Ten years ago at my wedding, we served “gelee” shots. A refined gals Jello shot, if you will. Gin, tonic and gelatin, the recipe was hot off the press at Bon Appetite when my mom read about them and convinced our caterer to try to recreate them en mass.  Sliced in a square and served on a lime, they were passed like an appetizer on a tray and a hit with our guests. Since then, jello/gelee shots have kind of been my thing…below are a few of my favorite recipes. But don’t serve these in a plastic cup- to up your jello shot game, invest in a small round cookie cutter and add a garnish.

(You can technically add gelatin to any of your favorite cocktails, so get a little creative. A tequila sunrise – one layer tequila and orange juice another layer grenadine. Or my winter favorite- a manhattan with a cherry suspended in it. Whatever you create, just use the rule of thumb that for every 1/4 ounce gelatin packet you use, you can add approx. 8 ounces of liquid.)

Cosmopolitan Jello Shots:
1 box cranberry jello
1/2 cup vodka
1/2 cup cointreau or triple sec
splash of lime juice

Dissolve Jello in 1 cup boiling water. Remove from heat and add vodka, liquor and juice. Stir and pour into a 9×9 pan. Chill 3-4 hours or until set.  Cut into squares and sprinkle with lemon zest.

Image Courtesy http://www.tablespoon.com

Gin & Tonic Gelees

3 cups tonic
2 tsp. sugar
5 1/2 tsp. plain gelatin from three packets
1 cup good quality gin
Lime slices

Put two cups tonic in a medium saucepan with the two teaspoons sugar. Heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and sugar is dissolved.

Meanwhile, put the other cup of tonic in a bowl. Put the gelatin on top for a minute to soften. Stir. Then add room temperature tonic to the hot tonic and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add one cup of gin.

Pour into an 11 x 7 (or 9 x 9) metal pan and refrigerate until set. Cut into one inch cubes and serve on thin slices of lime.

Image Courtesy http://www.tastespotting.com

Rainbow:

This one isn’t fancy with ingredients, just takes time to pour, so plan ahead.

5 boxes colored jello – I used red, yellow, green, blue and purple
Mix one packet jello with 1/2 cup boiling water
Stir until dissolved
Add 5 ice cubes and stir
Pour into a 9×13 inch pan and let chill.
Repeat for the other 4 colors, pouring in rainbow order

And hey, it’s Friday…so cheers to that.