When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Jelly

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I recently rediscovered my copy of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and in it a great recipe for homemade gelatin, what she calls "dessert jelly." 

The great thing about making your own gelatin desserts is that you can controlled the type of sweetener you use in the process. This time I used Splenda granulated, but I also want to try this with Truvia, maple sugar and agave syrup. This recipe has the added benefit of some actual nutrition from the lemon juice, unlike its powdered and processed cousin at the grocery store.  Since I am trying to avoid aspartame, which unfortunately is still in many sugar-free products, this recipe was a great alternative.

I also am guilty of not using very many of the lemons that my lemon tree produces.  I know, what a shame, right?  Well with recipes like this one, those days may be coming to an end!

Lemon Jelly

Sprinkle 3 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and let soften for 5 minutes. 

Bring two cups of water to a boil and add 1 cup of Splenda granulated, 1 cup lemon juice and the softened gelatin. 

Continue to cook over low heat for stirring constantly for 3 minutes until the gelatin dissolves and the liquid is clear.

Pour into a large bowl or individual dishes and chill until firm.

This was delicious; tangy, bright and cool all at the same time.  And the great thing is that I can repeat this recipe with lime juice...that is when my dwarf lime tree has some fruit on it.  I might even try my hand at my own version of lemon-lime.  

This experiment opened my eyes to a whole world of fresh, homemade gelatin waiting to be discovered and I plan to experiment with this easy. low calorie dessert idea in many different forms. 


Buy The Fannie Farmer Cookbook at BarnesandNoble.com.