Jello Shots/ Recipes

N is for: Niners, New Orleans & the Super Bowl {French 75 Jello Shots}

I have a confession to make.

Sometimes I dream about jello shots.

I know. It’s weird. And probably a problem. But not when it comes to my lovely and loyal blog readers…especially those who will be rooting for the 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday.

As many of my friends know, I love me a good French 75, which consists of Champagne (love my bubbles), sugar, lemon juice and gin. While I’m not normally a gin drinker, somehow the tartness and sweetness balance out the “I just ate one of those pine tree car fresheners” taste.

I’ve been wanting to make a jello shot version of this cocktail for quite some time…and decided the Super Bowl would be the perfect opportunity.

After all, champagne is THE drink for celebrating championships…and I think the “French” part of the drink fits in perfectly with the French influence in New Orleans. To celebrate the 49ers, I needed to make them red and gold…and that’s how I dreamed up these brilliant boozy bites.

To get that classic French 75 taste, you’ll need champagne, gin, lemon juice and sugar. To turn them into a jello shot, you’ll need some Knox unflavored gelatin, and to make them red and gold for the 49ers….maraschino cherries and gold sugar sprinkles!

First, prep your pan and cherries. Lightly spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and then wipe out with a paper towel. This will leave just enough residue to help pop them out later without affecting the taste. As for the cherries, dry them off and gently shave off the bottom of the cherry so they will stand upright. (Assist to That’s So Michelle for the idea).

To make the jello mixture, pour 2 3/4 cups of champagne into a small sauce pan with 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Wait until the bubbles calm down and then add sugar and sprinkle with 3.5 packets of Knox gelatin. Allow gelatin to “bloom” and soak in a minute or two. (In the meantime, feel free to pour yourself a glass of champagne with the remaining amount left in the bottle).

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin and sugar have both dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup of gin. Pour into a mini muffin pan and stand a cherry upright in each cavity. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. (To dislodge, you might need to gently run a butter knife around the edges of each jello shot).

If you don’t own a mini muffin pan, you can also pour into a regular shallow pan. (Just make sure the liquid does not cover the cherries because they will float and not stand upright). Once set, use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. I used this flower-shaped cutter, which would be super cute for Valentine’s Day as well!

Now for the gold! I was perfectly content to allow the slightly golden hue of the champagne to serve as the gold portion of these Red & Gold beauties…and then…I saw…THESE. Gold sprinkles in the Valentine’s Day section of my local grocery store. (TOUCHDOWN!!!) It was like they were calling my name. They were really the icing on the cake…or in this case, the sprinkles on my Super Bowl jello shots. All you have to do is sprinkle some on a plate and dip/roll your shots in the sprinkles.

Place on a plate and serve immediately! (*Note: don’t dip shots in the sprinkles until just before serving, as they will start to melt from the sprinkles. Alternately, you could serve the shots with a bowl of sprinkles for guests to dip on their own).

These are sure to be a major SCORE at your Super Bowl parties…and may they bring the 49ers lots of lucky New Orleans voodoo on Super Bowl Sunday.

French 75 Jello Shots

by Jaymee Sire
Keywords: cocktail jello shot gluten-free cherry champagne lemon gin Super Bowl Valentine’s Day

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Ingredients (36 jello shots)
  • 2 3/4 cups champagne (slightly flat champagne is OK but not necessary)
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3.5 packets of Knox unflavored gelatin (use 4 if they will be sitting out for an extended period of time)
  • 1/2 cup gin
  • cooking spray
  • maraschino cherries
  • gold sprinkles
Instructions
  1. To make the jello mixture, pour 2 3/4 cups of champagne into a small sauce pan with 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Wait until the bubbles calm down and then add sugar and sprinkle with 3.5 packets of Knox gelatin. Allow gelatin to “bloom” and soak in a minute or two.
  2. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin and sugar have both dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of gin.
  3. Lightly spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and then wipe out with a paper towel. This will leave just enough residue to help pop them out later without affecting the taste.
  4. Dry off cherries and gently shave off the bottom of the cherry so they will stand upright.
  5. Pour into a mini muffin pan and stand a cherry upright in each cavity. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
  6. To dislodge, you might need to gently run a butter knife around the edges of each jello shot. Spread gold sprinkles on a plate and dip/roll each shot in sprinkles. Place on a platter and serve!
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  • Mike F.
    January 31, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    Holy crap Jaymee! Those things look great! I may just have to try them out. I've never had a "French 75" before so I'm not sure what to expect. Are they strong? And if not, can you kick them up?!?

    Keep up the great work Jaymee!

    • jaymeesire
      February 1, 2013 at 2:40 am

      You should…they are delish! Considering they are all alcohol, I'd say they are pretty strong. You could try adding more, but I won't guarantee they will set correctly…

  • BonnieJean
    February 1, 2013 at 4:37 pm

    Here's a stupid question…first, these looks really awesome! Cannot wait to try them, but…what's BLOOM? lol Sorry I haven't used gelatin before so I have no idea.

    • jaymeesire
      February 1, 2013 at 5:43 pm

      Haha…not a stupid question. It basically means just allow the gelatin to soften in the cool liquid before heating and dissolving it.

  • Anonymous
    February 1, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Hi Jaymee,
    I want to make these but I have a friend who can't drink Gin because she's GF. Could I omit the gin and add more champagne or would that throw off the ratio?

    • jaymeesire
      February 1, 2013 at 9:12 pm

      You would be totally fine to do that! Champagne is weaker than gin so you should have no problem setting them. If you wanted a stronger shot, you could substitute GF vodka

    • Anonymous
      April 28, 2013 at 4:23 am

      Most white rums — without added flavoring — are another gluten-free option in place of the gin, though the flavor of the shot will be slightly altered.

  • Unknown
    February 1, 2013 at 11:15 pm

    Jaymee! I'm totally making these (even though I'm a Seahawks guy so I want the Niners to get demolished). And to be an equal opportunity jello shot provider, I'm going to substitute blackberries with a white toothpick (if you have any other ideas for that, I'm all ears) instead of the cherries, so represent the purple and gold team.

    • jaymeesire
      February 2, 2013 at 3:31 am

      good idea!

  • Jake
    February 3, 2013 at 7:58 am

    It's midnight and I now have a craving for sweets. All your fault. These are awesome though. Nice work.

  • Nick L.
    February 3, 2013 at 8:34 am

    "'I just ate one of those pine tree car fresheners' taste"

    This is EXACTLY what I think about every time I drink gin.

    But these jello shots look delicious, if I had any culinary skills whatsoever I would absolutely make these.

    Can't wait for Giants baseball to be back so your gorgeous face can grace the screen of CSN Bay Area again. And so the Giants can repeat as World Series Champions!

  • Shifty
    February 3, 2013 at 7:35 pm

    I am so excited for everyone to try these at the party! Thank you for such a wonderful idea

  • Laura
    February 6, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    Love these! I've wanted to try layered Jello shooters, but haven't yet. They look great 🙂 Wish we had some of them on Sunday to dull the pain. Next year!

  • Jack Z
    February 12, 2013 at 5:26 am

    Jaymee, I am very sad that I will no longer have the pleasure of seeing and hearing you report on my favorite sports teams. I hope the worldwide leader does you well and please pop back into the Bay (or Durham, NC) when you can!

    JZ

  • Anonymous
    March 22, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    it looks super good and pretty too! jello shot recipes in this magazine looks yummy too. blueberry waffle! http://bit.ly/13iMpZ0