photos by Tad Seaborn
I was dubious. Gourmet jelly shots. I even skipped these in university in lieu of the much cooler and more sanitary mixing of a garbage can of Purple Jesus (Go Gaels!).
But when we decided to try them for The Lazy Gourmet I was pleasantly surprised. They were kind of fun.
There are many sites dedicated to beautiful versions of these like the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen or this pretty cool Jello Shot Pinterest page. So I did a bit of research based on other people’s trial and error (oh happy day when I can call a jelly shot recipe “research”). I tried to make sure I added enough gelatine so they held together but were not gummy bear in chewy-ness. I also wanted to initially try a clear jelly shot (very cool) but found the alcohol a bit overwhelming so came up with this take on the French Martini which includes fresh pineapple juice.
And I am not kidding when I say be careful how many sips you take to taste and adjust flavours when you mix them, they pack a wallop. (It’s inconvenient to pass out mid-research.)
CHAMBORD AND PINEAPPLE JELLY SHOTS
Ingredients
1 cup raspberry vodka
1/4 cup Chambord
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice, divided
Fresh lemon.
1/3 cup simple syrup (bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil until the sugar dissolves; cool before using)
3 packs (15 millilitres each) gelatin
1/2 cup hot water
16 raspberries
Method
In a medium bowl combine raspberry vodka, Chambord, 1 cup pineapple juice and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Add simple syrup and take a sip to see if you like the balance of sweetness and tang from the lemon. Set aside.
In another bowl, pour 1/2 cup pineapple juice and sprinkle 3 gelatin on top. Add hot water (from the kettle) and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add to the vodka mixture and whisk to combine. Pour into an 8-inch-by-8-inch glass dish. Chill in the fridge until the mixture starts to thicken (about 10 minutes) and then add 16 raspberries, spacing them out so it will be easy to divide 1 raspberry per jelly shot. Refrigerate overnight.
To serve, prepare a glass of hot water. Dip a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter into the hot water before cutting around each raspberry. Twist the circle cutter around the jelly for a clean cut, and push gently side to side to peel it from the bottom of the dish before removing. You should get about 16 one-ounce pieces.
cheese and toast 