Candy Cane Jello Shots

Looking for a deliciously boozy holiday party treat? These Candy Cane Jello Shots are red and white layered jello squares made with vodka and peppermint schnapps!

The holiday season is coming to an end and you're probably tired of thinking up new treats to bring to all your parties. Or arriving at a party only to see that you're the 90,304th person to bring sugar cookies.

Solution? Jello shots, obviously. Stick with me here. I know jello shots sound kind of juvenile and like something you'd only see at a college party.

But a few years back, jello shots experienced something of a makeover and got a bit more "sophisticated." When done right, they're a perfectly appropriate adult party treat.

These jello shots aren't packed with cheap liquor or served in little plastic cups. They're pretty, fun, and tasty and they make for a fun departure from the typical holiday party drink.

Trust me, party guests will be thrilled about these unique treats.

I recently made rainbow layered jello shots to a friend's party and they were a huge hit in part because they just look so cool and in part because they're so fun.

So, I immediately decided a candy cane peppermint version had to happen for the holiday season.

Candy Cane Jello Shots Recipe

People are very easily impressed by this layered jello look, but trust me; it's not hard! It does require a bit of time and patience though. If you don't have patience and you try to rush through the process, your layers may not look great.

Plan ahead with these peppermint jello shots and for best results, let them chill overnight.

Start by lightly spraying a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Then, mix your layers! For these jello shots, we're only making two layer colors: red and white.

Red Jello Layer

The red layer consist of cherry jello, unflavored gelatin, water, and vodka (see the end of this post for my product recommendations). That's it!

Just mix together 1 box cherry Jello, ½ an envelope of gelatin (a little over 1 tsp) and 1 cup of boiling water. Stir to completely dissolve gelatins.

Then stir in in ¼ cup vodka. Pour into the prepared pan and place in the refrigerator to set, about 20 minutes.

White Jello Layer

While the first layer is in the fridge, mix up the white layer; you'll do this all in one batch. This layer is sweetened condensed milk, unflavored gelatin, water, and peppermint schnapps.

Pour sweetened condensed milk into a medium bowl. Into a smaller bowl, add 2 packets unflavored gelatin (about 4 ½ tsp) and pour ½ cup cold water over it.

Let sit for 2 minutes and then pour in 1 cup boiling water. Stir to dissolve gelatin. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the sweetened condensed milk. Stir in peppermint schnapps.

Let mixture cool to room temperature. This is important to avoid colors running when you pour over red layer).

Layering Candy Cane Jello Shots

Pour ⅓ of the white mixture (about 1 cup) over the red layer and pop back in the fridge for another 20 minutes.

Now you'll mix up another batch of the red mixture, let it cool to room temperature, and pour it over the chilled white layer.

Alternate with another white layer, another red layer, the final white layer, and the final red layer.

If your white mixture is starting to get too thick as it sits, you can pop it in the microwave for about 15 seconds and stir.

Once your layers are finished, put the entire dish in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I like to make the jello shots the day before I need them and then slice them the next day.

In my opinion, the longer the jello chills, the easier it is to cut.

For best results when slicing, invert the baking dish over a cutting board (you may need to loosen the edges a bit first) to release. Then slice into any size squares you want.

I cut them into pretty small squares and ended up with about 36.

You can serve the candy cane jello shots as is or top them with a little whipped cream and crushed candy canes. Just make sure to add the whipped cream right before serving as it will get a bit melty.

Oh, and be SURE to tell party guests that these candy cane jello shots involve alcohol. The last thing you want is kids getting into these!

How to Make Candy Cane Jello Shots Without Alcohol

However, if you do want to make these for kids, you can make these "mock" jello shots:

• Simply add a tablespoon of peppermint extract into the white jello mixture and leave out the peppermint schnapps and vodka.

Additional Alterations to Jello Shots

There are certainly other ways you can alter these candy cane jello shots, too. Use your imagination and flavor them however you like! Here are a couple ideas:

• If you like the idea of an alcoholic jello shot, but don't want them to be too boozy, you can just use the vodka in two of the red layers. In the other two red layers, replace it with an extra ¼ cup boiling water.

• If you love the look of these candy cane jello shots for the holidays, but aren't a fan of peppermint, just stick with the vodka.

There are SO many different ways you can serve these!

Also, word on the street is that Santa loves candy cane jello shots and would totally appreciate a couple of these instead of the typical milk and cookies. Not that you want to encourage impaired sleigh driving, but you know...

I absolutely love the layers on these. I feel like they look so complicated when in fact, they're quite easy!

Of course, these candy cane jello shots are perfect for Christmas, but think about all the ways they can be altered for any holiday. I'm already dreaming up some super cute Valentine's Day jello shots!

New Year's Eve is also the perfect time for serving jello shots and these are definitely still totally appropriate for the holiday (in my opinion, Christmas season sticks around until January 1). I've also served these Butterscotch Jello Shots at New Year's Eve parties in the past. And I really want to try these Cherry Cola Jello Shots from Sprinkle Bakes!

Have you ever had a more "grown up" jello shot?