Candy Corn Jelly Shot Mold . . . sweet mercy . . . so cute, so devour-able!
Hello! It's been a while. Missed you all sooooo much! Things have been a bit of a whirlwind. And, unfortunately I accidentally locked Intern Doug in the Test Kitchen pantry on my way out, so he's been indisposed as well. (Oh, stop - he's absolutely fine - those test kitchen shelves are well stocked to say the least!)
Assistant Intern James has been AWOL as well, details unknown, apart from his hair being less blue than usual - and I truly don't know if that is a sign of an uptick or a crisis. However, we are picking up a new intern over the holidays, Intern Max, and am hopeful this will resolve our staffing issues.
Anyway, during my sabbatical, many, many jelly shot thoughts have been thunk about the upcoming Jelly Shot Season, or as it is known in the ROW (rest of world), Halloween. Last year, we had some fun with cute kid-friendly treats, but this year, I'd love to really do it up right! Spooky, fun and boozy, that is! So, in addition to some new recipes, we'll be featuring some twists on old favorites.
We started with a little remix on an old favorite, Candy Corn Jello. Originally formulated hooch-free, this recipe adapts beautifully to a sweet, flavored vodka. I would recommend a whipped cream variety (Pinnacle makes a nice one, and I have heard others do as well), as it's probably the closest taste to the tooth-achingly sweet candy inspiration for the jelly shot - but really vanilla, cake flavored, or even a little creme de cacao (clear, please, not the brown tinted!) would be lovely.
Hope you are all well. I'll be back very soon with a brand new recipe and a bunch of fun remixes! In the meantime, big, giant, squooshy XOXOX's to you all!
Michelle
Candy Corn Jelly Shot Mold (adult version)
Use a 3 cup mold, or a 9”x9” cake pan for this little guy. I love a molded jelly shot, its kinda like a punchbowl! Here’s the mold we used: mini Kugelhopf mold.
Prepare the mold by spraying lightly with PAM cooking spray, or wiping each mold cavity with a little vegetable oil. Follow by wiping the mold with a clean paper towel. This will leave the slightest reside which will aid in un-molding the gelatin without affecting the taste or appearance.
Begin by preparing the milk layer.
Milk layer
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 envelopes Knox gelatin
- 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz can)
- 1/3 cup whipped cream flavored vodka
Pour water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow to soak for a minute or two. Heat over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the sweetened condensed milk. Next, stir in the vodka.
Transfer the mixture to a microwave safe bowl. Spoon 1/2 cup of the condensed milk mixture into the mold. Set the remaining mixture aside. (Cover the bowl with the remaining milk mixture with foil and wrap a towel around it to further conserve heat and keep the mixture fluid.)
Place the mold in the refrigerator and chill until set (but slightly sticky when touched), about 30 minutes.
While the milk layer is chilling, prepare the orange layer
Orange Layer
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 envelope Knox gelatin
- 1 box orange flavored gelatin dessert mix (sugar free dissolves faster!)
- 1/2 cup whipped cream flavored vodka
Pour water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with the Knox gelatin. Allow to soak for a minute or two. The mixture may be a little thick initially, but will loosen up. Heat over low heat until plain gelatin is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the orange gelatin dessert mix and stir until fully dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vodka.
Pour mixture into a small bowl and refrigerate until the mixture has cooled to room temperature - this will probably take 15-20 minutes.
Ladle gently over the set white layer. Return the mold to the refrigerator and chill until set (but slightly sticky when touched, about 25 minutes.
When the orange layer is set (but slightly sticky when touched), unwrap the bowl containing the milk gelatin mixture, and stir in a few drops of yellow food coloring. If the mixture is clumpy, microwave it for 10-15 seconds (make sure it doesn’t get too hot, or it will melt the set gelatin and cook off the alcohol in the vodka).
Gently ladle all of the yellow mixture into the mold, over the set orange layer. Refrigerate until fully set – at least 6 hours, or ideally overnight, so the layers can fully bond.
To serve, unmold and place on a pretty plate. Visit our tips page for unmolding instructions! (If you are using a cake pan, just cut into desired shapes. Ideally, cut just before serving – the taste of the jelly shots will evaporate through the cut edges. I don’t know why, but this does seem to be the case!)
