I'm Addicted -- Coffee Jello Cubes

I think it was at Thanksgiving this year when I asked Matt if there was anything special he wanted me to make, and he requested the coffee jello cubes I made when he was a kid.

I kind of balked at the idea. I had no idea where the original recipe was and didn't really think that coffee jello was a great Thanksgiving dish.

Boy am I glad Matt asked for them!

I tracked down some recipes online that jogged my memory and adapted them to recreate those jello cubes I would make all the time when I had three young children in the house. (I think I said I was making it for them but now I know I probably was eating many of them myself!) I totally fell in love at first bite. I don't know what it is about the combination of good coffee and a bit of chocolate in that jelled form, but whatever it is, they make me happy. (And I bet they're not terrible in terms of calories when you use Splenda.) So, here's the now-treasured recipe for me, Matt and my grandbabies-to-be:

MY FAVORITE COFFEE JELLO CUBES

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 C cold liquid – I used ½ C chilled coffee and ½ C half and half

2 ½ C hot, good quality coffee

¼ - ½ C chocolate chips (optional, but totally necessary for me!)

1/2 C splenda (can use all sugar or a combo)

Sprinkle gelatin over cold coffee and half and half. Let soften for one minute. Stir out as many lumps as possible.

Melt chocolate chips in coffee, heated to near boiling and add sugar.

Stir cold coffee mixture into the hot coffee, until gelatin is totally dissolved. (If mixture is at all lumpy, run it through a sieve, pressing with spoon, as you pour into the pan.)

Spray 9x9 pan with butter spray and pour mixture into pan. Chill. (You can do this quickly if you put in freezer for around 20 minutes.) Cut into pieces as you serve with a small spatula, so you can get under the pieces without breakage.

ENJOY!!

There is an alcoholic version of this that I want to try. When I do, I'll share the recipe.