Champagne Jello Shots and Jigglers

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday.  More so than Thanksgiving (yes, shocking, considering it is food-centric and all you do is eat and spend time with family).  I don't know why I love Halloween so much.  Maybe because I still love dressing up.  Sanjay, Shrenik and I brainstorm costumes 364 days in advance (well, this year, even 366 days in advance as we were already planning for next year this Halloween).  Maybe because I love candy.  Probably the main reason.  For those of you who watch Modern Family - yes I will be Claire in 20 years.  In fact, in 20 years, if anyone says to me "are you trying to get candy or a Japanese business man" I might die of joy.  YOU DON'T MESS WITH TRADITION. 

The jello shot tradition began long ago, junior year of college.  I made a baking tray full of jello shots and dressed up as half of the Olsen twins (Lavina was the other twin).  Good memories.  A life-changing weekend, really.

Senior year, Sanjay threw a Halloween party and had jello shots.  Good memories? After that, I knew jello shots were crucial to my Halloween festivities and have since been making them every year.  I usually get orange and purple, somewhat to Halloween theme. 

This year, I wanted them to be SPECIAL.  Well, I want them to be SPECIAL every year because I really only consume them once a year, but this year even more so.  I wanted there to be PIZAZZ! (and pizza?)

Sanjay suggested champagne jello shots.  WHY did I not think of this sooner? 

Champagne Jello Shots and Jigglers, adapted from various sources and years of industry experience

Makes as many as your heart so desires, just keep on topping them off.  But this recipe as follows will probably make about 40-50 shots, plus a baking pan for jello jigglers. 

Note that you will probably want to put the jiggler batch in the fridge for at least 6 hours, as with the alcohol, it will take longer to solidify and then keep its shape

For the Jello Jigglers:

• 1 package of jello
• 2 cups of champagne
• Festive themed cookie cutters, such as pumpkins, witches, and ghosts

For the jello shots:

• 1 package of jello
• 1 cup of champagne
• Endless amounts of limoncello
• Small sized dixie cups

Prepare the jello as directed on the package.  However, instead of adding cold water, bring the boiling water + mix to room temperature, and add in 2 cups of champagne.  Yes, 2.  I'm bold and daring.  My plan was to make jigglers out of the strawberry flavor.  So I put this into a 11x14 baking pan and put it into the fridge to solidify.

For the orange box, I was going to make normal jello shots.  So make that according to directions on the box, but then cool it and put the champagne in.  For a kick, I added in limoncello.  Not really sure how much, I just free-handed it, but maybe a 1/2 cup?  Potency is key for Halloween fun. 

I poured these into those little dixie mouthwash cups (the plastic kind) and put them in the fridge as well.  The trick to these ones is that 2-3 hours is probably just about right in the fridge, so that you can jiggle them out of the cup for an easy smooth shot. 

The problem with the jello jigglers, which I did not realize, was that they needed to be further solidified to hold their shape.  So more than 3 hours.  So I wasn't able to make any jello jiggler shapes, but, this one was everyone's favorite jello shot flavor. 

And did we have fun?  WE SURE DID!