A recent deal at Meijer has resulted in a rather large stockpile of Jello... and we don't really eat a lot of Jello around here. We don't really dislike it, but I happen to think it's a lame excuse for dessert. I mean, really now... cookie, brownie, ice cream, or Jello? Who picks Jello???
So I set out in search of recipes involving Jello. Namely, recipes that were not for Jello salad. (If any of you have fabulous Jello salad recipes, feel free to share! But if it involves celery, let me just tell you up front... I'll pass, thanks.)
The internet, being the wonderful time-sucker that it is, turned up all sorts of ideas. I decided to try my hand (and four little hands too!) at Jello cookies. I believe I found the original recipe at Recipezaar, but I've tweaked it so much that my recipe no longer closely resembles it. Here's how I make them:
Jello Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for coating
1 (4-serving) package Jello, any flavor (note: I don't really think sugar-free would turn out, but if you try it-- let me know!)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
- Cream butter, sugar, jello, and eggs.
- Add remaining ingredients with the flour going in last.
- Mix well.
- Roll dough into one inch balls and roll in white granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet.
- Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass.
- Bake 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees.
These cookies are loads of fun to make! The first batch we made was strawberry (chosen by my 3-year old son) and he and his 2-year old sister watched in awe when I added the Jello powder and the dough turned bright pink. That batch looked pretty, and kiddos and hubby were all fans. I thought they were just okay. The next batch, shown below, were made with lemon Jello. This produced a zingy, delicate flavored cookie with little "color" to it. These taste like a tender sugar cookie with a light lemon flavor. Yum!
See what great ideas others are coming up with at Kitchen Tip Tuesday hosted by Tammy's Recipes!
I'm looking forward to trying these. Do they keep well or dry out quickly? About how many did this recipe make?
ReplyDeleteOh, the memories! We used to make jello cookies as kids... it's been a long time. ;-) I'm heading out of town, but when I get back I'll try to remember to send you a couple of "favorites" in the jello salad category.
ReplyDeleteRyann- The batch made about 4 1/2 dozen for me. I store them in ziploc bags and they keep for at least a week. I'm sure they would freeze well too because they're quite a sturdy cookie.
ReplyDeleteAmy- You always have good recipes, so I'd be willing to give your Jello Salad recommendations a shot! : )
I have some packs of jello that I've been wanting to get out of my way. I'll give these a try soon using gluten-free flour. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of jello cookies -- interesting!
ReplyDeleteAs for using up the jello, my 3 yr-olds love jigglers cut out with cookie cutters into fun or seasonal shapes. Big hit around here! I also do jigglers with fruit.
When I was a kid, we had a neighbor lady who 'adopted' us as her grandchildren. She used Jello in cookies, pies, cakes and even made jello jelly. I wish I had gotten her recipe for jelly, but it never crossed my mind.
ReplyDeleteI never could find a recipe for jello jelly, so I just started experimenting. I have used the freezer method and the regular method, used both liquid and powdered pectin.....and been pretty pleased with the results. Basically, I just count the sugar amount of the jello package towards the total amount of sugar in the recipe. Kids love it when the get the different flavored jello jellies.....especially *blue* jelly. LOL...they love blue for some reason. Kiwi,Watermelon and Green Apple are big favorites also. Once we had something that was cotton-candy flavored. I loved that one the best.
I have to agree with you on the jello salads that have celery in them....and of course, it is my mother-in-laws favorite...."but it wouldn't be Christmas/NewYear's/Easter/Thanksgiving dinner with out it" salad.....so we have it at every single family gathering. After 23 years.....I still am not going to eat, nor do my children have to eat it. Yuck....
Have a great day!
Debbie
Haha, I'm one of those strange people that -would- pick Jello as the dessert ;) I am going to try it with some sugar free just to see what happens! Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDelete