Cool Treats for Hot Days: Tea Jello Jigglers

Whether it’s hot tea or iced tea, an accompanying sweet treat always seems to make those relaxing moments even more enjoyable. Remember Jello Jigglers from the ‘80s and ‘90s? These tea jello jigglers are a refreshing new take that’s sure to add some fruity fun.

It might sound like tea wouldn’t add much flavor to gelatin, but you’ll be surprised when you try it. It’s amazing how much of a flavor difference a little tea can make. Fruity teas are perfect for this. Using tea adds a unique flavor without extra sugar, so sugar-free folks can join in the fun. And it won’t wipe out your tea stash, either. The flavor of the tea makes these Tea Jello Jigglers taste like gummy bears!
These are great for warmer weather because a jiggler has less water, so they don’t revert to liquid so fast; they keep their shape for quite a long time.

Making Tea Jello Jigglers

This recipe is so easy to make; the only “cooking” you’ll have to do is boiling the water to steep the tea. All the rest is just stirring, pouring, and stamping. This gives you plenty of time to put your feet up and delve into that new book.
You’ll want to stay on top of your steeping because you’ll need your tea as hot as possible to dissolve the gelatin. To avoid a tough bottom, you’ll want to make sure your gelatin is dissolved completely; the liquid should be translucent with no visible grains.
Making one kind of gelatin would require a 13x9-inch pan. Since I’m dividing it into two tea flavors, I simplified things for myself and used four bread loaf pans so I could get the right depth. If you need to improvise pans, you’ll want to be able to pour the gelatin to about a quarter inch deep. If any thinner, the jello tends to fall apart when you try to pull the shapes out.

Once your gelatin is set and you’re ready to get to work with your cookie cutters, you’ll want to run about an inch of hot water in your sink so you can dip the bottom of your pans. This will make the gelatin release. Be careful! It’ll slide around.
I decided to make it a teatime theme, but you can use whatever shapes you have on hand. Unlike using a cookie cutter with cookies, the gelatin allows you to get pretty close to your previous cutout without jeopardizing the shape. If you don’t have cookie cutters, you could use a small cutter for biscuits. Of course, the simplest non-cookie cutter solution is to cut them into squares.

Serving Suggestions

I love to enjoy these jigglers with cold-brewed Hammock Blend Black Tea. It’s a clean, fresh-tasting black tea with the dreamy flavors of an orange creamsicle. A tall, icy glass of this tea and some Brown Sugar Scones with a couple of jigglers on the side would be the ultimate comfort combo.
The Hammock Blend is a summer seasonal tea, so if you don’t find it in the store, the Housewarming Blend Black Tea could be a good substitute. It won’t have any orange flavor, but it’ll have a similar creamy profile that pairs so sweetly with the fruit flavors of the jigglers.