Jello Rainbow Treats
Wiggly, Jiggly layers of fun flavors!
I am a Utah girl - a proud daughter of that Western state. But not so proud of its state food - Jello. Our culture was infamous for its lime jello with shredded carrots and sometimes pineapple, jello served at every meal as dessert, if lucky with a dollop of whipped cream, jello casseroles at every social event. But when a close friend shared this recipe one Easter, I found something with Jello to be proud of. The children loved them and they are easy and so much fun - though a detailed process required - to make them. I enjoy seeing the layers develop and the final product - a true rainbow of jiggly but firm enough to hold, treats!
They became an Easter dinner tradition but the rainbow colors sometimes were not true to rainbow design depending on where we lived and the jello colors available. I remember years of only 3 or 4 colors, food coloring attempts trying to make up for the missing colors but they were still popular with the family. The addition of the yogurt cuts down on the sweetness and adds a bit of tang and sophistication to the treat. Sophisticated jello, you ask? Yes, being a Utah girl, I can attest to having discovered more than one Jello recipe that was sophisticated enough to make me proud! (Case in point: Raspberry Pretzel Cream Cheese Jello - a recipe for another time!)
Jello rainbow fingers
1 - 3 oz. package Jello (with sugar) of the following colors:
Strawberry
Orange
Lemon
Lime
Blue Raspberry
Grape or Black Cherry
3 cups boiling water
3 cups plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt)
-In a large 2 or 4 cup glass measuring cup, empty contents of Strawberry Jello mix. Pour in 1 1/4 cup very hot water. Stir until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of this water into a small mixing bowl and set aside.
-In a deep rectangular baking dish 10 x 8 inch or 9 x 13 inch, pour the 3/4 cup jello mixture into the bottom. Let chill in fridge for 1 hour until very well set. Meantime, mix 1/4 cup plain yogurt with reserved 1/2 cup liquid jello mixture and beat with whisk until smooth and yogurt is completely incorporated. Pour over set jello in pan and rotate so that the mixture completely covers the bottom layer. Let chill for 30 minutes until set.
-Repeat process above with each of the flavors of Jello listed. If you want to be precise with the order of colors in the rainbow follow the order as listed above. Remember, Roy G. Biv for the order of the colors. (There is no indigo in this recipe - a difficult color to find and create.) To help with the violet layer, add more blue food coloring to create a truer violet color.
-In the end you should have created 12 layers - one clear layer of each color, followed by an opaque yogurt layer of each color. Chill until very firm, several hours or overnight.
-To slice into fingers that people can pick up and eat, cut into squares about 3 inches by 3 inches and remove from pan with a thin metal spatula. Set on cutting board and cut into long finger or sticks shapes about an inch by an inch, or into any shapes desired. The smaller the pan used to mold jello, the taller the fingers will be which will have a harder time standing up but can be served laying down. The rainbow effect is still so much fun.
Pour a layer of clear jello over previous yogurt layer.
Pour a yogurt layer of the same color over the previous clear layer.
Children love them, and with the addition of yogurt, even adults can’t resist them!
