Bakers Royale

4th of July Jello Shots

By 43 Comments

4th of July Jello Shooters ~ Get your cocktail in a bite with these fun July 4th Jello Shots.

4th of July Jello Shooters

4th of July Jello Shots

These are super easy to make and fun to serve. Full disclosure:  I’m a Jello-shot fanatic. Remember these Lemon Drop Jello Shots and Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots along with these fun Rock Candy Jello Shooters on a stick? Yeah, I like my Jello shots, so I wanted to add a festive 4th of July motif to the collection.

4th of July Shots

I also wanted to share  this awesome blog, the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen.  If you are a regular viewer of Foodgawker or Tastespotting , then you’ve seen their work. If not, you must check them out. These women are rock’n the Jello shots like nobody else.  I just ordered their book and can’t wait to try everything in there.

This post is in fact inspired by their fab creations – but you may have guessed that already!

A few notes:

  • To keep things moving quickly and chilling faster, be sure to use the “fast set” directions on the box.
  • I used both a regular and mini-sized cupcake pan for variety.
  • Be sure to chill your pan(s) before using. This will help to set the gelatin faster.

4th of July Jell-O Shots

Makes 72 mini or 24-30 regular shots (based on using mini muffin and regular sized pans.)

Preparation: Lightly spray wells with bake spray. Wipe off excess (only a light coat is needed.)

Ingredients:

  • 1 large blueberry Jell-O Box (prepared according to “fast set” box instructions)
  • 1 large cherry Jell-O Box (prepared according to “fast set” box instructions)
  • 2, 14oz cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups water; divided use
  • 8, single packs of Knox Gelatin, divided use
  • 2 cups of vodka, divided use

Instructions:

  1. Prepare blueberry and cherry Jell-O according to “fast set” instructions; set aside.
  2. Measure out ½ cup water into a bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top and allow to bloom for 2-3 minutes. Pour bloomed mixture into a saucepan over low heat. Stir mixture constantly until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and pour dissolved gelatin into blueberry Jell-O.  Add ½ cup of vodka to blueberry Jell-O mixture and stir to combine.
  3. Repeat step two for the cherry Jell-O.
  4. Empty sweetened, condensed milk into a bowl; set aside. Measure out 2 cups of water into a large shallow dish like a pie plate. Sprinkle 4 packets of gelatin on top and allow to bloom for about 2-3 minutes. Pour bloomed mixture into a saucepan over low heat. Stir the mixture constantly until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and pour the dissolved gelatin into the sweetened ,condensed milk. Add 1 cup vodka to mixture and stir to combine.

Assembly:

Note: For the mini muffin pans use one teaspoon for each layer. For a regular sized muffin pans use one tablespoon for each layer. Keep in mind that each subsequent layer will need less time to chill and set.

  1. Remove chilled pan from refrigerator. Measure and pour out 1 teaspoon or tablespoon of cherry Jell-O into wells. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for about seven minutes to set.
  2. Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Measure and pour one teaspoon or tablespoon of sweetened, condensed milk on top of cherry layer. Return pan to refrigerator and chill for 5-7 minutes to set.
  3. Remove the pan from refrigerator. Measure and pour one teaspoon or tablespoon of blueberry Jell-O on top of the sweetened, condensed milk layer. Return  pan to refrigerator and chill for 3-5 minutes to set.
  4. Repeat steps 1-3 until the wells are filled.

To remove:

  1. Gently press finger into Jello shots and pull it towards the center away from the walls. Use a finger from your other hand to leverage out the Jello shot.

Comments

  10. Sarah says

    I love the look of these! I need to make some that are kid-friendly as well. Can I make a batch and sub out water for the vodka?

  11. Julia says

    I LOVE jell-o shots. Had my first ones just a few weeks ago. Leftovers were tempting to eat for breakfast. Shh, don’t tell anyone. So festive and cute!

  12. Naomi says

    Sarah- Yes! For a kid friendly version: Make the Jello as directed on the box and for the sweetened condensed milk replace the alcohol with water.

  15. Nicole @ itsfeedingtimeatthezoo says

    These are so pretty. I love how Jell-o looks… and on special occasions, how it tastes. Especially if it’s booze infused 🙂

  17. Terris - Free Eats says

    These are stunning! I love the Jello Shot Test Kitchen and these are as beautiful as any I have seen there. I love seeing such creativity and I am off to browse your other recipes!

  18. Joyti says

    Seriously, you’re a genius. Those look so perfect, especially for the 4th – they’re stunning (how did you get the stripes so even?).

  19. Naomi says

    Joyti- You are too sweet! I literally used a teaspoon and tablespoon measure out each layer and then made sure the that each layer setting sat flat on a refrigerator shelf.

  21. Shea M. says

    SO making these on Friday night. I figure, get some of the cousins together (big family party on Saturday!) and make a night of it, It will take a few hours, but we can whip up some margaritas and make an evening of it!

  26. S. C. says

    I love these and will make for the 4th! I noticed that the layers are red/white/blue with an extra layer of white in between each trio while the directions are just straight up red/white/blue. I’m sure they are amazing either way but was curious.. Thanks for sharing these!!

  27. Naomi says

    Hi Shirely-Yes, I gave it the extra layering of white so the colors would really pop. Either way you pour it, the directions are should work in term of using the teaspoon or tablespoon.

  28. Kate says

    This looks amazing…but it also looks so hard to do! I really want to try to make them, but is it really as easy as you say it is?

  31. Regan says

    I recreated these with just red and white for Canada day in Canada… Man, 72 mini muffin-shaped jello shots is a LOT. Yours are super gorgeous, and because I think your instructions were worded the best they could be, I just linked back to you. Beautiful presentation, as usual.

  32. Karen says

    I made these and they turned out great! I used raspberry flavored vodka, which I think really went well with the fruity jello. I had a little trouble getting them out of the pan, so I put a shallow layer of warm water in my sink and let the muffin pans sit for about 20 seconds. They popped right out!

  34. Naomi says

    Kate-Yes, it is easy to make. You can change out the color to theme-it for the occassion.

  36. Terri says

    These are SOOO cute! They look so perfect – I can’t imagine it is as easy as it sounds but we will see! Is there any reason I couldn’t set little clear plastic shooter cups in the muffin tin for easy removal and carrying to party?

  37. Caitlyn says

    Hello-
    Love the idea! I will be making for the 4th as my fiance’s “birthday cake,” since it is on the 4th and we attend plenty of parties. I have a question though as to why the need to add gelatin to the instant Jell-O. Any useful tip is appreciated, I do not want to add twice the gelatin if not needed!

  40. Tiffany says

    I attempted to make these but my jello firmed up too quick on the counter while the layers were setting in the refrigerator. Is there a secret to keeping the jello liquid while making these? Thx!

  41. Rachel says

    I made this for the 4th and royally messed something up… the white layer settled more like curdled milk than gelatin. Any idea what I did wrong? I know when I was mixing the Knox gelatin with the water to let it “bloom” sometimes the powder didn’t fully mix and just clumped – I tried to stir one batch but that resulted in more of a watery substance than gelatin. Any advice would be great, I’d love to try these again! 🙂

  42. Cassie says

    You ask for large boxes of jello. Would that be bigger than the 3oz boxes? We only have the 3oz boxes at my supermarket…

  43. Robert Lytch says

    I thought I’d share this with you.. after looking at your recipe and seeing how intense the time factor is I thought I’d share the following…..

    Make your jello.
    Line Paper towel tube with plastic wrap
    Pour in each color to own tube
    Remove sleeve cylinder when chilled
    Slice and stack

    Since your the aficianado…. please E-mail me back with your take on this….

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