Looking for a healthier Halloween treat? Learn how to make gummy eyeballs, using not-so-spooky, real-food ingredients. They're fun to make and delicious!
Blend berries with a hand mixer and strain the mix through a sieve to separate the seeds from the berry puree.
Add the gelatin to the fruit puree and allow it to absorb the liquid and expand (bloom).
Mix the berry puree and gelatin with honey, to taste, in a saucepan over low heat. Thin out the mixture with a dash of water for a more workable mixture. Cook and stir until the gelatin has dissolved.
If using fruit juice
Mix together the gelatin and fruit juice in a small, heat-safe bowl and allow the gelatin to bloom (absorb the liquid and fully hydrate).
Place the bowl in a pan of water over the stove. Heat the gelatin over the makeshift double boiler until the gelatin has fully dissolved. (Optionally, add a dash of boiling water to help dissolve the gelatin and make a thinner mixture.)
Preparing the pupils and irises
Place the blueberries in half-round ice cube trays, one in each compartment. These will be the pupils of the eyes.
Pipe in a small amount of the iris gelatin mixture (either fruit puree or fruit juice mixture) around the blueberries. Using a syringe or turkey baster makes this job easier and much less messy.
Place trays in the fridge for a few minutes to help set the irises.
Pour leftover gelatin mixture into other molds so as not to let it go to waste. I suggest making gummy worms for Halloween!
Making the sclera (The white of the eyeballs)
Add the gelatin and half of the coconut milk to a small bowl to allow the gelatin to bloom.
In a saucepan, heat the other half of the coconut milk. Stir in the gelatin and coconut milk mixture once the gelatin is fully hydrated.
Remove the molds from the fridge, and pour in a thin layer of the white, coconut gelatin over the blueberries. (Use thin layers so that the blueberries don't float away from the bottom of the molds.)
Place the trays back in the refrigerator until the gelatin is set.
Finish filling the molds with the white mixture until you've used it up, or until you are happy with the amount you have added.
Chill again until set.
Pop your eyes out. Ok, not YOUR eyes- the gelatin ones, please!
The eyes look especially gory if you place them in a red liquid or sauce. Using some berry puree or red juice works wonderfully.