Strawberry Daiquiri Jello Shots

Did you hear? Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away! Let’s get this party started, shall we? Today we’re talking Jello shots! Specifically these strawberry daiquiri Jello shots, because, well, they’re kind of awesome. Is anyone else noticing that Jello shots are kind of all the rage at the moment? I’m not even going to front and try to pass these off as some kind of original idea. I am, however, going to admit that amongst our group of friends in our neighborhood we’ve been loving some variation of these ever since the weather turned warm. So naturally, I’m sharing them with you, too. Cool? Cool.

Now, you’ve heard me preach time and time again that when mixing cocktails, buy the best quality spirits you can afford. Guess what? Today I’m getting all hypocritical on you, waving the white flag and begging you not to waste anything too high end on these Jello shots. Now I wouldn’t go totally bottom of the barrel instant-hangover-from-one-shot kind of cheap. But pick an affordable middle of the road option. When you’re trashing your booze up with things like strawberry Jello and whipped cream out of a can (which we’re totally going to do), something cheaper is absolutely ok.

24 – 30 whole, fresh strawberries
(1) packet of strawberry Jello
1 cup water
1 cup silver rum
Whipped cream for topping

Begin by giving all of your berries a good rinsing and allow them to dry most of the way. Then it’s time to get slicing! Lop off the tops and bottoms of the strawberries, so they can stand up without toppling over. Be sure not to cut too much off the bottom because you need to keep the berry “sealed” so it can hold the liquid Jello later.

Next up, use a small melon baller or a little measuring spoon (which is what I used and it worked great) to scoop out the center of each berry. Again, try to take care not to go too deep so the strawberry stays intact, forming a little bowl to hold the Jello. Also, if this sounds hard, it’s really not. Cross my heart, and all that jazz.

Over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add Jello mix and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add your rum and stir until well combined. Now fill up each of your berries with the liquid and chill at least three hours or overnight. I like to place the berries in a muffin tin for this part to keep them upright. If you have some berries that leak, no worries! Mix up another packet of Jello in a few hours and top them off and allow them set again. The initial Jello will act as a seal and then you’ll be able to get them filled up with boozy Jello goodness!

The final step? Bust out a can of whipped cream and get to topping each one with a big ‘ol dollop! Yes, if you’re curious, you could absolutely top these with sprinkles or any other kind of festive nonsense that strikes your fancy. Oh, and also? These are really super delicious and kind of make the crowd go wild. So make them already, would ya?

p.s. I know posting has been slightly more sporadic lately, but I’ve been working behind the scenes on a few new things to get unstuck. Namely, I want to take more time to develop recipes, projects and cocktail posts like this one to share with you. To that end I’m spending a lot of time trying to develop new content and taking my photography to the next level. So thanks for bearing with me! xoxo