Rainbow Jello, Layered Jello Jigglers, Jello Ribbons

My friend saw these and said, 'those are the kind of treats you always see and pin, but never actually make'.

These are jigglers, so they are perfect finger food for appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, parties etc. as they hold their shape and don't need utensils.  

Be warned - they take a long time.  Plan between 2.5 - 3 hours.  

I multi tasked cleaning my kitchen, made a batch of cookies for tomorrow's dinner, and listened to a book on tape while I made these, waiting for them to set. 

Because I knew I'd be making many layers - I used my largest pan.  My trusty 10x15 inch cake pan.  Whatever mold you use, it just needs to be able to hold a large volume. (I did see something similar done in a bundtcake pan with frilly edges) 

You can layer the jello colors anyway that you'd like - I followed the ROYGBIV rainbow pattern.  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (skipped that one), Violet. 

I originally saw a version of this on the Pioneer Woman, and added the rainbow twist.  

Here's what's needed.  

12 packets of unflavored gelatin

6 small boxes of jello - colors and flavors of your choice

3 cans of sweetened condensed milk

Boiling water (an electric tea kettle is a dream)

Prepare 10x15" pan by lightly spraying with cooking spray, then gently wiping off to remove excess residue.

If you are going in rainbow order, do ROYGBIV backwards so that the violet (purple) will be on the bottom.  Start with grape jello for the first layer.  

Here is the order: Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red

Layer #1

In a small bowl,  mix 1 packet of unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup of water.  

Add 1 cup of boiling water and mix.

Add 1 box of jello.  Gently stir until dissolved. 

Pour into pan, and place in fridge to cool - until set.  Approximately 15 minutes.  

While it cools, make the filling layer. 

Filling

Mix 2 unflavored gelatin packets with 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl. 

Mix one can of sweetened condensed milk with 1 cup boiling water. 

Add gelatin mixture to the milk and water, then add another 1/2 cup of boiling water. 

(Depending on how thick you want your filling, you can use this for two or three layers.  Don't make it all at the same time though, as it may begin to set as it cools on the counter)

One the jello has set, remove from refrigerator, and pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling mixture over the first layer. Return to the fridge to cool and set.  

Repeat layering jello and filling as desired.   

Cover with plastic wrap, and place in fridge for several hours or overnight.  

Cut into 1"x 2" cubes, or cookie cutters, and keep refrigerated unless serving.  

Suckers and Lollies

As a child, we used to make a lot of suckers. They were so good that my sister started selling them to raise money for a summer camp she wanted to attend.

Our favorites were always a toss up between root beer, and cinnamon.

I didn't have my mom's recipe handy, so I searched the web and found numerous recipes which all pretty much looked like this:

2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 cup corn syrup

food coloring and flavoring

Additional supplies: sucker sticks, molds, candy oils or flavoring extracts.

Place the sugar, corn syrup and water into a heavy bottomed pot and stirring constantly, over medium heat, bring to a boil.  (Coat measuring cup with cooking spray for easier pouring if desired).

Once the mixture begins to boil, place a candy thermometer in pan, and cook without stirring until it reaches the hard crack stage or 310* F.  

Add the flavoring and stir quickly, then pour into prepared molds, onto a Silpat or parchment paper (lightly sprayed with cooking oil), or a granite or marble countertop (which I'd never tried before, but was a dream). 

Quickly, before it can cool, place a sucker stick into each sucker, and twist the stick to coat (the buddy system is great here).  

Allow to cool, for approximately 10-20 minutes.  

Wrap each individual sucker in plastic wrap.  When prying off counters/pans/molds, be careful not to pull from the stick as it will break the sucker.