Time
1 hour, plus chilling timeYield
Makes 72 fruit snacksWhat Kids Are Saying
“The gummies were delicious!! A really cool texture and tastes great.” —Trevor, recipe tester, age 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted to make bouncy, chewy fruit snacks from scratch that were reminiscent of our favorite packaged versions. We found that regular fruit juice didn’t provide enough flavor, so we turned to frozen fruit juice concentrate to amp up the flavor. Juice (or lemonade) concentrate is juice that has been cooked until a lot of its water has evaporated, leaving behind a thick liquid with an intense, concentrated (get it?) flavor. Have kids taste a spoonful of the thawed lemonade concentrate and then taste a mixture of 1 tablespoon concentrate and ¼ cup cold water. What do they notice? The concentrate has a much punchier, stronger flavor that isn’t diluted by the water. It might be way too tart and sweet to sip straight from a glass, but it’s the perfect amount of flavor for these fruit snacks.
Before You Begin
Our favorite frozen juice concentrate for these fruit snacks is lemonade, but pink lemonade or limeade concentrates work well, too. Don’t use orange or grapefruit juice concentrates—they are too thick. We love lemon slice molds, but any 1-inch-wide by ½-inch-deep silicone molds will work.
Instructions
- In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine thawed lemonade concentrate, lemon juice, and sugar. Sprinkle gelatin over surface of liquid. Use rubber spatula to stir until no large lumps remain. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- Heat lemonade mixture in microwave for 1 minute. Stir mixture with rubber spatula. Heat in microwave until mixture bubbles and foams, about 1 more minute.
- Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave (ask an adult for help—mixture will be VERY hot). Stir mixture until fully combined and smooth.
- Place 2 silicone lemon slice molds on rimmed baking sheet. Use eyedropper to fill molds following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Fill Silicone Molds,” below.
- Place baking sheet with filled molds in refrigerator. Chill until lemonade mixture is firm, about 30 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet with molds from refrigerator. Push each shape inside out to remove fruit snacks, and transfer to airtight container.
- Heat remaining lemonade mixture in microwave until warmed through and liquid again, about 30 seconds. Repeat steps 4 through 6 using clean eyedropper and molds and remaining warm lemonade mixture. Serve. (Fruit snacks can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)
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