So a few days ago, I got a text from Sara saying that she noticed I had holiday Jello something on the calendar and was wondering if I was FINALLY posting my soon-to-be-world-famous Jello/cottage cheese/shredded carrot concoction. I texted her back that I was. And then I couldn’t stand myself any longer because if there’s one thing I never joke about, it’s cottage cheese and vegetables in my Jello and told her I was planning on doing this.
but you can adapt it for any holiday–red and green for Christmas purists, white and red for Valentine’s Day, green for St. Patrick’s Day, red, white, and blue for the 4th of July, the list goes on and on.
Clear out an entire shelf of your fridge. Take 4 small plastic food storage containers; you can use any shape and you can even mix and match. Spray them with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Bring about 5 cups of water (no need to measure right now) to a boil. When it has come to a boil, measure out 1 cup of water. Whisk in 1 package of Jello and stir until it’s dissolved.
Pour it into one of the prepared containers:
and repeat with the remaining flavors of Jello and boiling water.
Place these in the refrigerator (uncovered) for at least 4 hours, but overnight is really preferable.
When the Jello has set up, you’ll need to prepare the white “filling.” Sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. In the meantime, bring 1 1/2 c. water to a boil (you could totally do this in the microwave in a large glass measuring cup). When the gelatin has stood for 4-5 minutes, add the boiling water and stir to dissolve.
Add in the can of sweetened condensed milk
and whisk the mixture until the milk is fully incorporated into the water/gelatin mixture. Allow the milk mixture to cool while you prepare the color cubes.
Remove the colored Jello from the fridge and carefully cut it into squares.
When I say “carefully,” I mean to try and not have too many jagged edges, but don’t worry about making the squares perfect. Part of the beauty of this Jello is a little variation!
Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Gently toss the cubes together in the pan.
Some of the blocks will float to the top. You may need to rearrange things a little so you don’t have all of one color in one area of the pan and so the cubes are evenly distributed. Also, poke down some of the floaters so they’re not COMPLETELY protruding from the white mixture.
Place the pan on a completely level surface in the fridge and refrigerate, (uncovered) overnight or at least 8 hours.
When you’re ready to serve, carefully cut these bad boys into squares or rectangles
or you could even use cookie cutters.
Prepare yourself for lots of “oohs” and “aahs“!
Glass Block Holiday Jello
4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.
When the Jello has set, bring another 1 1/2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.
Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9×13″ pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.
Place the 9×13″ pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.
Questions & Reviews
you said you need to put it in the frig in open containers….my frig is hard to find a spot..does it not work if you put lids on and stack the containers? i think its so pretty it will be fun!
Made this yesterday for family night. A few things I learned…
One, the jello cubes only needed about 3-4 hours to set up, after that I could cut them perfectly.
Two, make sure the white mixture is not too warm, otherwise when you pour it over the color cubes it will cause them to melt just a little.
I was able to make this all in one day.
Despite a slight pinkish tinge to the white part, it was a huge hit and the kids and guests were amazed.
So I NEVER usually cook without a recipe, but I've been wanting to make this for Christmas and tonight I decided to get started, but I was too lazy to haul my computer into the kitchen and look up the recipe. So I mixed up the Jell-O according to the directions on the box, put it in un-sprayed plastic containers, popped the lids on, and put them in the fridge.
It was only an hour later, as I was settling into an evening of watching the Twilight movies that I decided to look up the recipe, since I couldn't remember exactly how to do the white part. And that is when I discovered the error of my ways.
*headdesk*
Luckily I have a cupboard full of Jell-O, so I could start all over again, but geez, I felt dumb.
And thus I've learned my lesson: When I'm trying a new dish, I shall never, ever, ever cook without the recipe.
I just linked to this blog from mine- these are just amazing and I can't wait to see more!
http://cometogethercards.blogspot.com/
This is totally awesome. I just might make this for Christmas dinner with my family. The kids would love it!
Matt and Penny–Yep, you could totally do that! In fact, I almost did that last time except that I couldn't find the larger size.
I was wondering if I could use the bigger boxes of jello and make it using double the water then divide each box into two containers? I want to make one dish for a party and one for home. What do you think? Do I make any sense? Thanks Penny
I made this for my daughter's class Christmas party and they turned out just like your pictures and delicious:) Thanks for the great ideas!
Book girl- One envelope of gelatin is 1/4 ounce, which is about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 teaspoons
This is a great looking thing. I think it will really impress my in-laws when I take it round for christmas lunch. But I'm in New Zealand and I wonder what size your packets of gelatin are as I don't know if ours are the same?
made it for a party this past weekend and even people who don't really like jello ate it because of the way it looked. i LOVE your blog, girls, and your witty comments sprinkled in with fabulous ideas! merry christmas to you!!
This was a Total Hit at a party that we went to last night. Adults and kids all loved it. Thanks!!!!
For Eilleen,
I've made jigglers with sugar free jello and they worked, but they tasted VERy tart, and not as good as regular jello. You could try making jigglers with sugar free jello first and see how you like the taste, then if you like it you could make it with the rest of the jello sugar free as well. I don't think you can get sugar free sweetened condensed milk though…?
My 10yr DD and I made this but instead of the milk we made Sprite (Lemonade)Jelly and it looked like stained glass windows at church. so pretty. We are making it for definite for Christmas. Our Christmas is sweltering hot summer here in Down under so Jelly is nice and cool for the kids.
Will this recipe work with Sugar Free Jello?
(just wanted to add that I love your site!)
EIleen
Thank you for posting this recipe! Had 3 different holiday parties this weekend and made a pan for each one! EVERYONE loved it! Beautiful presentation and soooo easy!
I've already made this twice since your post. It was great tonight at the ward Christmas Party. Gone in no time 🙂 Thanks for all your great ideas.
Amber–That's seriously so weird! I just lightly sprayed the containers with cooking spray and they came right out. Did you use a new-ish can of cooking spray? Because sometimes when you get near the bottom of the can, it seems like you're spraying a lot because it's aerated, but really, there's not enough lubrication. That's the only thing I can really think of.
I made these today with my 3yo. We had a great time together, and the end result tasted good. However, we had the hardest time getting the jello out of the containers. We sprayed them with cooking spray, and I even dunked the pan with the finished result in hot water hoping to loosen it, but it didn't work. I couldn't get those suckers out for nothing so needless to say my squares weren't very pretty. How did you guys get yours to come out so nicely?
Kate, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=573547&id=890510510
Carrie, this is literally one of my favorite comments EVER!! I'm so glad you could laugh about it! You don't happen to have a picture of it, do you? Just know you're not alone–we've had some pretty epic disasters ourselves… 🙂
ha! I had to share with y'all what a DISASTER this turned out to be for me! I accidentally bought black cherry jello instead of cherry, which turned out such an ugly color. I also forgot to spray my containers with Pam, so the jello stuck to the bottom and my cubes are really sad. And on top of all that, I used sweetened condensed milk that expired in JULY (who knew that stuff expired??) and didn't realize it until I poured it in and smelled the funk. I still kept it in the fridge and took it out to show my husband. We seriously laughed so hard that I wet my pants!! (I am 31 wks. pregnant) I'm going to try again…. some day. 🙂
I love this! Can't wait to try it! And now I'm craving Skippers! hehe
I am so making this for our ward party next week! Thanks for the great idea!
Emily- some of the pictures are mine and some are Kate's. She used 4 colors in her batch and I used 5. It works with both, so if you'd like more feel free to add!
So, maybe I'm crazy, but it looks like you used five different flavors. Is there a chance we need more than four??
I can't wait to make these…awesome!
That's so cool!
WOW! This is an incredible recipe and I cannot wait to incorporate it into a dessert buffet menu.
Thank you.
Double Dipped Life–you're right, it's 1 1/2 c. Thanks for pointing it out! 🙂
My dad would call this recipe "carpet pad Jello". I never really understood what he meant until I owned my own home and had the carpet replaced:-) I am totally making this for our church party this week! Thanks for the recipe. I love your site!