With Christmas officially (and successfully, in my opinion) behind us, I’m wasting no time getting in the spirit for New Year’s. I love the idea of reflecting on the past year and getting psyched up at the opportunity for new beginnings. And plus, I’ll take any excuse to have some fun with friends after such a stressful past few weeks! Jello shots are always a crowd-pleaser with my friends, so I did a test run earlier this week to see how a champagne version would work, and I’m excited to make them again to ring in 2013. Dipped in some sanding sugar and topped with sparkly toothpicks, they’re simple and festive with a healthy dose of bubbly for a New Year’s Eve party.
I really enjoy the occasional glass of prosecco or champagne (if I’m lucky), and I think it’s a shame that the bubbly stuff is generally reserved for only special occasions. These jello shots will give you an excuse to pop open a bottle and find a reason to finish the remaining glass or two leftover. It’s almost embarrassing to call this a recipe since it’s so simple, but I wanted to share them anyway because sometimes the simplest recipes are the best ones. Or the ones with booze are the best ones, something like that… Anyway, there is little guesswork involved here and if you love the taste of champagne, you’ll love these! Unfortunately the bubbles don’t survive the jello-making process, but the little dusting of sparkling sugar helps give a texture reminiscent of some carbonation. The sugar melts quickly after dipping them though, so make sure you wait to do that right before you serve them!
There’s plenty of champagne coming our way in 2013 – graduation from dental school, getting married, and maybe even moving to another city – and I can’t think of a better way for Erica Sweet Tooth to ring in this exciting new year than with some champagne jello shots. (Champagne cupcakes are also a good way, but been there, done that). Maybe if we had registered for a champagne sabre I could really impress my friends next Monday night, but I’m sticking to what I know here, and I’m sure there will be no complaints. Thanks for helping make my 2012 so fun and exciting – I love chronicling my life through sweets every week, and I wouldn’t be doing it without your support. Have a happy and healthy new year!!
Champagne Jello Shots
Recipe adapted from Bakers Royale
Yield: 15 jello shots
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup champagne (or prosecco or sparkling wine)
1/2 cup ginger ale soda**
1/2 cup sugar**
3 envelopes Knox plain gelatin
White sparkling sugar
**UPDATE: After several bad reviews of this recipe, I have revamped it to add additional sugar and some ginger ale. This should help sweeten the jello shots so they taste a little less like straight up champagne, and more like a tasty dessert. I hope this helps!
Directions:
Place 1-1/4 cups of the champagne and sugar in a sauce pan and then sprinkle gelatin on top. Let gelatin soften for about 2 minutes.
Place saucepan over low heat and stir until gelatin has completely dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add in remaining 1/4 cup of champagne and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into a loaf pan (I used a square tupperware container) and chill for at least an hour.
To release Jello, dip the pan into warm water and use a knife along the sides to gently release the Jello. Use a sharp knife to cut squares. Before serving, dip the tops in the sparkling sugar and serve with a festive toothpick.
these are seriously SO cute and perfect for NYE! I love the creativity and champagne/sparkling wine is my favorite thing to drink – and now eat! ;)
These are so perfect! If I were going to a house party I would definitely make these. Saving for next year.
These are adorable! And totally worthy of cracking open a bottle of bubbly BEFORE the party! ;) Happy (almost) new year!
Hi there, love this so much, I made it once with rose wine, but i was wondering, would it be okay to use jell-o envelopes (the flavoured ones) to make it a little more..fruity? I imagine yes, but I just wanted to make sure.
Thanks, and have a wonderful new year!
Making these tonight for my party tomorrow, I hope they will stay bubbly and fresh over night?
These are adorable! I tweeted your recipe and I’m so excited to try them for tomorrow. I’m going to add raspberries too for a bunch of color and flavor.
I was looking for something fun to make for my sister’s New Year’s Eve party and found your recipe. These were easy and yummy! Thanks so much for sharing!
I like the champayne jello shots but would like to know where I can purchase
the festive toothpicks! They’re special…. Tx, Barbara
Barbara, I found these exact toothpicks at my local Party City! I’m excited to try these out tomorrow!
I made these for NYE and it was a big hit!! Thanks for the recipe! :)
I just made these with a sparkling hard cider. And I also made a citrus sangria jello shot with the other half of the bottle. Taking them to a wine night tonight. Can’t wait to see how they turn out!
made these they were the absolute worst
Erica.. update your photo to the current year or crop out the year altogether in the first photo so it can be poste EVERY year! :)
I am looking forward to making these for New Year’s Eve. It’ll be something new and exciting for me and the girls. Thank you for your recipe. Happy New Year and Blessings
Where do you find Sparking Sugar??
Erica — December 30th, 2015 @ 10:15 am
You can get it at craft stores (JoAnn’s, Michaels) or online – http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-White-Sparkling-Sugar-Net/dp/B0001XXB3E
do these pop out pretty easily?
I made these for new years. Were the absolute worst. My husband and I spit it out and we tossed the whole batch before the guests arrived. PINTEREST FAIL! LOOKS GOOD BUT A HUGE WASTE OF PERFECTLY GOOD CHAMPAGNE! DO NOT MAKE!
I made these for a group of good friends. Needless to say, I have no more friends. They sounded like a good idea at first, but so did communism, and these are way worse than communism. I lost $2,000 betting on Michigan St., and these were by far the worst part of my night. If you are thinking about making these, save some money and just drink the bleach underneath the sink. At least that will get you a little drunk.
Please don’t make this, it is absolutely disgusting!
I really was excited when I saw this and copied the recipe. Then I read the comments, half don’t like it. Now, I don’t know what to do, seems a waste of money on Champagne with so many negative emails about their thoughts. I will have to give it some more thought to decide if I will make it. Will let you know if I do.
I have to say these were terrible. They were gorgeous, they came out of the mold easily, and they were so festive looking. But there is not a word for how bad they taste. I had a bad feeling about it while I was heating up the mixture and it smelled so bad. But I just figured that it would smell and taste better once chilled. Not so. Guests were literally spitting them into the sink. They are that bad. Sorry to submit such a negative review!
I made these tonight for a party, and they were a big hit! They were SO easy to make, I did add a bit extra sugar though, to taste. Erica: please update recipe a bit though..i was confused when to add the ginger ale and why did it say “remaining 5 oz of champagne”… A bit confusing. I ended up just mixing it all together, stir thoroughly, and poured into a silicone mold. It came out beautifully and cut into perfect gelatinous squares. Thank you for this fun recipe!!
I made these with the added sugar and ginger ale; I added the ginger ale at the end before refrigerating. As of my preliminary taste test, these are delicious! I can’t wait to serve them at New Year’s Eve. I can see tweaking the recipe to make a variety of flavors for other occasions as well. Thanks for the recipe!
Just finished makingvthese for NYE tonight. Hope their come out great! One note, please add in where the ginger ale should g in the recipe. It never says. So I added it in at the beginning, before the gelatin.
Mine did not come out as cute but they taste great. So fun, thank you!
Am planning to make these for NYE this year. Anyone know where I can find festive toothpicks like the ones in the picture? I’ve searched–but haven’t found them so far.
These looked so festive I decided to add them to my list of appetizers I was making for a neighborhood get-together. I bought all the ingredients day prior then set about making them today. I didn’t notice until I was cleaning up that I hadn’t used the ginger ale! When I looked back at the recipe – I saw why – you hadn’t included it in your instructions..only in the ingredients list (and **note) Fortunately, they were delish without but, since I still have a little leftover champagne, I might make more tonight just to see which I like more.
We’re including these in a Yummly article and I’m hoping you can clarify the amount of Champagne in the ingredient list and the steps. The ingredient list currently calls for “1-12 cup.” The first step talks about 10 ounces and then the next step mentions using the remaining 5 ounces. Thank you.
Erica — December 8th, 2020 @ 8:15 am
Just updated – sorry about that!
Love this amazing article, thanks for sharing with us.