Confession time - I spent last evening making my absolute favorite dessert of all time - Jello Crown Jewel Dessert, as prepared from a recipe from my Mom's old "Joys of Jello" cookbook.
I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. This is probably the most complicated thing I make (which says something about my culinary skills, I'm afraid). The "total time" listed for the recipe is nine hours, forty-five minutes, which is freaking insane. I guess people had more time back in the fifties, when this recipe first appeared. Granted, that time includes the jello setting time, but still. Realistically, you have to spread this sucker out over three days. Day one: Make jello and let it set. Day two: Assemble and let the whole thing set (that was last night's job.) Day three: You FINALLY get to eat it.
This recipe takes four different kinds of jello, pineapple juice, graham crackers, and a shit-ton of Cool Whip, among other things. And when assembled, it kinda looks like somebody already ate it once and puked it back up again.
Sound nasty-ass? Oh yes it does. But I kid you not, this is the absolute best dessert ever. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I've been eating this stuff since I was a baby, and my Mom always made it for my birthday, and .......... memmoorrrrrieeeessss ....... light the corners of my miiiiiinnnnddddddd................. *snif*
Seriously, I love this dessert, and when the clock strikes midnight tonight, I'm gonna have a big old plateful of it right in front of me. That's a promise.
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10 comments:
Sounds fantastic! Well done on persevering for THREE days making it and Happy New Year!!!
Where do the graham crackers come in? Crust, I guess (every dessert can be improved by a graham cracker crust). I thought that if you put pineapple in Jello that the Jello wouldn't set. Do you put it between the jello layers?
I looked for a photo of this dessert on line and I can't find one, but it sounds in the neighborhood of what my family calls YumYum.
Happy New Year to you, too, Pauline!
And Bridgett, yeah, the graham cracker crumbs, mixed with melted butter, form the crust. The pineapple juice is mixed with sugar, heated, and then lemon jello mix and cold water are added. That whole mess goes in the fridge to thicken up a little, and then is mixed with the Cool Whip. Then THAT mess is mixed with cubed, set jello (three different flavors!) and poured over the graham cracker crust. Then it all goes BACK in the fridge to set up overnight. Whew!
Oh, and the "Joys of Jello" (hee) cookbook also refers to this as "Broken Window Glass Cake"*, which sounds like something you'd serve to someone you're trying to kill. My Mom always called it "Stained Glass Cake"*, which is less stabby-sounding.
*Why they would call it "cake" when there is no cake whatsoever involved, I have no idea.
WANT.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Danger! I'd send you some dessert, but I don't think it would ship very well. I can just picture it ooozing out of the FedEx box .......
Ever have "Stained Glass" cookies (or Church Window cookies)? They are multi-colored pastel marshmallows mixed in with a cocoa-and toasted coconut no-bake dough, rolled into a log and cut into slices (hence the name).
Ye Gods. There's a reason that I have chronic trouble with my weight.
Ah, here's the recipe (or a close facsimile thereof):
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1910,158183-243206,00.html
I just had to see a picture of it. Is it this?
http://www.chefandy.com/recipes/window.html
I'm afraid I'm not a big Jell O fan. A few too many (grape--ugh) Jell O shots one night in college turned me off. I'm happy you enjoyed yours, though.
Bridgett, nope, never had stained glass cookies, although I'll try anything once, so if you want to send some my way, feel free! :)
And Kitkat, yep, that's the recipe! I've now had it for dessert five nights in a row *urp*.
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