Mom’s Christmas Jello Balls

Name: Mom's Christmas Jello Balls
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 130 min
Ingredients: 3/4 cup thick cream, (Fussell's or Carnation brand (170 mL)); 3 ounce package red Jello; 2 cups unsweetened desiccated coconut, (very finely grated - not shredded!)

Published: December 17, 2019

No baking, no melting, and just one mixing bowl! Mom’s Christmas Jello Balls are one of the easiest cookies you’ll make this holiday season!

The 24 Cookies of Christmas series is taking it easy today! Easy in the way that these are the easiest confection you’ll make this Christmas! Oh, I remember these so well! My mom used to make these jello balls regularly, not just at Christmastime. You know something though? To the best of my knowledge, she only ever made the red balls, never the green!

She sure was a creature of habit. In fact, almost every meal was predictable – well, not every meal, but there was a day or two in every week when you knew what was going to be for dinner that night. I’m referring to Pork Chop Tuesday, of course. That’s what we affectionately called it.

I’m breaking the mold and changing things up a bit. I added a green jello ball to the mix just to show the versatility of this recipe. I’m sure my mom would be okay with that!

These jello balls are all about personal preference. I’ve never been a huge fan of jello – there’s just something about the texture that doesn’t sit well with me. But, in cookie form, I’m all over it!

Obviously, I picked a red and green jello for this particular Christmas version. I think the red one is cherry and the green one is lime. (Does green jello come in another flavour but lime?)

You can use whatever flavour you like. If I were not making these for Christmas, I would most certainly go for grape. If I were to eat jello the way it was meant to be eaten, it would have to be grape!

THICK CREAM IS NOT WHIPPING CREAM!

Please, Dear Reader, do not confuse thick cream with whipping cream. Whipping cream is usually 35% milk solids, but I think the canned thick cream has a higher percentage than that.

I grew up with the Fussell’s brand. Oh my God, that stuff is so good! I can still see my dad shaking the can vigorously to ensure that the milk solids in the can were well mixed with the water that had separated from the cream. When he would finally peel back the lid, the cream was one pure cohesive unit. It was a thing of beauty!

Canned Fussell’s cream was popular in most Newfoundland homes. In our home, it was common to have dessert on Sunday’s which consisted of dollops of the canned cream right onto the top of canned peaches or pears in syrup.

SO, WHAT IS CANNED THICK CREAM?

Canned thick cream is a heat-sterilized cream with a slight caramelized flavour that’s also known as spooning cream. The thick, smooth consistency is delicious as a topping on fresh berries, fruit or your favourite dessert and can also be used as a replacement for cream when cooking.

It’s really that simple! If you’re a fellow Newfoundlander, you’ll no doubt already have a can on hand. But, if not, Dear Reader, you can find it wherever Carnation products are sold. If you can get your hands on a can of Fussell’s though, get it! I cannot find an online source for it.

Since publishing this recipe, I have received so many questions about the cream. Please note that thick cream IS NOT THE SAME AS CONDENSED MILK! To make things a little easier, here’s what those two cans of cream look like:

CONCLUSION:

When all is said and done, whether we have just waged a war between Fussell’s and Carnation or not, who knows!? But, really, we’re going to be too busy popping Mom’s Christmas Jello Balls in out mouths to care!

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