Week 2 Recipe - Mimosa Jello Shots

I love Mimosas. I love Jello Shots. What could be better than a...

Mimosa Jello Shot?!?!

Picture from www.jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com

I know I can pick whatever I want as my recipe for the week, but I feel the need to justify jello shots on my 2nd week. :)

I was going to do buffalo chicken bites, but I realized my husband will be gone Monday-Friday, and I am gone Friday-Sunday. Since the recipe makes too much for one person, I decided I needed to try a different recipe.

So...Jello Shots! They nearly ended me one Halloween a few years ago, but they were my best friend at my bachelorette party and wedding (thanks to a certain bridesmaid -- you know who you are!) Honestly I don't think I have ever made any kind of recipe with gelatin so I figured this one would be good for me to try.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (yup still addicted) from jelly-shot-test-kitchen.blogspot.com.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice (fresh squeezed, if possible) [I used Tropicana No Pulp]
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 envelopes plain gelatin
• 1 1/2 cups champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine [I used Verdi Spumante - what they served at our wedding reception!]
• 1 drop orange flower water (if desired) [I did not add this]

With the leftover OJ & champagne my hubby and I enjoyed a mid-morning mimosa!

 Directions

1. Pour juice and sugar into a small saucepan and sprinkle with the gelatin. Allow the gelatin to soak for a minute or two.
2. Heat over very low heat  (medium - see note below) until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in the champagne. (Mixture will be foamy - don't worry, this will dissipate as the mixture sets.)
4. Add the drop of orange flower water if desired.
5. Pour mixture into a 9" x 9" glass or non-reactive metal cake pan. [I used 7x11 glass pan]  Refrigerate until fully set (3 to 4 hours).
6. To serve, cut into desired shapes with a knife or small cookie cutter. Garnish with edible flower petals, if desired.
   

 Makes 24 to 32 jelly shots.

The Results

Sunday Morning - Attempt # 1 = FAIL

I followed the recipe EXACTLY. 3-4 hours later...I had Jello soup. I thought "maybe if I move it to the top shelf in the fridge where it is colder, it will gel." The next morning...I had FROZEN...jello...soup. Ugh! I guess it is good I tried a recipe with gelatin to figure out the right way to make it! I Googled "why my gelatin won't gel" and surprisingly enough there were several articles, blogs, comments and posts that spoke about the subject. Variables for not gelling seem to include but are not limited too...

• temp of liquids too hot OR too cold
• too much sugar OR too little sugar
• too much gelatin OR not enough gelatin
• etc....

Basically, I could have screwed it up 100 different ways and there was no way to tell how or why it didn't work.

Tuesday Night - Attempt # 2= SUCCESS!
I followed the recipe again and it looked exactly the same as the first time. I decided if I was going to go down, I was going down swinging so I thought back to the Googled articles. Most of the recipes called for Hot and Cold liquids. This recipe said to heat over very low heat. I decided to crank up the heat to medium high and that seemed to help! The liquid became more clear (signaling to me that maybe the gelatin dissolved this time).

3 hours later...I had solid Mimosa Jello Shots!! THANK GOODNESS!!

Final Thoughts

• After waiting through two attempts, I was really looking forward to trying these. When I got home from work, I cut a small square and tried one. Unfortunately, I thought it taste like old champagne. :( I would probably not make these again but I would try a different gelatin recipe now that I know how to make it.
• While the original recipe said the foam would go away after the liquid set, mine didn't. I ended up with gelled foam. Oh well...

Hopefully Week 3's Recipe goes better!

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