I just wanted to share my Mom's Jell-O Eggs with you.
This is a long standing tradition in my family. My Mom made Jell-O Eggs for as long as I can remember... definitely before they had fancy Jell-O egg molds! It takes planning to do it this way... it means scrambled eggs for a week or two before Easter, but the end result is well worth it!
Ingredients:
8-12 emptied egg shells
1 large box green Jell-O
1 small box of each other colors of Jell-O that you'd like for your 'eggs' (I use raspberry for the red, grape, 'berry blue', lemon & orange)
1 tub Cool Whip
1 Basket to display your Jell-O Eggs
Saran/plastic wrap
You start by taking your egg(s) and tapping the top with a sharp knife until you have tiny hole. Once I have a tiny hole I stick the tip of my knife in the hole and 'pop out' a small piece of egg shell. From there it becomes easier to pick little bits of shell away (either with your knife tip or finger nail) until you have a small hole about the size of a dime (maybe just a tad smaller). Then you shake your egg until it all shakes out of the shell (I usually do this into a little bowl so I can make sure there are no bits of eggshell in there) and you have eggs to scramble or add to pancake or cake batter. I do this for a good week/week & a half before Easter until I have 8-12 empty eggshells (be sure to rinse them very well and let them dry prior to Jell-O time).
You should plan to do most of the Jell-O prep the night before and the first thing I do is prep my basket. This means taking two sheets of plastic wrap, placing them in the basket, pushing down to form it into the basket, and then using a knife tip (or toothpick) to push the saran wrap into the little holes/cracks in the wicker of the basket (just to make it less obvious). Next comes the Jell-O. I get a big pot of water boiling and just keep it going while I do the Jell-O, makes it easier to just dip the measuring cup in & get water each time. For the green Jell-O, I make it in one big bowl and set it aside to refrigerate later. For all the other colors I have my emptied egg shells lined up in the egg carton (hole-side up), I make the Jell-O, and the using a funnel I slowly pour the Jell-O into approximately 2-3 eggs per color. The rest of the unused Jell-O can be put into little tupperwares for individual desserts. Once you have the egg shells filled with the various colors of Jell-O you refrigerate overnight.
Once you're ready to serve your Jell-O Egg dessert you'll need to assemble it. This can take up to 15-20 minutes depending on how quickly the egg peeling goes, so sometimes I peel the eggs the morning I plan to serve the dessert (they can be gently placed in a tupperware and stored in the fridge until you're ready to assemble). For assembly: You mix a half cup to a cup of Cool Whip (I just eyeball it) into your green Jell-O (mix this well so you have little chunks of green). Pour this mixture into your basket and you have the 'grass'. Next you peel each egg (this must be done fairly carefully so you get as much of the 'egg' intact as possible). Gently place each Jell-O egg in the grass and you have a beautiful (and yummy) finished product that everyone will love.
Side note: I have tried the plastic Jell-O egg molds and find that they often don't work well. Most of the time my eggs split in half when I attempt to open the container. I've tried several tricks including running the mold under warm water prior to opening it and I always get the same result. Plus, for me.... using real egg shells brings back fond memories of holidays with my Mom. I always had to eat scrambled eggs for weeks before Easter and always 'oohed & ahhed' when she finished with the Jell-O eggs. Now, to keep that tradition going with my children is priceless. Enjoy.
