Moscow Mule Jello Shots
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It’s Friday and I love you. Let’s talk about jello shots.
HOLY SHIT. JELLO SHOTS ARE AWESOME.
Sorry for the yelling and profanity, but I ate three jello shots before sitting down to write this, and dear God. This is the best day of my life. I’m so excited you’re here!!
If you’re surprised to see jello shots on your computer screen right now, you clearly live under a rock because they are everywhere. I’m serious, people. All manner of fancy jello shots are popping up on the interwebs, in magazines and on TV, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. I haven’t been this on board with a food trend since Cronuts, and let’s be real, gelatinous booze is exponentially cooler than hybrid pastries. (Plus, you have to wait in line to get Cronuts, and they make you fat.)
I saw “alcoholic jellies” for the first time at the gym earlier this week. I was walking along at a brisk 2.5 mph while circling pie recipes in Bon Appetit, when I happened to look up and see two ladies on The Chew holding hollowed out limes filled with some sort of red gel. I obviously couldn’t hear them over my Ludacris Pandora, but when I read the words on the TV screen, the host was saying “Aren’t these adorable?! Grown-up watermelon jello shots!”
I almost fell off the treadmill. These women were geniuses!
As soon as I got home, I Googled “how to make fancy jello shots,” and a glorious tutorial appeared on The Kitchn, which taught me everything I needed to know. The basic formula is as follows:
1 cup alcohol + 1 cup non-alcoholic liquid + 2 envelopes gelatin= JELLO SHOTS
It was so simple! I would have hopped on the jello shot train immediately, but I was sweaty, and it was 2pm on a Tuesday, so I closed the tutorial and tried to go about my busy and important day.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I spent most of the next 48 hours obsessing over creative Jello shots. The endless flavor possibilities! Last night, I had to give in. I ran to the store to get some gelatin (not exactly a pantry staple), grabbed the vodka, and giddily whipped up a double batch of Moscow Mule Jello Shots…
The Moscow Mule is perhaps my favorite summer drink. For those of you who have never experienced the wonders of this refreshing cocktail, it’s vodka, ginger beer, and lime with a splash of seltzer. Light and subtly sweet with just the right amount of spice from the ginger, the Moscow Mule is perfect for warm weather celebrations, which is why I chose to use it as the base for these badass shot bites.
These alcoholic miracle bites were everything I dreamed they would be. Truth be told, prior to last night, I’d only consumed jello shots twice in my lifetime. I know that may be hard to believe given my love of booze, but I guess when it comes to indulging in lethal delightful “party drinks,” I’ve always more of a Jungle Juice girl. Forgive me.
However, after trying these gelatinous bad boys, I can honestly say that I am a fancy jello shot convert, and I’m pretty sure you will be too. If you’re thinking that making jello shots sounds like a lot of work, don’t be ridiculous. It takes like 7 minutes (have you never made Jello?!), and then you just leave them in the fridge for a few hours and let the magic happen. Bing, bang, BOOM.
For the record, you can decrease the ratio of alcohol to non-alcoholic liquid if you like, but you may NOT have more than 50% alcohol in your jello shots (easy there, killer). Using any more booze will break down the gelatin, and you’ll end up with normal liquid shots, which are nice, but not what we’re going for here. Respect the ratio.
Needless to say, these Moscow Mule jello shots would make an excellent addition to your Memorial Day weekend festivities (and all other summer extravaganzas). When everyone else shows up with wine and beer, be the kid with the fancy jello shots.
Everyone loves the kid with the fancy jello shots.
Moscow Mule Jello Shots: (Makes 16 1-ounce shots)
Ingredients:
8½ ounces ginger beer
1½ ounces fresh lime juice
2 envelopes (about 5½ teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
6 ounces vodka of your choice
*If you want a less boozy shot, replace 2 ounces of vodka with ginger beer or water.
Preparing your Moscow Mule Jello Shots:
-Lightly spray your shot vessel with non-stick cooking spray. (I used a silicon 1-ounce ice cube tray, but you can also use a mini muffin tin, plastic ice cube tray, or even a sheet pan.) Wipe out any excess collected spray with a paper towel.
-In a small saucepan, combine the ginger beer and lime juice.
-Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the liquid and let it sit for 5 minutes to “bloom.” Basically, it will soften and form a film on the top of the liquid that looks sort of wrinkled.
-Warm the mixture over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Do NOT let the mixture boil, people!!! If you’re unsure whether or not the gelatin is dissolved, rub the liquid between your fingers. If it feels slipper and smooth with no grains of gelatin, it’s done.
-Remove from the heat and stir in the vodka.
-Pour the liquid into the prepared shot vessel. I recommend using a measuring cup with a lip to make things easier.
-Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight until set completely.
-To remove the shots, use a thin knife to slice around the edges of each shot and press them out of the mold. (You can also invert the mold and run a little warm water over it to help loosen them, if you’re having trouble.)
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
GET LOOSE.
Ingredients
- 8½ ounces ginger beer
- 1½ ounces fresh lime juice
- 2 envelopes about 5½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
- 6 ounces vodka of your choice
Instructions
- Lightly spray your shot vessel with non-stick cooking spray. (I used a silicon 1-ounce ice cube tray, but you can also use a mini muffin tin, plastic ice cube tray, or even a sheet pan.) Wipe out any excess collected spray with a paper towel.
- In a small saucepan, combine the ginger beer and lime juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the liquid and let it sit for 5 minutes to “bloom.” Basically, it will soften and form a film on the top of the liquid that looks sort of wrinkled.
- Warm the mixture over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Do NOT let the mixture boil, people!!! If you’re unsure whether or not the gelatin is dissolved, rub the liquid between your fingers. If it feels slipper and smooth with no grains of gelatin, it’s done.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vodka.
- Pour the liquid into the prepared shot vessel (I recommend using a measuring cup with a lip to make things easier), and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight until set completely.
- To remove the shots, use a thin knife to slice around the edges of each shot and press them out of the mold. (You can also invert the mold and run a little warm water over it to help loosen them, if you’re having trouble.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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This is awesome! I like mint with my mules, do you think this would work out if i added some fresh mint into the mix?
I’ve never made them with mint before, so I can’t say for sure, but it could work! Maybe add the mint to the ginger/lime mixture and let it steep for a few minutes, then strain it before adding the gelatin. Let me know if you try it!
I had really high hopes for these, because I have a serious love of Moscow Mules (and good ginger beer!), but these were no bueno. They taste like slightly spicy vodka and a whole lot of plain gelatin, which is a really unappetizing combo. I’m not sure how they could be improved, the flavor just totally disapated leaving me disappointed 🙁 To liquids I return!
I made these last weekend for a party. First batch (followed recipe to a T) was absolutely terrible. WAY too much lime…it was almost like warming the lime juice with the ginger beer does something weird to the lime flavor- chemical reaction with the acid in the lime? Anyways…I used just a few squeezes of lime per batch for the next few batches and also added a few tablespoons of sugar (to the warming ginger beer + lime) and they turned out fabulous! They were a hit at the party, gobbled up right away and said I was invited to the next one as long as I bring these! 🙂 Side note- they were STRONG (in a good way) and the guys at the party couldn’t help but to jiggle them & compare them to breast implants 😛
UGH, sorry the first batch was such a disaster! (Hate causing you to waste time, and more importantly, booze.) I’ve made these several times with 3 tablespoons of lime juice without the citrus being overpowering, but it’s been a while, so I’ll retest to find a more reasonable balance!! Glad you eventually got some good ones and people appreciated their strength and jiggle :).
This is awesome
This looks SO FREAKIN’ GOOD! Can I still make those in Fall without feeling guilty? (ahem, the answer is YES, I think;)). Love your blog – keep rockin’ it!
It is really a brilliant idea to make Moscow Mule in the form
If you want something really refreshing, make these with Square One Cucumber vodka. You can thank me later.
Done and done.
This is GENIUS!!! I’ve had some unflavored gelatin sitting around since last summer (I accidentally bought it, thinking it could stand in for some elusive German product I wanted, but no), so it’s basically serendipity that I’ve already got all the ingredient I need for this on hand – jello shots here I come!