Make a Mistletoe Jello Shot

Drink masters from the amateur to the professional level have their own take on what comprises a “mistletoe” cocktail. This Jello shot was inspired by Tim Laird’s Mistletoe Martini from That’s Entertaining. Laird’s Mistletoe Martini contains cranberry juice, lemon juice and tangerine vodka and is served in a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar.

Makes about 16 shots.

Ingredients

Lemon syrup

  • 4 medium lemons, cut into wedges and muddled in a medium saucepan
  • 1½ cups (350 ml) water
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • Note: If you don’t want to make the syrup, then mix 1 part lemonade concentrate with 1 part water. Just remember to strain out the pulp before you add it to your gelatin mixture.

Mistletoe shots

  • 1 3-oz. (85 g) package of cranberry gelatin
  • 1 cup (240 ml) water, boiling
  • ½ cup (120 ml) tangerine vodka
  • ½ cup (120 ml) lemon syrup
  • Granulated sugar for garnish
  • Lemon zest for garnish

Steps

Make the Lemon Syrup

  1. Add the 1½ cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to the lemons that you have muddled in the saucepan.
  2. Bring the entire mixture to a rolling boil over medium heat.
  3. Reduce the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a whisk.
  4. Pour the syrup through a strainer into a jar.

Assemble and Serve the Shots

  1. Combine the cranberry gelatin and the boiling water. Stir with a whisk for about 2 minutes. Make sure that you’ve removed the gelatin from the heat before you add any of the other ingredients.
  2. Stir in the tangerine vodka and 1/2 cup of the lemon syrup. Reserve the rest of the syrup for another use.
  3. Lightly spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  4. Pour the gelatin mixture into the loaf pan and refrigerate the mixture for about 4 hours or overnight.
  5. Gently loosen the gelatin from the loaf pan using an offset spatula.
  6. Invert the loaf pan over a cutting board, supporting the top of the gelatin with your palm.
  7. Gently ease the loaf onto the cutting board to prevent breakage.
  8. Cut the loaf into 16 squares using a sharp chef’s knife and place the squares onto a serving tray.
  9. Sprinkle the shots with sugar and garnish each shot with a curl of lemon zest just before you serve them.
  10. Finished.

Tips

  • Because sugar is a delicate garnish, you should wait to sprinkle sugar on the shots until just before you serve them. The water in the gelatin will dissolve the sugar after a few minutes.
  • Feel free to make these Jello shots up to 2 days in advance. However, do not sprinkle them with sugar or garnish them until just before you serve them.
  • You can also garnish these shots with a sliver of tangerine.

Things You'll Need

  • Saucepan
  • Strainer
  • Whisk
  • Loaf pan
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • Offset spatula
  • Cutting board
  • Chef’s knife
  • Zester

Sources and Citations