Red, White & Blue Stained Glass Jello Stars
Stained glass Jello gets the patriotic treatment with a combination of red, white and blue, and is cut into the shape of stars. A fun and easy treat for your 4th of July celebration! (Bonus! Use any color combination for other holidays, your favorite sports teams, a school graduation – so many possibilities!)
When I was a kid, there were two types of Jello desserts – there was Jello in a big bowl that was usually prepared by my grandma or great aunt (and it was always a toss up as to whether there would be some type of cut-up fruit floating around in there), and then there was finger Jello, or Jello Jigglers, or Knox blocks… I’ve heard them called all of those names. Basically, it was Jello prepared with less water so it set up denser, then cut into blocks and could be picked up and eaten with your fingers.
I LIVED for finger Jello – it was a summer staple! So when I first learned that I could do the same thing while combining different colors for a super cool effect, I was all-in.
I was so entranced when I first saw a picture of stained glass Jello on The Food Librarian. She had done hers up in purple and yellow to cheer on the Lakers (this was yearssssss ago), and it looked awesome. At the time, I had the idea to make a black and gold variety (for Pittsburgh sports, naturally), however, I’ve never seen black Jello, have you? I thought perhaps they would sell blackberry, but I couldn’t find any. So, I went back to making more batches of the decorated sugar cookies and put the stained glass Jello on the back burner.
Only a few weeks later, I realized that using strawberry and berry blue flavors could make a pretty cool red, white & blue dessert for the 4th of July. And to be even more festive, I used a cookie cutter to cut the Jello into the shape of stars.
These are always so fun to make and I think it’s a great presentation for a holiday picnic. You could switch up colors to reflect school graduation, various sports teams, company logos – anything at all! And if you have some fun cookie cutters in your stash, the possibilities are truly endless. Or simply cut them into squares and dig in!
One year ago: The Baked Brownie
Four years ago: Toasted Almond Fudge Ripple Ice Cream
Five years ago: Coconut Cream Pie
Stained Glass Jello
Ingredients
- 6 ounce (170.1 g) box strawberry Jello
- 6 ounce (170.1 g) box berry blue Jello
- 14 ounce (396.89 ml) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
- 5½ cups (1375 ml) boiling water, divided
- ½ cup (125 ml) cold water
Instructions
- Line four loaf pans or other small pans with plastic wrap. In four separate bowls, dissolve one box of Jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Stir for 2 full minutes, until it is completely dissolved, then allow to cool to room temperature. Pour each into the prepared pans and chill at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- Turn the chilled Jello out onto a cutting board and slice into ½-inch blocks.
- Add the blocks to a jelly roll pan or 9x13-inch pan that has been lined with plastic wrap. Gently spread the blocks so they are in an even layer and the colors are evenly mixed.
- In a separate large bowl, sprinkle 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin into ½ cup cold water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. After the gelatin blooms (it will look mostly dissolved and get wrinkly on the surface), add 1½ cups boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add the can of condensed milk and stir to combine; set aside to cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the red and blue Jello blocks in the pan. Chill overnight, or at least 3 hours until firm.
- Cut into blocks or shapes and serve.
Notes
- I lined my pans with plastic wrap so that I could easily lift the Jello out of the pan and turn it onto a cutting board to slice; you could spray your pans with non-stick cooking spray if you'd prefer.
- Use any size pan you would like for the red and blue colors, but I've found the smaller, the better. If your pan is too big (I've done 8-inch squares in the past), the blocks come out looking pretty flat.
- I have found that using a jelly roll pan is the perfect thickness if you're planning to cut shapes. If you are simply cutting into blocks, a 9x13-inch pan will give you thicker blocks and would work just fine.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on July 2, 2009.
Hello! Can I use color due to make colors darker?
How much gelatin is in 1 envelope? I’m in NZ and I can only buy a container of this, not individual envelopes.
Thanks in advance! :) Happy 4th!
Each envelope is 0.25 ounces. Enjoy!
Can vodka be added to this recipe?
Yes, totally!!
💋
I love the plastic wrap idea! Wish I’d read this post before making my jello. In regards to making black jello, what about combining equal amounts of different jello flavors together, or maybe use more green, purple and blue jello? That might make black or blackish jello. In the world of color, if you mix a variety of colors together, like purple, green, blue, red, etc. the resulting color is black. Not sure if that would work with jello, but just a thought. Thanks again for the plastic wrap idea!!!
Made these for our 4th of July celebration and they were a big hit! I used four disposable loaf pans to make the red and blue jello and it worked out well. I used a jelly roll pan since I was cutting them into stars, but I think I will go 9×13 next time. The stars were a bit thin and floppy, which made them messy/hard to eat as finger food. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed them. Thanks for the recipe inspiration!
This was a hit!!! Great recipe.
These turned out great! What a fun project!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Not sure if anyone posted, but black jell-o can be made with a 3 to 1 ratio of grape or black cherry to orange jell-o powders. You can add food coloring too, but I never need to.
How ’bout those back to back Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins?!?!?!
Thanks for the awesome tip, Diane! And seriously, what a ride!
Beautiful! Great idea for a Canada Day celebration with my maple leaf cookie cutters! Thank you!!
Hey, That’s very interesting.
The recipe is look very easy, I definitely try it.
Thanks
These looks yummy and beautiful. Everyone should try these on 4th of july. Thank you for sharing.
I was so excited to find this recipe but I failed at making it. I now have jello slop but I put it in a clear bowl with some flag toothpicks and will pretend that’s what I meant to do all along! :)
I am going to make these for 4th of July this year. They look so fun! I am going to buy 2 strawberry and 2 blueberry, I understand you need 4 boxes. What I have a question about is whether I can cook and combine the 2 reds together or do you need to cook and keep all 4 jello seperate the whole time? Also how about combining the same colors when you put them in square containers, or should they keep seperate? Thanks! I can’t wait to make these, I just want to screw them up!
Hi Kristen, Yes, you can combine the reds and the blues together, and put the same color in one container. Enjoy!
I wanted to let you know I am featuring your Stained Glass Jello Stars for the 4th of July in my Easy 4th of July Recipes post on 6/20/14! I thank you for sharing your recipe and am exited to include it alongside other great 4th of July recipe ideas!
Never thought of using sweetened condensed milk for jello.
I was wanting to use the recipe for the white jello to make some white Jell-O shots. Do you have any idea how I’d do it? Generally it’s 1 box of jello, the required amount of cold water being alcohol not water and the required amount of hot wayer
I think I’ve only made Jello shots once in my life, but I guess follow that formula but use the sweetened condensed milk and unflavored gelatin instead?
My daughter was born on the 4th of July 2012 and we’ll be celebrating her 1st birthday on June 29th. I’ll be making these for her party. Thank you for the great idea!
What does it mean “after the gelatin blooms?”
Hi Tami, The gelatin will noticeably soften and plump up a bit as it is dissolved.
I noticed thee comment about not knowing how to do black jello. 2 packs purple 1 pack green. And to make brown 2 packs purple and 1 pack yellow. Hope that helps! Thanks for sharing how to do the stained glass effect.
I made the stained glass jello last night and let is set overnight, but it seemed softer than it should have been. Do you think I can use three Knox envelopes for a firmer jello? Also, what do you use to keep the jello from sticking to the glass pan? Thanks!
Hi Jasmine, I’m not sure about using extra Knox, as that would just affect the white part of the Jello. I haven’t had a problem with it firming up, did you follow the recipe here or on the Jello box? Also, you could try spraying the pan with a non-stick cooking spray, although I’ve never had an issue with sticking.
i made this for the 4th of july and it was a total FAIL! i went to cut into it and it completely fell apart. i must have used too much water or something– i let it set overnight and everything. it just never firmed up the way i assume it should have. bummer. it still tasted good, so i scooped a few helpings out for the kids. but eventually had to throw the rest of it out. :(
Hi! I made these for our 4th of July cookout and they were GREAT! I blogged about them today with a link back to you! :) If you want to check it out, here’s the link: http://sittingatourkitchentable.blogspot.com/2011/07/fourth-of-july-goodies.html
Have a great weekend!
Amy
Hey Michelle! I love your blog and I’m making these today. They are so cute. I just realized I made the jello according to the package, and not your instructions. Uh-oh. I guess we’ll see what happens!
These are great! I am making them right now and cannot wait to see how they turn out! Taking them to a 4th of July party today, I know everyone will love them! Thanks for some great ideas!
I made these last year for our 4th of July celebration and my 5 year old son asked for them again this year! It’s such a fun dessert to make.
I can’t wait to try this – I’m already thinking of so many ways to use this idea. Thanks for sharing!!
these are too awesome. definitely making for the fourth, and yet another person linking to them from my blog to share with my readers!