Aunt Penny’s Harvest Jell-O
A colorful, layered Jell-O dessert with sour cream—guests of all ages will love this festive, cool addition to the Thanksgiving table.
Ingredients
- 12 small (regular size) boxes of Jell-O (flavors for alternating colors)
- 4 strawberry or strawberry-banana
- 4 orange
- 4 lime
- 4 lemon
- 9” round cake pan with straight sides (at least 3” deep)
- 2 large containers of sour cream
- Canola oil (for greasing pan)
Directions
- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the cake pan with canola oil.
- Dissolve the first box of Jell-O in 1 cup boiling water. Pour 2/3 cup of this mixture into the pan. Reserve the remaining 1/3 cup. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until set, ensuring the pan sits flat.
- Combine the reserved 1/3 cup Jell-O with 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk until smooth. If mixture thickens too much, gently rewarm. Pour this over the first set layer. Refrigerate until firm.
- For each subsequent box of Jell-O, repeat the process—pouring 2/3 cup plain Jell-O layer, then 1/3 cup mixed with sour cream, alternating colors (red, orange, green, yellow, etc.). Allow each layer to chill at least 30 minutes before adding the next.
- Continue layering until the pan is filled.
- Before serving, run a sharp knife around the pan’s edge. Place the pan briefly in 1” of hot tap water and gently shimmy until loosened. Invert onto a serving dish to release.
- Slice and serve to reveal the rainbow layers inside!
Notes
Use a 9” round cake pan with straight sides, at least 3 inches deep. This recipe takes 2–3 days to prepare since each layer must fully set before adding the next.
