No-Bake Monday: Coffee Jello

So, I don't like coffee and my two roomies can't drink coffee because of stomach problems. So we are generally a tea-drinking household. However, when I saw this recipe on Food Librarian's wonderful blog I was struck by the overwhelming desire to consume coffee in gelatinous form.

While it may sound gross at first, let me assure you that the can of sweetened condensed milk that goes into this ensures creamy, sweet coffee deliciousness. The fact that it is almost as easy to make as jello is an added bonus. These squares are an awesome little caffeinated pick-me-up (just don't eat to many before bed time).

Coffee Gello
1/2 c cold water
2 cups strong coffee, hot. The stronger you make the coffee, the more caffeine and coffee flavor you will get in the end.
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
3 packages of Knox unflavored gelatin

1. Place 1/2 c cold water in a bowl big enough to combine all ingredients in.
2. Sprinkle 3 unflavored gelatin packets over the water. Let sit until the gelatin blooms, about 10 minutes. (mine didn't take anywhere close to that long)
3. Stir in the hot coffee and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved. (It will be chunky at first, give it time, just keep stirring)
4. Stir in the can of sweetened condensed milk.
5. Pour into glass pan. Thickness of finished jello depends on the size of the pan. I used a 7 x 11 pan but a 9 x 13 pan will give you thinner pieces and an 8 x 8 pan will give you thicker pieces. (I used a metal pan and it worked out fine)

Note: The combo of coffee and sweetened condensed milk is inspired by Vietnamese coffee. You can probably adapt this to use coffee or espresso, cream and sugar (be sure to dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee and gelatin). I find that 1 packet of unflavored gelatin will firm up 1 1/2 cups of liquid to finger jello "strength" (according to David Lebovitz's "How to Use Gelatin" post you can mold 2 cups with one envelope - but I feel finger jello needs to be stronger).