Cherry-Cola Jell-O

I was recently gifted some vintage Tupperware molds and a Jell-O cookbook copyrighted 1981.  The vast majority of the recipes were gross.  A literal salad encased in lime Jell-O?  Don't get me started on the potato salad mold or what they did to fish.  These trends started in the 50's with the space race and were slowly on the way out in the 80's.

Most of the desserts were reasonable.  Some people swear by adding Jell-O or pudding mix to boxed cake mixes.  One of the recipes caught my eye.  I love cherry cola.  A recipe with cola added to cherry gelatin and dotted with canned cherries was definitely something I could get behind.

The grocery store wasn't as cooperative.  I struck out at Pavilions, Sprouts, and Smart & Final.  Finally googled them.  Wal-Mart carries the Oregon brand I was looking for, but I don't have a store in my area.  Kroger brand finally came up, which is Ralphs in L.A.  The can size is 15.25 ounces instead of the original recipe's 17.  So I'm missing about 4 cherries.  If you can't find canned cherries at all, defrost 2 cups of frozen ones.  You'll just need more water to make up for there only being a bit of cherry juice instead of 3/4 C of syrup.  I wouldn't worry about the decreased sugar.  My goodness, a packet of cherry gelatin, a cup of cola, and cherry syrup!  You're fine.

1 (17oz) can pitted sweet cherries
1 3oz box cherry Jell-O
1 C cola (Coke or Pepsi is fine, and you can use diet)

1.  Drain cherries and reserve syrup.  Add enough water to make 1 C and bring to a boil in a 1 or 2 quart saucepan.  Stir in gelatin until dissolved.  Stir in cola.  It's going to fizz up like an Icee, which is why you used a bigger saucepan than you thought you needed.

2.  Cool the mixture in the fridge, stirring every half hour or so, until it starts to thicken.  You want it just thick enough that the cherries don't settle to the bottom.

3.  Stir in cherries, then spoon mixture into six individual ramekins or a gelatin mold.  I wanted to play with the mold, but this probably does work better as single-serve.  Chill until set, at least 3 hours.

4.  If going the mold route, set in warm water for half a minute and unmold onto serving platter shortly before serving.  Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Difficulty rating  π