Pinterest All Star - Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

Yes, that is a jello shot in a strawberry. No you are not imagining things, nor have you just died and gone to heaven -although I'm pretty sure they serve these in heaven. I'm gonna be honest with you guys these are pretty freakin' fantastic. They are very tasty. Like a margarita they are sweet and salty, and a little bit sour from the lime. There is no pesky paper cup to go through to get to the good stuff. And because there is no cup it also eliminates the unattractive process of sucking the very last bit out of the cup -that alone deserves an A++. And above all, they are cute. Which makes them appear harmless, so you can tell your friend that hardly drinks, "Dude, it's just a little strawberry you can have one." And then sit back and enjoy the show.

So that's the positive, now for the negative. They are a labor of love. And by labor of love I mean if you've given birth to a child, that is the kind of labor these require. The kind of labor that makes you curse your husband, cry for no reason, swear you'll never do it again, and then as your creation is completed and you reap your rewards, you forget all about how you said you'd never do it again. You forget that you nearly stabbed yourself in the process. You forget that you ate 10 failed attempts because you got overzealous with the coring. You forget that your shirt is still sticky from jello, and that your hair looks like you've been hit with a shovel. You forget all that and you say, "Hell yeah! I'm making these again!" They are that awesome people. That's why they serve them in heaven.

The only thing I did differently was I did not use Cointreau. And yes, it was because I didn't want to go out and buy it. I did however have peach schnapps so I used that. Yet another example of a calculated budgeting decision I had to make. Anyway, it's what I had on hand so I used it. And it was DELICIOUS!

Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

via Bakers Royale

Strawberry Prep

1. Cut the bottoms of the strawberry flat to get them to stand upright. When you do so, make sure that you do not cut off so much that there is a hole in the bottom.

2. Use a huller, apple corer, or melon baller to empty out the strawberry (I used the latter).

3. Check each strawberry and make sure there is not a hole in the bottom before you start filling. You can do this by holding it up to the light.

Ingredients

Margarita Mix

1 - 3oz Box Strawberry Jell-O

8 oz. Tequila

6 oz Cointreau or Peach Schnapps

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup cold water

Salt for Garnish

Lime for garnish

Instructions

1. Boil one cup of hot water in a saucepan, then add in Jell-O powder and whisk until powder is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. Combine tequila and Cointreau, in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add liquor mixture to cold water and stir to combine. Then add cold liquor mixture to hot Jell-O mixture and stir to combine.

3. Pour final Jell-O mix into strawberries and chill overnight. Take a wedge of lime and use it to moisten the edge of the strawberries, then dip and rotate strawberries in salt to rim. Garnish with cut lime triangles to finish.

Helpful Notes and Tips

• Use the Jell-O brand mix and not a store brand. The store brands tend to not set up as firmly.
• Choose the freshest strawberries you can find.
• Poor mixture into a measuring cup with a spout, it made filling the little strawberries much easier!
• Fill your strawberries as high as possible, as the Jell-O will sink a bit in the middle.
• This recipe makes a ton, so I would recommend you have some of those little cups on hand just in case you give up. I am not ashamed to say I did. So I ended up putting the rest of the jello in ramekins. The cups would have been better.
• The lime is optional, but in my opinion a must. The way we took the shooter was like a tequila shot. We popped the strawberry into our mouth and then sucked on the little lime wedge. You need that little sourness from the lime after the saltiness from salt and the sweetness from the jell-o and the strawberry, so take a moment to include it. You won't be sorry.
• How to stand up those little devils. I lined them up like soldiers against the walls of my jelly roll pan. Jelly roll pan is the proper name for a baking sheet with sides, for those of you who didn't know. This worked well for me, but be careful when putting them into the fridge they are wobbly.

UPDATE: Thanks to my friend Lisette for thinking outside the box and suggesting standing up the strawberries in ice cube trays. Not only will it make it easier to fill and place in the refrigerator, it will also eliminate having to cut the bottom off. Brilliant!

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