blueberry jello shot – recipes

Blueberry Martini Jello Shots – NYC

blueberry martini jello shot

Blueberry Martini Jello Shots

My friend Chris invited me to a barbecue last weekend, and wanting to be a good BBQ guest like Deb at Smitten Kitchen, I offered to bake a pie. It turns out, though, no one who was attending the BBQ was very excited at the prospect of pie. Who would’ve thunk it?! Geez, how can anyone not like pie? Pies are delicious; it’s jammy fruit in a buttery flaky crust! So then I thought of making a watermelon tomato salad with olives, but after showing Chris the recipe, her response was, “Uh, that’s weird.” Back to the drawing board, I searched the Internet, but nothing seemed really interesting. A few days later I was still lost, but after a few glasses of sangria with friends, it finally dawned on me, ‘My friends are lushes, why not make jello shots?’

I didn’t want to make regular jello shots though, I mean my college days are far behind me. So I googled “gourmet jello shots” and I came up with a Los Angeles Times adapted recipe for Blueberry Martini Jelly Shots from Bar Nineteen 12 in Beverly Hills. It was exactly what I needed, jello for adults, or as I like to call them, ‘jello for the grown and sexy.’ I emailed Chris with my idea and she responded with one word, “Nice!”

blueberry martini jello shot cubes

I made a few modifications to the recipe to make my life easier. The recipe calls for sheets of gelatin. I opted to use gelatin powder instead since it can be found in regular supermarkets (I used Knox Gelatine). As for setting the jello, the recipe has you use half-ounce silicone molds — since these shots are meant to be picked up with your fingers and eaten — but I didn’t want to go out and buy molds, so I ended up using an ice tray. It worked nicely except for the fact that each cube was bigger than a half-ounce, so I ended up with about twenty shots instead of thirty-five. I would double this recipe if you are going to take the ice cube route. In addition, I would avoid using ice trays with really large ice cube molds. If that’s the only type of tray you have, don’t fill it all the way to the top. You don’t want to bite into a giant cube of hard gelatin. It’s not as tasty. I also added more blueberries per shot because I thought it looked cheesy to have only one lone blueberry in each cube.

The jello shots were a hit at the BBQ, especially amongst the girls. The shots were cold, refreshing, and made for some summer fun. One of the girls thought they were a bit strong, but she doesn’t drink much, so if you are making these for the non-drinking crowd, I would mix in some water and perhaps some more simple syrup so they’re weaker. Also, the texture of these shots are harder than normal jello shots; a cross between jello and gummy bears. One of the guys wasn’t too crazy about the texture, but then again I notice a lot of men aren’t into candies of the gummy sort, so if harder jello freaks you out, you can add less gelatin or serve them after leaving them out for a while.

I can’t wait to experiment with these jello shots. The possibilities seem endless. I’m thinking mojito shots, lychee saketini shots, sangria shots…. So next time you’re a BBQ guest, and no one likes pie, make these jello shots. Vodka + Gelatin = SCORE!

Blueberry Martini Jello Shots
(Adapted from an adapted recipe by the LA Times for Blueberry martini jelly shots at Bar Nineteen 12)

Total time: 25 minutes, plus overnight chilling
Servings: About 20 Shots (more if you use 1/2 ounce molds instead of an ice tray)

10 1/2 ounces Stoli Blueberry vodka
2 ounces simple syrup* (add more if blueberries are sour)
3 1/2 (1/4 ounce) packets of gelatin powder

About 60 fresh blueberries (more if the blueberries are small)

1. Off heat, combine the vodka and simple syrup in a small saucepan. Add gelatin powder to the vodka mixture.

2. Heat the saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved and incorporated into the vodka mixture, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Place a few blueberries in the bottom of each individual ice cube mold, and carefully pour the vodka mixture into each. Refrigerate the ice cube tray until set, preferably overnight. These cocktails will keep, refrigerated, for as long as 2 days.

*To make simple syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.




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  1. bionicgrrrl

    @Natalie Wish I could take credit for the idea, but alas, I found the recipe on the Internet.
    @flutterbyblue If you make them more softer, the soup spoons works nicely.
    @Graeme I love creating alcoholics!

  2. juan

    looks great.

    without launching into a rant about how anything mixed with anything else is called a martini these days (most people don’t even know a true martini uses gin), doesn’t a blueberry martini usually have triple sec in it, too?

    would throwing in triple sec make it too watery/alcoholic? is there a critical point beyond which there’s simply too much alcohol in gelatin for it to set?

  3. bionicgrrrl

    @juan I totally agree with you. For the longest time I couldn’t get over these cocktails that called themselves martinis when they just had vodka in them. I think a real martini needs a drop of vermouth in them to be called a martini, but then I had a drink and got over it.

    As for when there is too much alcohol for the gelatin to set, I found a formula on a molecular gastronomy site:

    % gelatin to add = (% alcohol in final mix x 0.1) + 2. Seems right to me. 😉

  4. bionicgrrrl

    @Kathy Well, they say leaving the tray in a warm water bath works, but I think the best, and quickest way is to simply scoop them out with a knife or spoon. Good luck!

  5. ryanclark

    hey everyone! I made these and they turned out great.. So I got creative and did a blue margarita Jello shot as well… 8 ounces of tequila 3 ounces, of Blue Caracao (Blue triple Sec), 2 ounces of sour mix, 1 ounce of lime juice, and a splash of lemon juice; with the 4 packets of gelatin! Turned out so great and delicious…

    Just get creative and you can make anything!

  6. ryanclark

    By the way… The name I gave those margarita jello shots is “The Blue Agave”… I thought that was original and kind of a cute idea! I hope you all like it.

  7. Shannon

    I made these last night and though they looked really cool, they were soooo tough and hard compaired to normal jello shots. We threw them on the ground and they bounced… You could hardly even chew/swallow them. It was not good and I followed the recipe to a T. I will be making my normal jello shots with actual jello and not pure gelatin next time..

  8. bionicgrrrl

    @Shannon – They are a bit harder because you want to be able to pick them up, but not that hard. Mine were fine using the recipe and I made them a few times. Perhaps you can add a little more water if you want to try it again next time.

  9. bionicgrrrl

    @Anne – It’s basically sugar water. Instructions to make simple syrup are in the recipe above (combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan, and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved). Depending on whether the blueberries are sweet or not, you can add a little more or less.

  10. bionicgrrrl

    @lisa – In NYC, they have them at several stores in Chinatown, but they also sell them online, although not as cheap. I did a quick search and found them on Amazon and Ebay.

  11. lisa

    There’s a restaurant depo store in virginia, I wonder if they have some there.. I don’t have enough time to order them online, they won’t get here in time… thank you! Good to know for future though!

  12. lisa

    There’s a restaurant depo store in virginia, I just called them and I can get 1,000 for $6 that’s amazing! I don’t have time for them to get here if I buy them online, this works better because I can just go to the store. Ill post how they turn out!

  13. Ronda

    This recipe was a lot of fun. I made them for my 4th of July BBQ. I made two batches one used rasperry vodka and blueberries and then bluebrry vodka with raspberries.

    Called them Red, White and Blue-berry shots 🙂 They were a hit!

    I do have one question though, even though I used the recipe above exactly as it is written, mine came out a little cloudy … It didn’t matter much since it was more of an asthetic thing and didn’t impact the taste. I still wonder what (if anything) I am doing wrong?

  14. Ronda

    @bionicgrrrl: Thanks for the reply. I may try it again this afternoon for another 4th of July activity we are going to. My assitant (husband) has a tendancy to be a little over zealous when he stirs things.

    Cloudy or not – there wasn’t one left at the end of the night.

    Thanks again for sharing the recipe.

  15. bionicgrrrl

    @Ronda – I wonder if it had to do with the simple syrup. Perhaps it was hot when you combined it with the vodka? Not sure. Glad you liked it!

  16. Bex

    I’m thinking it’s not an issue because no one else has brought it up, but if you’re heating the vodka, doesn’t it lose the alcohol?

  17. saruchan28

    You could add the alcohol to the mix after you dissolve the gelatin, and stir it in well. That way you wouldn’t cook off any of that precious liquor!

  18. Rachel

    I just made these for a party – they look amazing! I personally don’t like jello OR vodka but they actually aren’t bad tasting to me which means they are probably amazing to people who do like those two things 🙂

  19. Will

    We made these for a Christmas party. They were the hit of the party. They also taste amazing! Thanks for a wonderful recipe. We did the warm bath method and a butter knife to get them out of the ice cube holders…it worked great. Only a few mishaps, but HEY, you get to taste the rewards while preparing the platter.

  20. bionicgrrrl

    @Michael – Thanks!

    @Bex & saruchan28 – If any alcohol evaporates, it’s pretty negligible. The end result is very boozy!

    @Rachel & Will – So glad it worked out!

  21. Dave Y

    I didn’t think I would ever again find myself planning the ingredients for Jello Shots. This must be why we never say never. I am just launching a new company making restaurant apps and text marketing services. Most of my staff is running a decade behind and this is perfect for our then and now fusion theme Thank YOU!!

  22. Suep

    We tried these jello shots last night because, frankly, they look adorable. To be honest, they were probably the worst jello shots I’d ever had. I made them exactly according to directions. They tasted overbearingly of alcohol, and were a trial to get out of the ice cube trays. Remembering them now makes me wince. I think this could be a keeper with a bit of adjusting to the recipe, but as is, they were awful.

  23. M

    Great write-up, the picture of finished product looks unreal (in a good way). I would like to keep a tray of these in my freezer for whenever I have friends over but I wouldn’t want the berries to go bad, what’s the longest you think I can keep them frozen for? Days, weeks, months?

  24. bionicgrrrl

    @Dave Y – Good luck!

    @Suep – These shots are strong. If you don’t like the taste of alcohol, I would definitely up the simple syrup and reduce the alcohol.

    @M – Freezing jello can get iffy (e.g., ice shards, freezer odors). I wouldn’t try freezing, but if you want to give it a try, let me know how it goes. Berries usually keep in the freezer for about a year though.

  25. bionicgrrrl

    @Zeno – I wouldn’t call them like rubber, but if you prefer softer jello, definitely add less gelatin. However, these are meant to be picked up, so if you make them softer, I’d suggest spoons like in the pic above or shot glasses.

  26. Mike

    Awesome recipe. I made it a few nights ago, only though part was removing the gelatin from the molds, I guess that’s why silicon is better than plastic!

  27. Heather

    I know it says equal parts of sugar and water for the simple syrup but how much sugar do you use?


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