Monday, April 16, 2012

Three-Ingredient Homemade Applesauce Fruit Snacks

 My kids love Annie's bunny fruit snacks. At around $4 a box, we normally ration them out as special treats.  And, admittedly, I use them for bribery in moments of desperation.  I said to Anthony the other day, "That would be so handy if I could make my own fruit snacks." To which he immediately replied that there is no way homemade fruit snacks would ever taste the same as Annie's.  Of course he is right; I don't have tapioca syrup and tapioca syrup solids laying around my house, so I am not very hopeful of replicating the bunnies.  However, this afternoon I did make a healthy fruit-snack- type treat that is tasty in its own right, while not being so much like candy like store-bought fruit snacks.  I only had leaf-shaped candy molds that my mom gave me a while back, but I'm sure there are cuter molds to be found at the craft stores these days. Or you can just dice the snacks really small and make fruit snack bits.  Next time I will experiment with other fruits, but for now I hope you will enjoy these easy treats.

 


1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp. brown rice syrup, agave nectar, or maple syrup (or more, to taste--depending on how sweet your applesauce is.)
2 tsp. agar powder

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a small non-stick saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and then turn down the heat to low.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the liquid in the applesauce has evaporated and the mixture is reduced by about one half.  Be sure to stir periodically so that the applesauce doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.
2. Lightly oil your candy molds or a shallow pan and spoon in the applesauce mixture. Chill for 30 mins. to an hour, until totally set. At this point, if you just poured the mixture into a shallow pan, you can dice it into little finger-sized bits. Store the fruit snacks in a covered container in the fridge.

This recipe is posted on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love, Melt in Your Mouth Mondays ,Whole Foods Wednesdays, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays and Wellness Weekend.

A few weeks ago I dared to take the kids to Disneyland by myself. Let us never speak of it again. Here they are on the Mark Twain riverboat. They had a great time; I thought I would lose my mind if I had to tell them one more time not to lick anything on the boat. Really, should that even be necessary?





32 comments:

  1. Allison, your apple sauce snacks are beautiful and so creative! I love easy snack ideas like this...portable applesauce! You are incredible!

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  2. Thanks so much, Melanie! I hope you get a chance to try them out--and that you enjoy them!

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  3. These sound amazing! Where do you find agar powder? Is it by the spices?

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    1. Hi, Mrs. Z! Agar powder is a natural thickener made from seaweed, which vegetarians often use in place of animal-derived gelatin. I have read that it is a great digestive aid. May sound odd, but it works wonders in my kitchen. I have found that the best place to buy it is online: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-2781-now-foods-agar-powder-2-oz.

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  4. Thanks for linking up to Allergy-Free Wednesdays. Hope to see you again tomorrow. Would you be so kind to link your post back to AFW? Thanks.

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  5. Hi again. Sorry about my earlier comment. I just saw that you linked back. You're being featured this week! What a great recipe!

    By the way, I don't know how to get my photo to show up....Sigh.

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  6. Instead of the agar powder, would corn starch or regular flour work?

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    1. I really don't think so, as those ingredients do not have gelling power like agar does. I also think that would change the texture quite a bit.

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    3. Hmm...okay. Thanks for the reply.

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  7. I LOVE this idea and plan to try it with real maple syrup. I am concerned with the new reports that Brown Rice Syrup has high arsenic levels. Have you heard of this?

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    1. I have heard that, but I did some research and read that Lundberg Farms tests for arsenic levels, so I feel ok using their brand. I sure hope you enjoy the fruit snacks!

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  8. we are going to try this tonight! Was thinking about making raw applesauce in the Vita Mix and tossing in a couple of fresh strawberries...sound yummy! Perfect for camping this weekend! Will see how they turn out! Thanks for a great idea! I cringe when my kids start begging for fruit snacks in the store!

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    1. Sounds awesome! Please let me know how they turn out with the strawberries in there.

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  9. LOVE this! i use agar all the time to thicken up almond & coconut milk so i can blend it and use it as "whipped cream," and am always looking for more recipes that use it; can't wait to make these! i know citrus can mess with the agar but i bet strawberry lemonade would make killer gummies! if those work, raspberry lime is next :) or maybe steep some green tea & make green tea & honey gummies.. so many ideas! thanks for sharing this :)

    one question; do they stay firm at room temp or do they start to lose shape/"melt?"

    ^^also, mrs.z; see if you live near any asian markets, i get eden brand agar for $1 and some change per oz. (same package is $7 at whole foods- OUCH!)

    thanks again, your apple gummies look awesome!

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  10. They kept their shape fine for me at room temp. Please let me know how your other flavor experiments go! I checked out your blog; I'm a follower now!

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  11. What a cute idea! babygirl would love these.

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  12. I could not find agar powder at the store, so I tried it with gelatin instead. Also I did not have candy moulds so just made it in a 8x8. I did not get the consistency I was expecting. Perhaps I needs to evaporate more water out before chilling it, or just try the agar instead. It tastes quite good, but not as easy to handle for my 11 mo old as I had hoped. Will try again and trouble shoot. Thanks for the recipe!!

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    1. Thanks for the feedback! I have not tired it with gelatin, so I am not sure how that would alter the consistency compared to agar. I just did a quick search online and it looks like 1 teaspoon of agar is equal to 1 Tablespoon of gelatin. Just curious how much gelatin you used?

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  13. Hi. Just found this recipe and can't wait to try it for my little one. I was just wondering if I could use honey instead of the syrup and if so, what would the measurement be? Thank you so much!!

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    1. Of course, honey would be fine. Same amount as maple syrup, 2 Tbsp., I would think, as they are both quite sweet. Maybe taste after 1 Tbsp. and see if you want it sweeter. Please let me know how it turns out!

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  14. This sounds pretty fun - do you know how long these would keep? I am wondering if I could make a bunch and then freeze them of something... :)

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    1. They get eaten before too many days have passed, so I'm not sure! I know that I have frozen applesauce before and then thawed it out, and it tastes pretty much the same, so I would think the same would go for these, but I can't say that I've tried it yet. That is a good idea, though! Please let me know how it goes.

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  15. I've been experimenting with homemade fruit snaks and I didn't like the ones with gelatin they were too chewing and my two year old was chewing them for five minutes before he could swallow. So are these pretty chewy as well? I love the green tea flavor idea as well!! Sounds like a great energy pick me up.

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    1. Actually, they aren't chewy in the same way as store-bought fruit snacks. I think you would find them easy for your child to chew :o)

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  16. Sounds terrific & simple for candy making. I might make this &
    try adding 1/2 c coconut flakes to give it more chewiness. I
    suppose you could even add cocoa powder & it would work.

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    1. Coconut may taste good, but I think the cocoa powder would taste off. They really taste like applesauce, and I'm not sure about chocolate applesauce. Just my opinion, though. Please let me know how it turns out!

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