I had a really sad thing happen to me last weekend.
I was all excited to make these cupcakes (originally from That’s So Michelle). I don’t have my kitchen stuff out of storage yet (I know!), so I had to go buy a cupcake carrier (they were going to a potluck, and I had nothing to carry them in) as well as all the ingredients necessary and a cupcake baking pan.
They turned out phenomenal(ly?). My Jell-O shot cubes were a little on the short, wide side, but they were so pretty, and when I tasted one, they were so good. This is a really good recipe!
So I brought them to the potluck, and. . .no one ate any. No one tried them. And then they melted, and they looked like this:
I don’t know if you’ve ever made anything for a potluck that no one tried, but it’s really disheartening, especially if you’re like me and get 85% of your self-worth from people liking things you’ve made. (I’m kidding. Sort of.) Especially when you had to mix the homemade frosting by hand (my KitchenAid is in storage), and buy all this stuff when you’re on a pretty tight budget for the time being.
So the moral of this story is, you should definitely make these cupcakes. Just make sure they’re going to be eaten (and eaten before they melt), and that they’re in a cool area. Also, wear sunscreen if you’re going to be in direct sunlight from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to do that, but it didn’t, and now I’m crispy fried.
Legitimately, you don’t even have to make these with the vodka. You can’t really taste it, and then if you bring them to a potluck and no one eats them, you don’t waste half a bottle of vodka like I did.
Cherry Jell-O Shot Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozen (It’s better to give yourself two days to make these)
Original recipe from That’s So Michelle
Ingredients
Cake
1 box white cake mix
Eggs, as called for on box
Vegetable oil, as called for on box
Water, as called for on box
Jell-O For Cake
1 box Jell-O (I used cherry, but you can use whatever you want)
1 cup cake flavored vodka
1 cup water
Frosting and Jell-O Cube
2 packages cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter
Food coloring (optional — I didn’t color the frosting, but you can if you want)
1 cup cake flavored vodka
1 cup water
2 envelopes gelatin (like Knox)
Bake your cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Once they’ve cooled, poke them a couple times through the top of the cupcake with a fork. Set aside.
Add one cup water to a saucepan and add one box of Jell-O to the water. Heat over medium-high heat until the liquid comes to a simmer. Turn off the heat, and add one cup cold vodka. Stir well.
Let the Jell-O mixture come to room temperature and spoon this over the cupcakes. Make sure you don’t let the cupcakes and Jell-O set in the same pan you use to pour the Jell-O, because they could get stuck to the bottom.
Refrigerate the cupcakes for an hour or so to let the Jell-O harden.
In another pan, add one cup water and the other box of Jell-O, and stir until combined. Sprinkle your gelatin on top, and let it sit for one minute. Turn the heat to medium high and let the mixture simmer. Turn off heat and add one cup cold vodka. Pour into a pan and refrigerate for several hours until firm.
To make the frosting, mix cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. Mix in food coloring if you want. Top your cupcakes, making sure to pile the frosting high enough to rest a cube of Jell-O in.
Cut your refrigerated Jell-O into squares. Top your cupcakes with Jell-O squares close to serving time. Keep refrigerated.
