Homemade Fruit Snacks, Toddler Safe and Tesa Approved!

Usually I use this blog as a place to share cute stories about my little family, but today it's going to serve a more domestic, housewife-y purpose. It's actually kind of selfish, but I'm writing this entry for me. Let me explain: today I made some toddler-safe homemade fruit snacks for Tesa, but I combined several recipes I found on Pinterest (because I didn't have or didn't want to use some of the ingredients any one of the recipes had by themselves), and added my own twist, and they turned out AHH-MAZING, and I don't want to ever forget what I did, so I'm writing it all down and posting it here, because as everyone knows, once it's published on the Internet, it's out there forever. So yes, this blog post is just for me, but if you ever get a hankering to make your own fruit snacks, you can use it too! ;)

Please forgive my poor photography skills!

Homemade, Toddler-Safe Fruit Snacks (Steph's Version)

You'll need:

• 2/3 c fresh or frozen fruit (I used frozen blueberries my great aunt picked last summer in Illinois)
• 2/3 c fruit juice (I used no sugar added cranberry juice. I suggest using something citrus if you want a more traditional sour-ish taste)
• 2 T honey (I used wildberry honey)
• 4 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin

*Note: These fruit snacks are NOT super sweet. I made these for my toddler, so I didn't want them to be sugary. If you don't care that they are a little more unhealthy, you could add a little bit of sugar, but I wouldn't use more than a tablespoon. Just my opinion.

Here's what you do:

• Combine fruit and fruit juice over medium heat until fruit is soft and turning mushy. Be sure to stir frequently during this process.
• Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes, then puree the mixture in a blender until it becomes a smooth, even consistency.
• Return to saucepan over medium-low heat and add honey. Stir until completely combined.
• Add gelatin slowly, making sure to whisk as you add so the mixture doesn't clump. I added one envelope at a time and whisked until all the powder was completely dissolved until moving on to the next envelope.
• Pour mixture into molds until you are out. If you don't have molds, you could use a 13" x 9" pan and cut into squares later. I had a few molds, but I still had some left over, so I used a small shallow bowl for the remainder and cut it into small cubes once it was set.
• Put it all in the refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours. I waited the whole two hours for mine, but I don't think it will take quite that long.

That's it. How simple is that?! Super easy, right? And way better for kids than store-bought fruit snacks. This recipe yields enough for what I would consider about 6 servings. As far as how long they keep, I can't really attest to that yet, but just in case, I plan on keeping them in the fridge to maximize how long they stay fresh. These are toddler tested and approved by my 16 month old daughter, and I plan on buying more molds and adding these to the regular rotation of snack foods.

Enjoy!