THESE JIGGLY TREATS AREN’T JUST FOR KIDS
Jell-O treats for grownups (and a couple for kids, too)
Iknow you’re holding.
No, not toilet paper or hand sanitizer. I mean, I get that — kids at home, parents at home, new adopted pets at home, and hey, you might run out of Kleenex. But honestly: Jell-O?
You heard me right. Back in the panicky time at the start of the pandemic, along with the emptied-out toilet paper and hand sanitizer and pasta aisles, the gelatin shelves had been pillaged.
And in a comfort-food-in-unnerving-times kind of way, hoarding instant gelatin does make a certain amount of sense. Jell-O was the comfort food of the 1960s and ’70s. Way back then, our parents bought many of their gro
ceries in season and sometimes from the same region in which they lived. My mom knew that in the gray times of winter, the much-maligned Jell-O salad was a way to get color, bright summer flavors, fruit and vegetables into a dinner that was light on all of those things.
And oh, the recipes! Black cherry Jell-O with green olives and walnuts. Lime Jell-O, pineapple, cottage cheese and yes, horseradish. If you’re into the broth kick or you’ve ever bought a rotisserie chicken, you’ve likely seen the origins of gelatin, which are as old an ingredient as boiling bones. That clear, jelly-like stuff you’re seeing is basically collagen — the same stuff, minus color, artificial flavor and sugar, that makes gelatin do its thing.
So yes, millennials, there is more you can do with Jell-O than just make Jell-O shots with it.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Jell-O shots. In fact, as we share virtual happy hours and work our ways to the dregs of our liquor cabinets, we might be inventing a whole lot of new ways to make them. We’ve included two of those below. Staying off the sauce? Substitute cola or ginger ales for dark liquor like bourbon or Scotch; flavored selzter for clear liquors, and juices for sweet liqueurs. Or go crazy and try wine or hard kombucha gelatin.
If you have kiddos underfoot, making brightly colored gelatin creations is one way to either amuse them or teach them a little bit of basic food chemistry. You can stiffen gelatin into a more solid consistency by adding unflavored instant gelatin. You can chill a multi-layered slab, then have your children cut it into shapes with small cookie cutters.
And thus, not to make light of a terribly serious crisis, but to inject some humor, color, vitamin C and whimsy into our socially distant cooking practices, we offer you: The good, the bad, and the jiggly. There are endless ways to use up that Jell-O that you’re either hoarding now, or have only recently discovered in the back of your pantry when you were putting away those dried beans and dried eggs.
And if you have a seemingly hideous gelatin dessert or salad recipe from the wayback that you’d like to share, send it to us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We’ll keep this party going if you do.
Just as long as you don’t bring back disco or mall bangs. We beg of you.
• Gelatin is pretty forgiving; you can sample what it will taste like before you refrigerate it. If school-age children are at home, you can even make a science or art project out of having them create a dessert.
• Got a birthday in the house, but no cake? If you have gelatin and ice cream, you have a festive, colorful substitute.
• If you want “harder” gelatin, just add unflavored gelatin to the mix, or reduce the amount of cold liquid.
• If you’re making something with unflavored, unsweetened instant gelatin, be sure to follow the recipe and let it soak into cold water for the recommended 5 minutes or more.
• A second rule for unflavored gelatin: Do not let it boil; it won’t set up properly if it does.
• Mixing carbs (cookie crumbs, pretzels) into gelatin? Let it get half-set (the consistency of wiggly preserves) before you do. Some crumbs will rise to the top of a layer; others will sink to the bottom. Some may lose their crunch. So if you want to retain that, let the gel cool and begin to set first.
• Layers rule. Just remember that if you’re using a mold or a tube pan, put the layers down in reverse order; you may also want to decrease liquid amounts to make it firmer.
• Go crazy! You can spend a whole rainy day watching YouTube videos on Jell-O creations. No judging.
Amaze your virtual happy hour group with these pretty, vitamin-C packed desserts.
Makes about a dozen small shots or eight 4-ounce glasses.
Ingredients
1 15-ounce can pie, bing, or black
cherries, water-packed
4 large or 8 small seedless mandarin oranges or clementines, enough to make about a half cup of orange
sections
¾ cup cola
¼ cup bourbon (if desired; if not using,
sub cola)
1 3-ounce package cherry gelatin
Directions
First, locate and refrigerate the barware or serving glasses you’ll be using and refrigerate them. (Put them all together in a rectangular or square container.) Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Set aside.
If you want to put your Jell-O shots into the orange peels, cut the oranges in half across the middle. Remove the orange sections and set aside. If you don’t want to use this option, just peel them and section them, removing as many of the “strings” as you can.
Combine the cola and bourbon, if using, in a large glass measuring cup with a lip. Microwave on high for about 20 seconds or until just boiling, adding no more than 10 seconds at a time to avoid overheating. Remove and add the cherry gelatin. Stir until dissolved.
Add enough water to reserved cherry juice to make ¾ cup of liquid. Pour into chilled barware, leaving at least ½ inch of space, or a 13-by-9-inch pan. Add cherries and orange sections to barware, dividing them equally between servings. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. If using the 13-by-9 pan, chill for about a half-hour until partially set, then add fruit; this helps the fruit stay where you put it. Serve chilled. If using the pan, cut into cubes, each with a piece of fruit.
Variation: If you want to make firmer cubes, add one ¼-ounce package unsweetened gelatin powder to the cherry liquid before heating the colabourbon mixture. Let the gelatin soften in the cherry juice for at least 5
The Run for the Roses has been postponed to September this year, but you can still celebrate spring, and maybe even the return of fresh mint to your garden, with these minty, boozy little treats. If your children need some amusement and exercise, use the bourbon substitute, decorate some stick horses and have your own socially distanced Derby Day party, fancy hats optional. Conclude with a screening of your favorite horse movie: “Seabiscuit,” “National Velvet” or “Hidalgo.” Serves 6 to 12.
Ingredients
1, ¼-ounce packet unflavored gelatin ½ cup sugar
1 package fresh mint or enough for ¼ cup of packed mint leaves, plus leaves for garnish
½ cup bourbon (non-alcoholic substitute: 1 tablespoon maple syrup plus enough cola to make ½ cup liquid)
½ large cucumber, sliced thickly and
patted dry
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese
Directions
Combine gelatin and 1 cup cold water in a saucepan; let gelatin soften for at least 5 minutes. Add sugar and mint leaves; stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Do not let mixture boil.
Strain mixture into a large mixing bowl or glass measuring cup to remove mint leaves. Stir in bourbon or bourbon substitute. Pour into serving cups; refrigerate until set.
To unmold and serve, put a dab of softened cream cheese on a cucumber slice. Dip shot cup or serving vessel in hot water; shake gently to unmold. Place on cucumber slice, with cream cheese to hold it in place. Garnish with mint leaf.
Jell-O and ice cream are magical together: The ice cream softens the color of the gelatin and removes any sharp, noticeably artificial flavor. This pretty pile of layers deserves a tall glass dish, even if that does make removing the wedges more difficult and potentially a bit messy. (For a simple, quick-but-still-elegant dessert, just make the lemon layer and toss in any kind of frozen berries.) Serves 8.
Ingredients
1½ cup frozen blueberries
3 to 4 ounces gingersnap cookies, crushed (about 1 cup when crushed, depending on the size of your
container)
1 ¼-ounce package plus 1 teaspoon unflavored, unsweetened gelatin
(the extra gelatin powder makes for a firmer bottom layer). cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 3-ounce package lemon gelatin
1 cup premium French vanilla ice
cream
About 24 frozen blueberries, thawed,
for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon zest, for garnish
(optional)
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger, for garnish (optional)
LDirections
If the blueberries are clumped together, briefly rinse them under cool water and set aside. Put crushed gingersnaps into a glass serving bowl or dish; if necessary, add up to ½ cup more.
Stir the unflavored gelatin into ½ cup cold water to soften; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup water and blueberries until boiling; muddle blueberries a bit with a wooden spoon. Add 1/3 cup sugar; stir until completely dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Add cold water and dissolved gelatin; stir until dissolved. Pour mixture gently into serving container on top of gingersnap mix; do not stir. Chill until completely set, 2 hours or more.
Prepare lemon gelatin according to package directions, substituting 1 cup ice cream for the cold water, whisking the ice cream into the hot gelatin mixture. Pour gently over top of blueberry layer. Chill until completely set, 2 hours or more. Garnish with blueberries, lemon zest, crystallized ginger. Cut with a hot, wet knife to serve.
Imagine life before Martha Stewart: We didn’t pronounce the
“h” in “herbs.” Garlic and parsley and horseradish came in powders that lived in dark corners at the back of cabinets. But in my mom’s kitchen, the horseradish powder came out once in a while, for this Jell-O. I know, it’s weird, so I substituted a pinch of extra salt and some lemon juice. This recipe invokes a fierce culinary fight: mayonnaise or Miracle Whip? Use your preference. Serves 8.
Ingredients
1, 3-ounce package lemon gelatin 1, 3-ounce package lime gelatin
1 cup low-fat small curd cottage cheese 1 cup canned, drained crushed
pineapple
1 cup whipped sandwich spread or
mayonnaise
1 rounded teaspoon horseradish
powder or ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon or lime slices, optional, for
garnish
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups boiling water with lemon and lime gelatin mixes. Stir until welldissolved. Pour into 13-by-9-inch pan. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until about halfway set.
Meanwhile, mix together cottage cheese, pineapple and mayonnaise or sandwich spread with a fork. Add horseradish powder if desired.
When gelatin is the consistency of loose jelly, return to mixing bowl, rinsing the pan with hot water to avoid serving from a sticky container. Blend the gelatin and cottage cheese mixture together by hand until well combined. Return to the pan and smooth the top out if needed. Garnish with lemon or lime sections if desired.