First of all, I sure hope these instructions don’t confuse the heck out of you.
Second, this is a really fun thing to make! It’s a Christmas version of the classic “Finger Jello” recipe, which I believe refers to any jello that is supplemented by an additional dose of plain gelatin, which renders it a little more hardy and easy to pick up with one’s fingers than regular jello would be. Rainbow Finger Jello involves layering several different colors of the gelatin-fortified jello, which results in an amazingly happy and pretty layered treat.
A couple of weeks ago, I whipped up a cute Christmas version. The kids loved it. But I think I wound up eating more squares than anyone. I kept walking by the fridge, and popping squares in my mouth. Repeatedly. Till they were all gone.
I seem to do that a lot.
The Cast of Characters: You need two cans of sweetened condensed milk…
Five boxes of jello: 3 red and 2 green.
And nine envelopes of plain gelatin. There are usually four to a box.
Okay, I’m going to take a deep breath now so I’ll be able to explain this in a relatively coherent fashion. Please light a candle for me.
First, there are some important things to say:
1. This whole process will take you about 2 to 3 hours. Emphasis on 3 1/2.
2. The more organized/prepared you are ahead of time, the more smoothly it will go. Lay out mixing bowls, glass measuring cups, and fill up a tea kettle if you have one. You’ll need a continual stream of boiling water.
3. I did nine layers in total, but you can do as few as five or as many as 43,000…as long as the pan will hold them.
4. Be sure to spray your pan (9 x 13 inch) with cooking spray before you start. If you don’t, the bottom layer will definitely stick to the pan.
Next, there are only two elements you need to keep straight when you make this silly stuff:
The Colored Jello Layer
and
The Creamy Layer
We’ll start with the colored jello layer.
The first thing to do is make one colored jello layer: Grab one envelope of plain gelatin…
And pour it into a small mixing bowl.
Pour in 1/4 cup of cold water…
And stir it to dissolve. It’ll quickly start to set and look gelatinous.
Next, measure a cup of boiling water (my tea kettle was at the lodge, and boy oh boy, did I wish I had it.)
Pour the cup of boiling water into the gelatin/water mixture…
Immediately pour in one 3-ounce package of red jello…
Stir it gently (gently, so it won’t get all bubbly)…
Then pour it into the pan.
That’s layer number one!
Carefully carry it to the fridge and set it on a shelf…
Right next to your cattle vaccines.
Welcome to my world.
Now, the first layer just needs to chill out for 10 to 15 minutes to set.
While that’s chilling, make the first batch of the creamy layer (which will cover 2 to 3 layers!) In a small measuring cup, measure 1/2 cup of cold water and pour in 2 envelopes of plain gelatin.
Stir it around to dissolve the gelatin, then set it aside.
In a separate bowl, pour one can of sweetened condensed milk.
I’m purring right now.
I love sweetened condensed milk.
I’m sure that comes as no surprise to you.
Grab a cup of boiling water and pour it into the bowl.
Stir it around to combine the sweetened condensed milk with the boiling water…
Then pour in the dissolved gelatin, stir it around, and add another 1/2 cup of boiling water.
Whew!
Pull the first jello layer out of the fridge. This is me tipping the pan on its side to make sure it was, like, totally set.
Scoop out a little over a third of the creamy mixture with a clean glass measuring cup or pitcher…
And pour it over the jello layer.
Poke the bubbles with a toothpick, or they’ll ruin your life later.
Now stick this back in the fridge with the cattle vaccine! (You can’t really see the creamy layer, but it’s there, Maynard.)
While the creamy layer is chilling, mix up a green jello layer following the method I used for the red layer above.
Pull the pan out of the fridge once the creamy layer is set, then pour on the green jello.
Now we’ve got three layers! Progress!
Stick it in the fridge to chill.
And the process continues.
Creamy layer, then chill.
Red layer, then chill.
Creamy layer, then chill.
Green layer, then chill.
Creamy layer, then chill.
(Important note! Less than halfway through, you’ll need to mix up another batch of the creamy mixture. I used a little less than two batches of the stuff.)
Red layer…
Then stop!
Or keep going! Whatever your heart tells you to do!
But I was out of jello, man.
When the last layer is on, chill it for a good couple of hours to set the heck out of it.
When it’s all chilled, you can cut it into squares (I did not spray my pan and as you can see, there was some stickage going on.)
And serve ’em up!
One thing you need to know, if you’ve never tried finger jello, is that it is decidedly firmer than jello made according to package directions. Of course, that’s the whole point; it needs to be firm in order to hold together and be “pick up-able.” But if you’re expecting it to have the slurp-through-your-teeth softness of normal jello, it won’t.
I have to tell you, though…I love this stuff. There’s something so fun about it. You can make the squares as small as you’d like and just pop them in your mouth. The creamy layer is nice and, well, creamy…and they’re just a fun and festive treat.
Try them this week! Another approach you could take is to double the amounts of each layer and have fewer, thicker layers. Might be a little less time consuming.
Either way, have lots of fun. That’s what finger jello’s all about.
Here’s the handy printable!
