Recipe - Black-Cherry Fruit-Bats and Citrus Orange Pumpkins

For Halloween, if you like fruit snacks, you'll love…

Black-Cherry Fruit-Bats and Citrus Orange Pumpkins

Fruit snacks, fruit "leather," gummy bears - whatever your favorite, these smooth and soft fruit shape substitutions will satisfy your craving while keeping braces-hardware safe. Here are two ways to enjoy them with a Halloween flair.

For the Black-Cherry Bats:

2 (3-oz.) packages black-cherry gelatin (dry)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup grape juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Empty both packages of dry gelatin powder into a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, stir together the water and juice; bring to a full boil then remove pan from heat. Pour hot juice mixture slowly into bowl, stirring constantly with a large spoon. Keep stirring for two minutes or until all granules have dissolved. Add lemon juice and stir to mix.

Pour mixture into a 9" round or square pan and place pan in refrigerator. Chill for at least 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares with a knife, or into bat-shapes with cookie cutters (available at craft stores or discount department stores) dipped in hot water. If pieces are hard to get out, set the entire pan for a minute onto a cookie sheet filled with a quarter-inch of hot water. Makes two dozen squares. Keep chilled.

For the Citrus Orange Pumpkins, repeat the directions with:
2 (3-oz.) packages orange gelatin (dry)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice (no pulp) or lemonade
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Use pumpkin-shaped cookies cutters as desired.