Once you get past the gross factor and get to taste these eyeball jello shots, you’ll get obsessed: the flavors of cherry jello, dark spiced rum and coke mixed together are simply to die for!
These are the creepiest horror treou can make for your adult Halloween party. Prepare yourself for guts, gore and bloody eyeballs!
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As a child I was a huge fan of Friday the 13th movies.
I was really, really into gory horror B-movies. Not at all for the stories: I was fascinated by all the fake blood, dismembered parts and guts hanging out!
There was a show called Movie Magic that I was crazy about, and I remember wanting to be a special effects artist when growing up. It seemed so much fun!
I am pretty sure that weird little girl me would be really proud right now, seeing these freaky disgusting eyeballs floating in clotted blood red jello! (Which taste delicious, I swear hahaha)
Ingredients
You’ll need only 3 ingredients for the shots themselves, plus 4 more ingredients for the gory eyeballs:
Rum and coke jello shots
- 1 box of cherry jello mix
- 1 1/2 cup of coke or cherry coke
- 1/2 cup of dark spiced rum
Bloody eyeballs
- Canned lychees – for the eyeballs
- Maraschino cherries – for the red irises
- Black raisins or dried cranberries – for the pupils
- Gel food coloring in red
How to make
This next part is a photo tutorial of the recipe steps with extra tips. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and summarized instructions, scroll down to the Printable Recipe Card.
Cherry lychee eyeballs
#1 Pick the largest and prettiest lychees from the can. Carefully stuff each lychee with one maraschino cherry, with the stem hole side out.
#2 Insert one raisin or cranberry into the cherry to create the pupil and complete the eye shape.
#3 Tap dry each eyeball with paper towels. This will help the food coloring stick and not run out.
#4 Dip the point of a toothpick in the red gel coloring, and draw bloody veins in the lychee eyeballs. Follow the natural creases of the lychees, filling them with the gel color.
As you are done painting each lychee eyeball, place them with eye side “looking up” on a plate lined with paper towel.
Keep the eyeballs in the fridge while proceeding to the next step: preparing the rum and coke jello shots!
Rum and coke jello shots
#1 To dissolve jello in coke, bring 1 cup of cola to a boil. Sprinkle the cherry jello over the hot cola and mix until it’s completely dissolved. To dissolve in water, sprinkle jello over 1/3 cup of boiling water and mix.
#2 Add another cup of cold cola, or add 1 1/4 cups of cola if you used hot water in the previous step.
#3 Add spiced rum and mix to combine. If making non-alcoholic shots, replace for 1/2 cup of cola.
#4 The mix gets petty foamy and bubbly. If the foam doesn’t go away, remove the excess from the top of the jello with a spoon.
#5 Arrange plastic shot glasses in a tray or baking sheet. Pour mixture into the glasses filling about 3/4 of the way. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes or until the gelatin is partially set to the texture of cold egg whites. This is for the eyeballs to stay in place.
#6 Remove the jello shots from the fridge and place one lychee eyeball in the center of each, pressing it down until it’s half buried in the jello. Return the shots to the fridge for about 2 hours or until fully set.
Notes and tips
Different jello shot flavors
- Use your favorite cola: Coke, Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper and Coke Vanilla are all great choices.
- Jack and Coke jello shots: Substitute the rum for Jack Daniel’s whiskey or your favorite bourbon.
- Fireball jello shots: Instead of rum, add 1/2 cup of Fireball or Jack Daniel’s Fire. These jello shots will be much sweeter.
Easier lychee eyeballs
These lychee eyeballs with cherry and dried fruit look the creepiest, but there’s an easier way recipe. You can make these lychee eyeballs with blueberries instead. It’s one less step an one less ingredient.
Dissolve jello in boiling coke or water
Did you know that you can dissolve jello in any hot liquid? It doesn’t have to be boiling water. It can be boiling coke (or tea, or coffee, or juice!)
Dissolving the jello in boiling cola will make these jello shots sweeter.
If you prefer using boiling water, a smaller amount won’t dilute the flavor or sweetness as much. Then add the cold coke.
I personally prefer to use less boiling water than boiling the coke. I would never put coke in my electric kettle, and using a saucepan to boil cola it is just too much of a hassle.
The jello will dissolve perfectly fine in less than one cup of boiling water, you just need to mix it vigorously until it’s fully dissolved. It will take a little longer than when using a whole cup.
For these rum and coke jello shots recipe I used 1/3 cup (80 grams) of boiling water to dissolve the jello. Then added 1 1/4 cup (300 grams) of coke and 1/2 cup (120 grams) of dark rum.
This is one tablespoon plus one teaspoon, or 20 grams more liquid than using the two cups asked for in the instruction for making jello. There’s no noticeable difference on how hard the jello sets.
Low-carb, vegetarian or alcohol-free options
Low-carb, sugar-free jello shots: Use zero-sugar cherry jello and light coke or coke zero.
Vegetarian: Use a plant-based cherry or red berry flavored gelatin dessert mix.
Non-alcoholic: For a kid-friendly version, replace the 1/2 cup of rum in the jello shots with the same amount of coke.
Bloody eyeball jello shots
These rum and coke red jello shots with cherry jello and lychee eyeballs are creepiest horror treats you can make for Halloween!
- Paper towels
- Toothpicks
- 2-ounce plastic cups with lids
For the bloody eyeballs
- 10 lychees (from a can, drained of syrup)
- 10 maraschino cherries (one per lychee)
- 10 dried cranberries (or black raisins, one per lychee)
- 1/4 teaspoon red gel food coloring
For the rum and coke jello shots
- 1 1/2 cup cola (divided (or water + cola, see recipe notes))
- 3 ounces cherry gelatin (1 4-serving box)
- 1/2 cup dark spiced rum (or light rum)
For the eyeballs
Pick the largest and prettiest lychees from the can. Carefully stuff each lychee with one maraschino cherry, with the stem hole side out.
Insert one raisin or cranberry into the cherry to finish the eye shape.
Tap dry each eyeball with paper towels (to help stick the food coloring).
Dip the point of a toothpick in the red gel coloring, and draw bloody veins in the lychee eyeballs. Follow the natural creases of the lychees, filling them with the gel color. Place each lychee eye "looking up" on plate lined with paper towel, and place it in the fridge.
For the jello shots
In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of cola to a boil.
Sprinkle the cherry jello over the hot cola and mix until it's completely dissolved. Add the remaining cold cola and the rum and mix to combine.
Arrange plastic shot glasses in a tray or baking sheet. Pour mixture into the glasses filling about 3/4 of the way. Refrigerate until the gelatin starts to firm, partially set to cold egg white texture (it needs to be thick enough for the eyeballs to stay in place). It takes about 20 minutes.
Remove jello shots from the fridge and place one lychee eyeball in the center of each, pressing it down until it's half buried in the jello.
Return shots to the fridge for about 2 hours or until fully set.
To dissolve the jello in water instead of coke: Use 1/3 cup (80 grams) of boiling water to dissolve the jello. Mix it vigorously until it’s fully dissolved. Then add 1 1/4 cup (300 grams) of cold cola and the rum. The jello shots will be a bit less sweet.
Flavor choices
- Use your favorite cola: Coke, Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper and Coke Vanilla are all great choices.
- Jack and Coke jello shots: Substitute the rum for Jack Daniel’s whiskey or your favorite bourbon.
- Fireball jello shots: Instead of rum, add 1/2 cup of Fireball or Jack Daniel’s Fire. These jello shots will be much sweeter.
Low-carb, sugar-free version: Use zero-sugar cherry jello and light cola. Do not make the Fireball version, as it adds a lot of sugar. Stick to dark spiced rum, light rum or bourbon.
Vegetarian version: Use a plant-based (agar) cherry or red berry flavored gelatin dessert mix.
Non-alcoholic: Replace the 1/2 cup of rum with coke.
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