Guess what? It’s time for cookies!
Fun, bright cookies made with a package of Jell-O. Yep, that’s right. Jell-O. It turns out that not all gelatin dishes are meant to be put into a mold.
This was sent into us by P’Gell, who also sent us an interesting looking recipe for a pie that I am still planning on making when I find some spare time. But these cookies just called to us. I mean, come on. Cookies made with gelatin??? We are totally in.
P’Gell writes:
This recipe was from an old pamphlet cookbook I found from sometime in the 1960s, I believe. I’ve made these so often they are committed to memory. They are great when you don’t have any eggs in the house and want to bake cookies now. Making several batches in different colors and flavors is best. These don’t wiggle or jiggle, but they are good and easy to make.
From, P’Gell
COLORFUL COOKIES
for each batch of color
1 (3oz) pkg. Jello.
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 Cup butter or margarine, melted
2 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Heat oven to 350. Reserve 1 TB dry gelatin for glaze if desired. Mix remaining gelatin, powdered sugar & butter. Stir in salt and flour. Shape into 1″ balls. Place about 2″ apart on cookie sheets lined with Silpat or parchment paper. Bake until set, but not brown. 8-10 min. (Don’t let them get brown, it ruins the pretty colors.) Remove from cookie sheet when slightly cool.
Colorful Glaze: Mix reserved gelatin & 3 TB hot water. Let stand 5 min. Stir in 2 C powdered sugar & 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Dip top of cookies into glaze.
Or simply skip the glaze (as these are pretty sweet) use left over Jello to sprinkle on warm cookies.
You can make several batches in different colors. You can also make up two batches in different colors and fit two small balls from each together to made different colors and flavors in one cookie.
These were dead easy to mix up. The only issue I had was that my dough was fairly dry so I had to use some pressure to get them to stick together. But I think that might have been operator error, since I was trying to mutli-task while making these and may have left them mixing for a bit longer than I should have.
Also, when I was baking my cookies they took about 15 minutes to bake rather than 8, but that may have also been related to the dry dough issue. Or maybe I made them larger than they were supposed to be. Either way, I considered the cookies baked when the “ball” of dough had melted into a disk and had puffed slightly.
The glaze was easy to mix up and I just dipped the tops of my cookies straight in. The glaze sets up fast and I had to keep whisking mine to prevent it from forming a skin, so move quickly when glazing your cookies.
But even though they looked really cute, Tom was still suspicious.
“So, what’s the story with these?”
“Nothing, they are just cookies.”
“Uh-huh. And what’s in them?”
“Just cherry Jell-O.”
“And?”
“Butter.”
“And?”
“Sugar. Flour. You know, regular cookie things.”
“So, no cheese?”
“No, no cheese.”
“Pineapple?”
“No.”
“Fish?”
“No! Just cookie things! They are just cookies!”
“Well, okay then.”
“And nothing else is in them?”
“For God’s sake, no!”
“You know, these are pretty good. I mean, for just being cookies.”
“You’re impossible.”
Tasting notes:
Shortbread texture. Very sweet, but not in a bad way. Glaze was good. Strong fruit flavor.
The Verdict: Good!
Thanks for sending this our way, P’Gell! They were fast, easy and tasted fun. Although these cookies are very sweet, they were still good. Tom ate the whole batch in about 36 hours even while I was stuffing him full of other gelatin dishes, so he liked them. I wish I would have had more time to try other flavors/colors to see what they tasted like. But just so everyone knows, the cherry version is yummy!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:24]
Just wondering: Do you think these could be made with sugar free Jello? Or do you think they need the texture of real sugar to turn out? Just wondering what you thought.
They look great. Think of all the colors for the holidays/seasons! Heck you can match party decor 🙂
Sherree
Y’all are so funny. I’d love to be a fly on the wall during times like that! You and Tom are going to have the strongest fingernails ever after eating all of that gelatin you’ve been eating. Jell-o cookies! Who knew?!!
These sound really good. I think I’ll try strawberry!
Hey Sherree! You know, I think they might work with sugar free Jell-O. The recipe base is a complete shortbread cookie base and I think the Jell-O really doesn’t add anything but flavor. They may not be as chewy because they will contain less sugar, but that is just my guess. You never know until you try!!!
Thanks, Eartha!!! 🙂 I have to admit, my fingernails HAVE been growing like crazy!
Yes! And lemon, that way you can have strawberry lemonade cookies! I was kind of playing around with the idea of making two different flavored batches and then glazing the cookies with the opposite flavor glaze. Hmmm…so many ideas….
Wow! Jello-O cookies – I would have never dreamed such a thing could exist!
HA! I cannot believe Tom ate them SO fast! 🙂
I will have to give these a go round one of these days!
I’m going to have to try these cookies! I wonder if these could be made with brown sugar instead of icing sugar since I like shortbread made that way better. The colour may not be so good though. Maybe they’d turn out murky-looking?
RetroRuth – good idea of making them two-toned!
Just wanted you to know that this is my very most FAVORITE blog!
You totally should!!! I bet Mike would love them! 🙂
Hmmm…you know they probably will be slightly darker, but the glaze will be the same color, so maybe it would look okay? You will have to try it out. Either way, they will taste good!!
And yes, two-toned!! Go for it! 🙂
Thanks, Mia!!!! I am incredibly glad that you like the blog! 🙂
That’s true about the glaze. I think I’ll try them both ways. 🙂
YAY! Y’all like my cookies. I have pics of Tom lovin’ on my cookies. Thanks, Ruth. I’m glad to help. They sure went fast. That’s they way they go in my house, too.
I guess they could be tried with sugar free Jello. There would be less mass in in the recipe, but maybe jiggling the recipe a little could work. Or you could try it and see what happens, I never have, though.
Sorry they were dry, Ruth. Sometimes (I should have included this) I add a TBS of water or less to even out if the weather is dry. I didn’t even think to mention it.
I’m sure glad Tom like them. 😀 Absolutely cheese free!
Yes. I’ve done this. Glazing the cookies with an other flavor, or smooshing two different color doughs together to make a cool dual tone cookie. Very ’60s. 🙂
These were really good, P’Gell! I am glad you sent the recipe in! Glad to know about the water. I am also going to try not to beat them so long next time. But no worries, it didn’t interfere with Tom eating them all! 🙂
Thanks again!
These cookies are so cute – I think cherry + lime for cherry limeade would be good.
Tonight I made them with lemon Jello and brown sugar. They are absolutely delish! They didn’t get very dark with the brown sugar either. Thanks for the recipe, P’Gell and RetroRuth!
My mom made these as a bar for years. She didn’t use a pan, just ‘formed them” into about an 8×8 and cooked on a cookie sheet.
I have made a batch of cherry (red) and (green) lime every year for Christmas as bars. Only exception is after cutting into individual bars, I roll them in powdered sugar. My granddaughter always enjoys making them with me.
I’ll try the cookie this year and dust the tops with the left over Jello and powdered sugar.
Thanks