Sour Patch Grapes - a sometimes treat that you might be hiding from the children to eat for yourself

  So, I'm supposed to be blogging about healthy recipes for your family, and yet, I start off with a recipe that is not really healthy and definitely not clean eating. But I tried this recipe for the first time last night, and it was such a hit with everyone that I thought I had to share it.

Sour Patch Grapes

I got the recipe from Sabrina at "Dinner, then Dessert". She has beautiful grapes, each one with perfect coverage like miniature jewels.   

The reason for this is that she took each individual grape, stuck a toothpick in it, rolled it it in the gelatin mix, set them spaced out on a cookie sheet and put them in the fridge until they hardened before removing the toothpicks and arranging in a bowl.  I admire her dedication.  They are simply gorgeous!

Luckily, she had two more recommendations on how to get the grapes coated, because we ain't got no time for that in this house!  

I used the "shake and bake" method and, for the amount of time saved, it worked great! 

Also, and I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I do not eat grapes that have been removed from the vine. I can't eat the loose ones in the bottom of the bag (oh, yuck!), even when people pull them off the vine for a fruit platter it bothers me. So I just couldn't do the prettiest method which she recommends. 

The shake and bake method took me literally five minutes and I had a bowl full of grapes ready to eat.

Recipe time!  Easy, Peasy!

Sour Patch Grapes

What'cha need:

• Grapes
• Instant Jello - I highly recommend blue raspberry and sour apple made by jolly rancher. That is what I used and they were  amazing.

How to do it:

• Pick up some Jolly Rancher Instant Jello.  
• Pour about 1/4 of the package into Sandwich size Ziploc bags. 
• Make a separate bag for each flavor that you're making. Use any kind of grapes you would like. She uses green grapes. We prefer black or red grapes, so I used black grapes. 
• Break apart the bunch of grapes into smaller sizes still on the vine, as in three or four grapes per bunch. 
• Drop one bunch at a time into the Ziploc bags that you select. 
• Close it up and shake, shake, shake!  
• Lay them out on a cookie drying rack. (Everyone should have at least one of these, it is surprising how often I use my rack - at least a couple times a week.)
• Repeat process, only having a small amount of the powder in the bag at a time and using moist to grapes from washing them.  
• Refill the Ziploc bags with the powder as needed.  If the bag gets too wet and/or the powder starts clumping, use a new Ziploc bag. (If you really care about them looking perfect.) 

 

I did not care so much about them being pretty, so the last few that I did I was just squishing them onto the grapes to make them stick.  

Hey!  

They still tasted just as good. 

Here's a photo of my ugly babies. 

Eat a couple before you even show the kids. 

When dry enough, move to a bowl and refrigerate.

They are awesome when you sneak a couple before the kids get some, but they are even more awesome after they've had time to harden in the fridge. 

These are ridiculously yummy treats!  Seriously.

I'm not going to win any awards by feeding these to my children, but at least there's a real grape in the center versus sour patch kids where it's completely artificial.  I believe all things in moderation and having an occasional outrageous treat is completely acceptable. We are also going to use these for the girls' birthday parties.  I figure sugar/calorie wise, it is about the same as rolling the grapes in sugar. And then there's all the artificial flavoring and coloring...  But I just don't care. They are that good! I must resist the temptation to make them too frequently. Willpower… We can do it…  But, really, you should try these.  They are crazy awesome.

My 10-year-old daughter is especially excited to take a few in her lunch for school. I feel that two or three of these as a treat at the end of her meal is not unreasonable.

There will definitely be more made in this house.

Thank you, Sabrina, from "Dinner, then Dessert" for sharing this kick butt recipe!