Jell-O Cookies, Orange Creamsicle & Coconut Lime

Pantry Recipe:

I admit I am not a lover of jiggly Jell-o dishes. I keep Jell-o in my pantry for other purposes, mainly flavoring for other dishes. When I saw these bright Jell-O cookies on Pinterest, I thought my girls will think those are so fun to make.  But I wanted to give these sugar cookies even a little more flavor. Plus it always fun to play mad scientist in the kitchen with your daughters. So, I pulled out some of my flavored extracts. Which I always have in my spice cupboard because I am a cupcake girl. 

These cookies were so simple and quick to make. We made one batch of the orange creamsicle and decided we needed to make another batch.  My kids liked the Coconut Lime but I liked the especially tangy Orange Creamsicle.

A note for Lactose intolerant kids. We exchanged butter for a dairy free margarine with flax seed oil. The cookies still turned out great. 

The Recipe

For Orange Creamsicle - use orange gelatin and 1/2 tsp orange extract (a little less for a less intense orange flavor)

For Coconut Lime -- Use lime gelatin and 1/2 tsp coconut (more for more coconut flavor)

The Recipe

1/2 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 – 3oz. pkg of Jell-O

Cream the above ingredients.  

Add:

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 tsp of flavored extract

Cream the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture.  

Add:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix well.  The dough will be fairly soft, but not sticky.  You don’t need to refrigerate the dough before rolling.  

 

 Roll dough into 1″ to 1 1/4″ balls and then roll in a bowl with about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in it, completely covering the exterior of the dough ball.  Place on the pan about 2″ apart.  Using a flat-bottomed glass (or bowl) press the dough to about a 3/8″ thickness. Sprinkle with chunky decorative sugar (found in the cookie and cupcake decorating section of your grocery or craft store)

Bake the cookies for 6 – 8 minutes.  6 minutes is long enough unless you like your cookies crisp. We did ours for about 7 and I wished I had only done 6 minutes. They do crisp up as they cool. I just really like a soft cookie. Cool on a rack.