Jell-O Cookies

Jello Cookies…Lemon, Orange, Lime and Raspberry.  Rolled in sugar and then sprinkled with more chunky, colored sugar before baking.  These are the sugariest of sugar cookies.  Tangy, sweet, soft and yummy.  Beautifully colorful and delightfully different from my usual favorites…anything with chocolate chips.

I got the recipe from a friend at least 30 years ago.  I don’t know why I haven’t made them (for years!), I  just haven’t.  The kids got all opinionated about what they wanted and I got busy, so I started making less of the seasonal sorts and stuck with the stand-bys.  Plus, there are all those others sweets that have been discovered/developed in the last few years and I started infusing them into the time used for making sweets.  But sometimes it’s good to revisit those old favorites.

Jell-O Cookies   (For a newly modified version of this cookie, check here!)  The recipe is at the bottom of the post, but here’s the step-outs.

Pre-heat oven to 400°.  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 the top with colored, chunky sugar.  Mine all matched the different colors of dough, but you could contrast the colors if you like.  Take the bowl (or flat-bottomed glass) and very lightly tap the chunky sugar into the cookie.

Bake the cookies for 6 – 8 minutes.  Those 6 minutes are plenty long enough unless you like your cookies crisp!  Cool on a rack.  It takes about an hour, start to finish.  If you get one batch in and start rolling the next, it will go fast enough that you can start working on the next flavor/color before you finish the first.  Store in a air-tight container.

If you are feeling ambitious, you can shape these into more of an oval shape, then when you flatten them, they will look more like eggs.

Yummy!

Update 4/16/12.  Something I forgot to tell you…if you think the color is a little too pale once the dough is done, add a little paste food color.  I think I did for the orange and the lime.  Someone made a comment about the bright colors and I thought, hmmmm….I think I forgot to mention about adding food color!  It won’t affect the taste of the cookies, but the colors might change.  This time, after making the dough, I thought to myself that they (the Jello company) may have reduced the color intensity of the powdered Jello.  I don’t think I added color to the lemon or the raspberry, but it’s all up to whether you like the color of the dough or not.  Don’t forget that the colored sugar will affect the final color of the cookies.  Personally,  I do like these cookies in brilliant shades! 

Update 12/31/12 – Check out my Christmas Jell-O cookies here!

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172 Responses to Jell-O Cookies

  1. […] Gorgeous Jell-O cookie recipe from Just Helen. […]

  2. […] is the link to the website I pulled the recipe from: https://justhelen.net/2012/03/jell-o-cookies/ .  Check it […]

  3. Fallon says:

    I have a box of Jell-O and it says 8cups.
    Would I just make 2 batches for it?

    • Helen says:

      When you say “8 cups”…is that how many cups of water you add to the dry Jell-O? I’m not familiar with that sized box. Unless you are buying a bulk-sized box, the size boxes I use are either 3 oz (it’s a little less than 1/2 cup Jell-O powder, but makes 2 cups prepared) or 6 oz (makes 4 cups prepared) boxes. You do not want to prepare the Jell-O by adding the water to it. You can use about 1/2 cup of dry jello powder PER BATCH. It’s a little more than the recipe calls for, but I do usually do buy Jell-O in bulk. Just measure your Jell-O.

  4. Jessica says:

    I just found this recipe and I am so excited to try them. How long can I store them for and how do I store them. Have a hundred million things to do in a week and would be very happy if I can make these earlier and store them.

    • admin says:

      This is almost silly of me to reply THREE YEARS LATER…I seriously hope you figured something out without waiting for me! These cookies do freeze well. If you let them cool well before stacking them, they should be fine without even having parchment/wax paper between them. I put them in a large Rubbermaid container, squeeze the air out and freeze them. I hate to admit it, but there was a container of them in the freezer that got buried and I found them months later (like NINE months) and they were okay…not quite as good as fresh, but still edible. Not recommended, but never let a passable cookie go to waste!

  5. […] day. I also have to bake some cookies with Kidling — I promised him we would try out this recipe for Jell-o cookies. And over the next week, we have soccer practice and games, homework, class […]

  6. […] For baseball, I made double chocolate cookies (I don’t recall where I got the recipe, so I have added it at the end of this post), substituting mint chocolate chips for regular chips. I also made a batch of the regular gooey butter cookies, and a batch of Rollo-stuffed snickerdoodles (head coach’s favorite). I also wanted to try a new recipe I had seen for Jell-O cookies. […]

  7. Dee says:

    Hi just wondering if anyone has tried to freeze these cookies! Thanks

    • Helen says:

      So sorry for the super delayed response. I prefer chewy cookies and when I freeze other types, I have had good success, so I see no reason why these shouldn’t work. Make sure they’re completely cooled before freezing. I use freezer ziploc bags and if you are worried about them sticking together, you could always put parchment in between layers.

  8. PAM says:

    Just made a batch of lime-flavored and was unfortunately disappointed. I think it was a substitution I made, I use white whole wheat flour in all my baking. I would not suggest whole wheat flour for this recipe, you can clearly taste the flour.

  9. Kim says:

    Hey just helen! I wanted to chime in and let you know that I tried your recipe and I love your blog! I can’t wait to try dying my own sugar and sprinkles soon!

    I did change your recipe up a bit by adding 1/4 less cup flour and adding 1/4 cup more sugar and it worked well.

    I was upset because I found the Kraft recipe on their website and it amazes me at how many bloggers stole their recipe and called it their own.

    This recipe is a keeper! Thanks for the idea!

    • Helen says:

      You know, I got this recipe about 30 years ago from a friend, and I’m sure she got it from somewhere, so who knows where it originated. But I can say that when I make multiple colors, I don’t mess around with dividing the dough and using partial boxes of Jell-O to get 4 colors/flavors for one batch…I make a serious quantity of those pretties, which is always good because there are lots of people to share with.

      About the colored sugar and sprinkles…be careful – they can be addictive! I’m making them for Christmas gifts! I’ll post pictures when I get them done.

  10. MaryAnn Coe says:

    My mother acquired this recipe booklet in a container of Wondra flour in the late 1960’s. When I started to make these I would use a electric cookie press & I would make some unique color patterns when I mixed the colors. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.

    • Helen says:

      You are welcome, MaryAnn! I remember those cookie presses! I love revisiting kitchen “essentials” from the past. My daughter and I go to estate sales close to home to find fun kitchen treasures. As I come across old recipes, it makes me want to try them again…they were delicious when I was a child and it’s worth a shot to see if they were as good as I remember.

  11. Judy Riley says:

    I used to make those with my grandmother when I was a child, and I’m over 60.

    • Helen says:

      Wow! That’s really cool! I didn’t find the recipe until after I was married. I’m not surprised, though…Jell-O has officially been around since 1897…at least in the powdered, flavored form. I certainly am glad the recipe lasted long enough for me to enjoy it!

  12. […] I was somewhat at a loss as to what to make. A number of people requested that I make the same  Jell-O Cookies I made last […]

  13. Yasmeena Rose says:

    Cute idea! I think i might make these.. but must you use shortening? We don’t have any because I forgot to have my mom get some when she went grocery shopping.

    • Helen says:

      No…you don’t have to use shortening. You can use all butter. The original recipe (that I got 30 years ago) called for 1/2 cup shortening and 1/4 cup margarine. I never use margarine any more, just butter, so I changed that part. But then again, I so rarely use shortening that it tends to go bad before its gone. So I tried using just butter and they are delicious. That’s all I use anymore. I think I better include that in the recipe…you’re not the only one that has asked this question. Go for just butter!

      • B.K. Clancy says:

        How much butter (in exact measurements) should be used? These look delicious!! Thank you for sharing!!

        • Helen says:

          If you are going to use just butter, you need 3/4 cup of butter. The original recipe had 1/2 cup shortening and 1/4 cup margarine, but I don’t really use shortening OR margarine anymore, so I combined the amounts together for 3/4 cup total. And it is even better with the butter! That is also the same as 12 Tablespoons:)

  14. […] I was somewhat at a loss as to what to make. A number of people requested that I make the same  Jell-O Cookies I made last […]

  15. […] Pinata Cake A Subtle Revelry 2. Jello Cookies Just Helen 3. Lucky Charms Magic Munch Bakerella 4. Brownie Sandwich Cookies With Salted […]

  16. Martha says:

    CAN you make the dough a day ahead and refrigerate it to shape and bake the next day? I have 14 dozen to make! *yikes*

    • Helen says:

      Couple of questions: Are you making more than one flavor? When you say shape, are you talking rolling into balls or shaping more like cookie cutters? I have never chilled the dough first, but I suppose you could, but you might need to adjust the time for baking them. You should check out my update recipe here: https://justhelen.net/2012/12/hohoho-merry-christmas-jello-cookies/ I modified the recipe a little. I haven’t done 14 dozen at once, but when I make 4 colors, it makes up just about 12 dozen and I have done that in one sitting many times. If you are only going to do 2 or 3 flavors, you could double or triple batches. The best help would be to have a friend help. When I bake more than one flavor, there is a trick that I do. I will set up bowls and measure the amount of flour, baking powder and salt for each batch into a seperate bowl. That is part of what takes so much time…just make sure that you get all of the ingredients into each bowl. Then, once I get that batch done, I put the dough into that bowl, wash out the mixer bowl (I use my KitchenAid), dry it out and start the process again. At that point, I will start rolling the dough and baking it. Since each batch only takes 6 minutes to bake, it goes really quickly. If you limit the flavors, you will cut down on the prep time.

    • Helen says:

      Let me ask a couple of questions: How many flavors are you planning on making? Limiting the different flavors will cut down on the prep time. If you cut it to three flavors, you could do a double batch of each. Check out the modified recipe here: https://justhelen.net/2012/12/hohoho-merry-christmas-jello-cookies/ The next question is, when you say “shape”, do you mean roll into balls or actually shape, like with a cookie cutter? For that many cookies, rolling will be easier. What I do is measure out the flour, baking soda and salt for each batch into seperate bowls. After the batch is done, I put the dough back into the dry ingredient bowl and start on the next batch. My daughter and I do “buddy baking”…an extra set of hands will get this done in no time. I haven’t chilled the dough, but I have on other cookie doughs and it seems to be okay, although you might need to adjust the baking time by a minute or two, but don’t overbake and brown the bottoms of these. Then they get crunch and I like them best chewy plus they seem to store longer when chewy. You can definitely bake these the day before and store them in air-tight containers.

      Well, you have a big project ahead, but it’s doable. It will take you a batch or two to get into your baking groove. Hope this answers your question…good luck!

  17. Cierra says:

    i was wondering… does it make 36 per color or 36 all together with all 4 colors? i would like to make these but i dont want to make too many.

    • Helen says:

      Each of the colors is one batch and each makes about 30 – 36 cookies, depending on size. You only use one flavor of Jell-O at a time. The recipe seen made like…12 dozen…or a gross…but they’re not gross, they’re delicious! I have seen other recipes that mix in the Jell-O after making the cookie dough and then “knead” in Jell-O by the tablespoon(?), but I’m not sure on that recipe. I would just make one batch to see if you like the cookies (I love them…every time someone comments on them, it makes me want to make them…right away!) Try strawberry or raspberry…or grape…I really liked the flavor of grape using the lemon extract. The color that comes out on the grape is hideous without a little help from from some food coloring paste. Check out the difference here: https://justhelen.net/2013/01/i-heart-valentines-day-jell-o-cookies/ I don’t usually make all four colors unless I need to take cookies to a party or for Christmas/Valentine’s Day. I never have them go to waste…although they probably will go to “waist”:)

  18. […] Recipe adapted from Just Helen [dot] net […]

  19. Kallie Welter says:

    This is my favorite cookie recipe of all time. My grandma always made these at Christmas time and now that she isn’t able to anymore, I like to carry on the tradition. Very yummmmy!!

    • Helen says:

      They really are a favorite at our house, too! I’m sure that your Grandma would be tickled if you made them. It is nice to carry on family traditions. Look for the ones I did for Valentine’s Day – soooooo cute! https://justhelen.net/2013/01/i-heart-valentines-day-jell-o-cookies/ Funny thing…I told my daughter to be on the look-out for restaurant-size packages of Jell-O, thinking maybe a 5 lb. bag – we don’t do things half-hearted at our house and it can be expensive when you buy it one little box at a time. But when she called and said that she found a 25 lb. box for $15, I almost said “yes”…I didn’t, but I’m thinking that was dumb. I could have shared it with friends!

  20. […] them with a flat-bottomed bowl and then sprinkle them with chunky colored sugar, the way I did in the original post.  Then I thought how cute these would be cut-out in the shape of hearts.  The dough is very soft […]

  21. Rosetta says:

    I have to try these Helen, they look so pretty and colorful. Thanks for sharing! I also saw them on Pinterest.

  22. Melissa says:

    Thanks for this recipe! I was looking for a way to do fun colored cookies to celebrate our city’s football team’s appearance in the playoffs this weekend. I will say, though–I tried to make my own colored sugar (blue), and did that on the first couple of batches before I remembered I had leftover orange “sprinkle” sugar from Halloween. This looks much much better! Just a warning for those who may try their own colored sugar in the future. I also tried the homemade blue sugar on the orange cookies, and asthetically it wasn’t as nice as the orange-on-orange.

  23. Chris says:

    i’m planning on making these in some pink flavor for my upcoming baby shower, but i can’t find the yield anywhere. using your size parameters, how many cookies does one batch make?

  24. antoinette williams says:

    hi there. i am wanting to make these in the next week and was wondering how you make the chunky colored sugar for the top or did you buy it that way?

    • Helen says:

      I just bought mine. I have been wanting to try my hand at doing my own, but have been too much in a rush. I just buy mine when it’s on sale, after holidays and such, so I have a good collection of colors. There is help online if you want to try and make it yourself. Just Google “make your own colored sugar” and see what that pulls up. Good luck!

  25. Cindy says:

    I haven’t made the cookies, but I have a question. Could you use lemon, orange and lime peel (microplaned) in the cookie dough to increase the tartness/citrus flavor? Would it change the amount of liquid, etc. needed for the dough?

    • Helen says:

      That sounds good. I don’t use a lot of zest in my baked goods,so I’m not sure how that will affect the dough, which is already very soft. I never chill the dough in advance of baking it, but maybe that would help. Other commentors have added flavoring to the cookies because they wanted a stronger flavor, but I like the flavor as it. As long as you don’t add too much, you should be okay. I have added fresh lemon juice (plus zest) in place of water in a white cake mix, and it was delicious! However, there is always room for improvement…except in the Banana Cake recipe that I have…it is already perfect!

      • Kim says:

        I used Almond Extract in the Cherry Jell-O and Lemon Extract in the Lemon Jell-O ones. I would imagine that lemon or orange or lime peel would be awesome in the cookies though!

        • Helen says:

          Good call on the cherry/almond combo…makes me think of cherry pie! I haven’t tried putting the citrus peel in it, but I’m sure it would be yummy – I like whatever else I put it in. It’s getting to be that time of year to be baking those red and green Jell-O cookies for the Christmas cookie boxes, and that makes me happy!

  26. Kine says:

    Hi!
    Im from Norway and I really wanna try making your cookies! But the thing is we dont have shortening here, do you have any reccomandations for anything else I can use? 🙂
    They just look so delicious, I have to try! 🙂

    • Helen says:

      Sorry…I didn’t get back to you until I tried the recipe with just butter – guess what? It works great with just butter! This is going to seriously reduce my need for using shortening at all! Yay for butter!

      • Kine says:

        This is awesome! These cookies just made my christmas baking list! 😉 Thank you for trying the recipe just for me, I really appreciate it! 🙂

      • Melanie S says:

        If you’re making it with just butter, instead of butter and shortening, how much do you use? Just wasn’t sure what you meant by “just butter”?

        • Helen says:

          I replaced the 1/2 cup of shortening with 1/2 cup of butter, making it a total of 3/4 cup of butter. If I am short on butter, I will use shortening as the original recipe calls for, but I still like the all butter better.

  27. Patti says:

    When making cookies, of any kind, watch the margarine you use. If you use margarine instead of butter, make sure it does not say “SPREAD” on the package. If it says “SPREAD” on the package it contains water and your cookies will spread out and be thin and unappealing. Land-O-Lakes is one margarine that is not a margarine spread. I learned this the hard way. Good Luck.

    • admin says:

      You are so right! I think that the margarine of the past is very different than what we have now. Honestly, there are a couple of recipes that I still use Crisco for, but overall, I use butter in place of margarine and Crisco – straight across measurements. It’s what I use on my toast, too…just sparingly!

  28. Bonnie says:

    I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought they looked too good not to try! I followed the recipe to the letter using strawberry Jell-O and they looked gorgeous. However, mine turned out incredibly dry and somewhat bland. I know what to do about the flavor issue. Any suggestions on why mine may have been so dry and what I might do to improve them?

    • Helen says:

      Sorry about the delay in answering…missed the message somehow. I’m not sure what went wrong…mine are very moist and chewy. Did you over-bake them? When I bake them for 6 minutes, they seem to stay moist – that seems to be the only reason that mine are ever dry. I like the flavor of strawberry jello, but I like the raspberry best! I add color, but have never added flavor before.

      • Neva says:

        I made the strawberry and what I did was add a tsp of strawberry extract and a Tbs of ihop strawberry pancake syrup and I bake mine for 6 min. They were moist and the flavor was so good.

    • yvonne says:

      i have to say that i tried lemon, orange and raspberry and they are all blend, not dry but need a little help with flavor, 1tsp of lemon extract instead of vanilla did the trick. same for orange etc.
      great cookies!! my daughters love them

      • Helen says:

        I didn’t have any complaint about the cookies, but I did try adding a little lemon extract to the raspberry and lime ones that I made for Christmas and they were certainly yummy. Thanks for the tip!

  29. Smileyk says:

    I assumed you’d used powdered jello (we call it jelly in the UK) so I used that but the photo above looks like the wobbly variety – how do you use that? Do you chop it up and if so how small? Otherwise won’t you get big chunks of it??? CONFUSED.

    • Smileyk says:

      I should explain my confusion really. In the UK we have boxes like your photo which is wobbly jelly that you melt with hot water to make jelly – JELLO to you! We then have sachets which contain the powdered sort.

      So is your photo of the wobbly or the powdered type? THANKS

    • Helen says:

      Oh dear…yes! The jello I used is the powdered sort. I forget that that there might be someone that might not have the same supplies or refer to them the same as we do in the USA! It is definitely powdered, flavored gelatin 3 oz package ( is that converted to 89 grams? Showing my ignorance of the metric system) and you do add it dry to the cookie mixture. I know that the mere name of “Jell-O Cookies” conjures up the visual of jiggly, wiggly cookies, but once into the oven it would liquify and become a big mess on your cookie sheet…if your cookie sheet has sides. Otherwise, big mess all over your oven! I remember sending my mother-in-law packages of Jell-O when she was serving a Mormon church mission in Ireland several years ago because she couldn’t find the stuff she was used. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!

  30. Helen says:

    If they don’t look orange enough, don’t forget to add some gel or paste food color! I think that I’m going to make some lime, grape and orange cookies for our company bake sale…it will be fun!

  31. Dana says:

    Can you use sugar free jello?

    • Helen says:

      I haven’t tried it yet, but one of the other commentors said that they used sugar-free because that’s all they had in the house, but they added 1/2 cup sugar to add in the missed volume. Sorry that it took so long to get back to you!

  32. Debbie says:

    My first batch of these were with the berry blue jello. They came out sea foam green. I tried a 2nd batch and added what I felt was a ton of blue food coloring drops and they came out a darker sea foam green. They still tasted great but I was wanting the blue color. What do I need to do differently? I’m working on lemon now. 🙂 Thanks!!

    • Helen says:

      I have some suspect that there might be two culprits – whole eggs and butter. Those two items might be making the base dough a little yellow, and you know what happens when you mix blue and yellow? You get some sort of green! I haven’t tried making the berry blue Jell-o yet. The cookies I made were all warm colors that already have yellow in them, or where even a little doesn’t cause a problem. If you are wanting a true blue you might want to try this.
      First, try using 4 egg whites instead of the two whole eggs. Next, use 3/4 cup of shortening instead of using the 1/4 cup butter. When I first started making Jell-o cookies, I used margarine. I switched to butter because I like the flavor better and rarely use the margarine. That should give you a whiter base.
      You will probably need to use blue food coloring anyway, because the berry blue Jell-o might not be strong enough. I don’t know what kind of food color you are using, but avoid those basic drops and move onto a gel coloring like Americolor. Here’s a website that will give you tips as to the color that you might be shooting for. http://www.lilaloa.com/2012_05_01_archive.html Good luck! If I get around to trying them, I’ll let you know how they turn out for me. I plan on doing purple ones for Halloween, so I will probably do the egg whites/all Crisco, otherwise I might just get brown:)

      • Debbie says:

        Thank you!! I did the substitutions as you suggested and the dough was a perfect blue UNTIL I added the flour..then it went to a blue with a green tint. Weird. I didn’t use the Americolor product, our Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays and Walmart didn’t carry it. So, I put in more blue food color drops and it really didn’t help it much. I did covered the cookie dough balls in large chunky white sugar crystals and that helped the look of the finished product. On some of the dough balls, I covered the dough ball in blue sugar jimmies and that really made the blue pop. All in all, I’m going to try again with the Americolor product and see if I can perfect the blue jello cookie. Thank you for your advice and I have cookies for my daughters blue & gold soccer team now!!! 🙂

        • Helen says:

          I didn’t even think about asking you about what flour you used…is it unbleached? Dang – now I’m going to be on a mission to figure this one out! Let me know if you discover anything before I do; I will do a post once I do figure it out. I have had to go to a specialty cake store, but if you don’t have one of those in town, you can always order online. I do like the Americolor even better than Wilton…I think the squeeze bottle are just easier to use.
          Hope the team enjoys the cookies!

    • Laura says:

      You could try food color paste.

  33. Krystilin says:

    Do the cookies spread a lot? If so how much more do they spread?

    • Helen says:

      I’m not quite sure why you ask, but I would guess that the cookies end up about 1 1/2″ bigger than the flattened ball. I try to leave about 2″ between each of the flattened balls. If you look at the third picture down on the blog, you can see a “halo” around both the rolled and flattened balls of cookie dough – its from the previously baked batch. That might give you a better idea of spacing. If you are trying to determine size of cookies to bake, you might need to experiment a bit. If you have any other questions, or a more specific concern, ask away!

  34. If we hadn’t given up food dyes this summer I would so be trying these!!! Very pretty and I’m sure Very Delicious 🙂

  35. […] pin was so cute I couldn’t help but check it out. Turns out: cute and simple! Just Helen  has a smart thing going with these colorful cookies. Check out her recipe […]

    • Helen says:

      Thanks for the “sweet” review! I really do love these cookies. Maybe when the heat dies down you can try some different flavors. Here’s to good baking weather!

  36. Haylee says:

    Just so everyone knows, I made the Berry Blue flavor and they were amazing! I added food coloring to make them more blue. I am making a ton of these in 6 different colors for my son’s Yo Gabba Gabba themed 1st birthday party next week.

    Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  37. Cherly says:

    i just made the Jello-O cookies. I made lemon and orange. They don’t look as pretty Helens but they taste great. I used all butter and did add lemon and orange flavoring instead of vanilla. They have a butter cookie taste with a touch of citrus. I baked the orange cookies first and after seeing the color (more peachy than orange) I added yellow food coloring to the lemon cookies.

    • Helen says:

      You know what? I think that part of the initial appeal of these cookies is the vibrant color. If I add a little additional color, I’m good with that. The only flavors I haven’t ever felt like I needed to add color to is the strawberry or raspberry, but I haven’t made up all the flavors. But I definitely love the flavor of the cookies for sure!

  38. Going to a peacock themed wedding with a cookie bar–I will be supplying Jell-o cookies in purple and green. Just made the grape this morning and they are yummy!

  39. Laurie says:

    Hi there! I featured your AWESOME cookies on my blog a couple weeks back! I made some around Easter and they are positively ADDICTIVE!! Thanks so much for sharing them with us!
    http://sceneofthegrime.blogspot.com/2012/06/colorful-gelatin-sugar-cookies-so-easy.html

    • Helen says:

      I know what you mean! I have been on the hunt for seasonal flavors to try new recipes with, but then I have to face the fact that I might find a flavor that I love, never to get it again! At least I love the old stand-bys!

  40. […] I recently decided I should start using some of my pins. I’d come across a recipe for jello sugar cookies awhile back and, as I had an excess of jello, I decided that now was a good time to attempt said […]

    • Helen says:

      I have just recently found myself with an excess of Jell-o…I might just need to go try a new flavor! That’s what happens when you almost run out – perish the thought! There’s always room for Jell-o!

  41. kellykenis says:

    Thank you for this recipe! This was so much fun to make! I blogged about it on my blog today and linked to you 🙂 http://fortheloveofbaking.net/2012/07/17/jello-cookies/

    • Helen says:

      Thanks for trying it, Kelly! I haven’t tried the pineapple, but that sounds really good. I’m glad that your co-workers liked it. If you need more flavor, try adding another 1/2 a pkg. of the jello. It doesn’t seem to affect the cookie dough other than with a flavor boost.

  42. […] I have to honest, I am not a huge sugar cookie fan.  I prefer my cookies bathing in chocolate.  This recipe below intrigued me however and looked like a lot of fun to make.  I found it on Just Helen.  Link is here. […]

  43. Barb says:

    Made lime today and they are very good. Noticed a couple of people thought they were salty, but I always use less salt than the recipe calls for anyway. I did add some food coloring which made a big difference (I forgot to put the coloring in at first and noticed how pale they were as I was putting them on the cookie sheet so I added it to the rest of the dough). My daughter is using lemons and limes in the centerpieces for her wedding reception in two week,s so these will fit right in. I’m going to make some lemon ones, also. Thanks, Helen!

    • Helen says:

      How exciting…Jell-O cookies at a wedding! What a good idea! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. One of the things that makes me sad about blogging and trying out new recipes is that I don’t revisit the good, old favorites as often as I used to! They sound really yummy to me right about now:)

      If you are really into citrus, you should try out these cupcakes… https://justhelen.net/2012/07/pink-lemonade-cupcakes/ . Leave out the pink and they would be another tasty item to add to a citrus line-up!

  44. Mads says:

    Just made the lime and they are delicious! Everyone loves them, they’re half gone already! I had a brilliant idea, why not use peach flavour and call them Fuzzy Peach Cookies?! A little tangy and a little sweet!

    • Helen says:

      I haven’t tried the peach yet, but your suggestion made me remember something I had wanted to try…Peach Melba – one pkg of peach and one half pkg of raspberry. I also found a limited edition Jell-O: Cherry Lemonade…it smells really good.

  45. Meggan says:

    We loved these cookies, but people should really know something: the flavor is very subtle. I was hoping for a more flavorful cookie. We loved the grape ones but the flavor was very mild. I made them with raspberry the next time and I added 1/2 t of raspberry extract and they were delicious! It is a great recipe and one I will use over and over!

    • Helen says:

      Hi Meggan,
      You know what? I do think that grape is one of the weaker Jell-O flavors…no offense, Jell-O! I have used extra Jell-O (a package and a half) if I think the flavor is a little weaker. Good idea about the extract!

  46. Sandy says:

    I need to find a sugarfree recipe. I saw the post about using sugarfree jello without using the extra sugar for volume. That was good news, but I’m wondering about the 1/2 sugar in the recipe. I’ve never used Splenda, I’m looking for this recipe for a friend that is diabetic.

    • Helen says:

      I’m with you, Sandy. I’ve never tried using Splenda before. I just went to the Splenda website and got this a few tips. Here’s the link: http://www.splenda.com/cooking-baking/granulated . Click on the drop-down arrows, especially the tabs of confections, volume/height, creaming, flavor, texture and storage. A quick change to the recipe would be to use 1/4 cup Splenda (in place of the 1/2 cup of sugar), and an additional 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to enhance the flavor. The site says that it won’t be as smooth when creaming with butter, but to continue with the recipe as suggested. It also says that the cookie dough may need some help with flattening to assist the cookie’s spreading, but we already do that so you might not to flatten much more. I would go ahead and roll it in the Splenda and just skip the chunky sugar. It also mentioned that baked goods without sugar (which is a preservative) should be consumed in 24 hours or wrapped well and frozen.

      If you go ahead and try the Splenda, please let me know how they turn out. That would be great to know that they will work with Splenda and the sugar-free Jell-O!

  47. Lanie says:

    These look yummy and pretty at the same time! I linked to this in my Friday post… http://www.laniejandco.com/2012/06/inspire-me-friday-62212.html

  48. LizBeth says:

    Has anybody made these and found them a little salty?

    • Helen says:

      I did have one other person that thought they were a little salty. But no one else has mentioned that. Some people are a little more sensative to salt. I’m not sure which flavor you baked up. I just went to the Kraft website and looked at the Kraft website and found this information: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.aspx?SiteId=1&Product=4300020052 You can check it out – there were a couple of ingredients that contained the word sodium in it. Different flavors have a different level of tanginess to them. I would suggest reducing the amount of salt you use if that flavor bothers you.

  49. Joanne says:

    I sent the picture to your Facebook account as a message. 🙂

  50. Joanne says:

    I made Strawberry and Lime ones today – the lime was much tart-er, but the color on the strawberry was more pronounced. I rolled them in the colored sugar and got them out before the bottom turned brown – that was a little tricky! I am thinking of dipping one edge in white chocolate . . . . mmmmmmm.

    • Helen says:

      Hmmm…that white chocolate sounds interesting! You are right about the getting them out before the bottom turns brown. You really have to stay on top of that 6 minute timer. I don’t usually roll them in the colored sugar…it’s regular granulated sugar at first, press, sprinkle the colored sugar and then lightly press it in. Were your cookies a little crunchier with the chunky sugar all the way around? You know, every time someone comments on these cookies, I get the urge to bake them again:) Yummmmm!

      • Joanne says:

        They were just a little crunchier – but not much. I do NOT like a crunchy cookie. They also made the bottom of the cookie a little more substantial – without over cooking it. I will let you know how the white chocolate works – I am either going to dip them or swizzle them with some light white chocolate stripes.

        • Helen says:

          Please do share how the white chocolate works. I always have white chocolate on hand for cake pops and think that sound really yummy!

          • Joanne says:

            Oooh – they were delightful. That extra sweetness along with the really tart cookie – divine. If I can find your email address I will send you a picture.

  51. L.B. says:

    WOW, what fun for m and my daughter and well everyone who tried them tonight. We had a blast with this and enjoyed the flavors. Have you ever mixed yours? I have leftover form each of 4 flavors and when you roll that into balls not only is the cookie pretty but very much like fruit punch. YUMMY! Thanks for sharing.

  52. […] I’ve got to go because I want to try a new recipe I just saw on Pinterest. JELL-O Cookies. I’m guessing they will be just as popular as colored […]

  53. Teri says:

    Never mind … I just did it. FYI it’s 148 calories per cookie.

  54. Teri says:

    Has anyone figured out calorie content on these yet? I’m always watching the numbers on treats…

  55. Kim says:

    My kids helped me make this recipe…my son wanted to make cherry and my daughter wanted lime. We made each flavor seperate and them after baking them, we stacked one of each together with cream cheese frosting in the middle. They called them a cherry limeade. They were amazing.

    • Helen says:

      Wow! What a great idea! I love cream cheese frosting on just about any dessert…I’ll have to try that next time!

  56. Marzee Carnes says:

    Am I crazy? I am thinking about the margarita flavor of jello that usually comes out for the summer, and lightly sprinkling salt around the edges…Hmmmm…Now, to get my hands on the jello.

    • Helen says:

      Well…I’m not a drinker, so I don’t know how salt around the edges would taste good (I’m making a funny face about a layer of salt on a cookie). I haven’t tried the margarita Jell-O either, but I think that you could fake it and put a layer of chunky sugar instead. If you try it, let us know how it turned out – you can either recommend it or spare someone else the trouble:)

  57. Sue says:

    Does anyone know if these cookies freeze well?

    • Helen says:

      I haven’t actually frozen these particular cookies, but I have frozen every other cookie I’ve ever baked and they are wonderful. I usually just let the cookies cool, stack them about 3 high and place them in a freezer Ziploc bag. These cookies are not quite as dense as what I usually freeze, so what I would suggest is to put them in a Ziploc box container and maybe put some parchment paper between the layers…although it might not be necessary if you have flat freezer space to put them. I would say go for it!

    • Karen says:

      They freeze very well. Very easy to grab some out still frozen & pop them into my kid’s lunch box for school. They’ve defrosted by the time they get to eat them at recess.
      I usually freeze them in either parchment paper or plastic wrap & then into a plastic container – like an empty ice-cream tub.

  58. nancy says:

    these cookies look so fun!! i’m more of a ‘soft’ cookie person. are these cookies on the crispy side? or more of a short bread cookie? thanks for your feedback!!

    • Helen says:

      I’m with you…soft cookies are my favorite, too! If you cook these for six minutes, you will definitely have a moist cookie that will stay moist for several days after you bake them…if they last that long!

      I have a trick when I make cookies. I try to bake them on the low side of the suggested time, then, when I take them out of the oven, I give the cookie sheet a good smack on the counter. That seems to knock the air out of them, so they don’t dry out so fast. I don’t do that with my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies but they are already very moist! If you love soft, chewy cookies, these are great…just don’t over-bake them- no golden brown bottoms on these!

  59. Mollie says:

    I am REALLY excited about these cookies! I am planning my son’s first birthday party and these cookies will be the PERFECT addition to the dessert table! My family loves sugar cookies and the bright colors are going to complement the party theme perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

  60. Kim says:

    I was so pelased after making these with the pretty pink color of my strawberry Jello cookies!!! They were really yummy!!!

  61. Cristina says:

    I saw these on Pinterest and just HAD to try them. I let my husband pick the flavor–strawberry–and they were absolutely delicious! They tasted like strawberry milk. Easy enough to make and my three year old loved shaking the dough balls in the sugar. I have orange and lime jello sitting here waiting to be made into cookies…can’t wait to start experimenting! Thanks for this unique recipe!

    • Helen says:

      I’m so glad you liked them! I haven’t made the strawberry ones for a while, but I think I’ll have to make those sometime soon!

  62. Rebecca says:

    I made these cookies today & followed your recipe to the letter, however they taste a bit salty & bland. I was very excited to try these after reading all the glowing comments. Any suggestions??

    • Helen says:

      I’m sorry to hear that they tasted salty to you. Everything that I make tastes salty to my mother-in-law, but I think that’s because she’s on a low-sodium diet! I think it’s probably a matter of taste. Maybe you could substitute the butter for unsalted butter and cut the salt in half. I am hesitant to omit salt completely. As far as the bland part…what flavor of Jell-o did you use? Not all have the same “punch” for their flavor. One thing you could do is to buy a bigger box and maybe add 3/4 of the package. I have done that before, although the last year or so that I made them, I didn’t. In the “old days” when my 17-33year-old kids were small, I would just buy the big restaurant size packages and measure it out…don’t recall the exact measurements. Then I wouldn’t mind tossing in a little extra.
      In the long run, it could be that Jello Cookies don’t make your taste buds happy. I only like about 1/2 the recipes that I try and only repeat about 5 – 10% of them. Even just plain old Jell-o doesn’t work for everyone! Sorry about that:)

  63. I just bought some spring cookie cutters and I’m going to try making these cookies shaped like spring for this Mother’s Day. I think the kids will love them. Thanks for sharing.

  64. I am looking forward to baking these for my students. My children are grown and gone so I’ll definitely hang onto this for when the grandchildren start arriving. Just confused about one part of the recipe. Do I make the regular sugar cookie dough you’ve given us – divide it up – and then add the jello? Because I read the recipe several time and if I add the jello when it says too, I’m confused how I can make a variety of colors if I put in entire pkg when the recipe tells me to. This make any sense to you? If not let me know and I’ll try to ask the question in a different way. Thanks. Gabe

    • Helen says:

      I see your confusion! That pretty little stack of cookies represents 4 different batches of cookie dough! I make one, start baking and then make the next batch of dough, then keep it going. It actually goes pretty quickly. It takes about 2 1/2 cookie sheets of baking per batch, so the second color/flavor adds onto the 3 sheet of cookies. I will have to say that I don’t ALWAYS make all four colors, but I do love having the variety of flavors…it’s worth it!

  65. robert says:

    i just literally take my firsts batch out of the oven (orange and pineapple) and i was wondering: are they supposed to get gold at the bottom? the temperature is in Fahrenheit right? also why i didn’t get such bright colors even with the food coloring? the fact that i only used butter has something to do? sorry for all the questions and tank you for all the answers.

    • Helen says:

      Hmmm…let me do a quick thought replay with my process. I do believe that I have made them with both regular (white) and butter-flavored Crisco, and I don’t believe that would make that much of a difference in the color, especially since a little yellow wouldn’t really affect the colors that I was using. About the gold on the bottom…I don’t cook mine long enough to get golden on the bottom. That’s one of the reasons I like the cookies so much – they bake so quickly! Oven temperatures vary from oven to oven, so you might need to adjust slightly. I usually leave them on the cookie sheet when I take them out of the oven for a minute or two, then move them to the cooling racks.
      About the color – did you use a paste coloring? I used Wilton for one and then I had another one that I got from the cake decorating store to use in frosting (sorry I can’t remember the brand), not the 4-color squeeze bottles that you get at the grocery store. Keep in mind that I did take pictures on a white plate with a white background, but my colors were quite vivid in real life:) The dough should be as vivid as you want the cookies to be. One thing…the colored sugar on top helps!

  66. Julie says:

    I’m thinking red, white and blue for 4th of July? Isn’t there a clear jello – pineapple maybe or white grape?

    • Helen says:

      I’m not sure about the clear flavor, but I think there is one. Either that or you could do strawberry or raspberry and then the blue and maybe just have a regular sugar cookie to make the red, white and blue. Sounds like a great idea!

  67. Justpep says:

    Great cookie recipe I have bookmarked this recipe. You may share your recipe in JustPep.com

  68. […] over to Just Helen for the recipe! Tagged With: Cookies, moms need to […]

  69. Jen says:

    I found your recipe through Pinterest! I made these today with a bag of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. I split the cookie mix into two portions and made sugar free lime and sugar free strawberry cookies. I didn’t add any of the extra sugar for decoration. They are sooo good!

  70. Melanie says:

    These look fabulous! I’m going to try them out for a family in our church who is having a bake sale to go to a conference in Florida for their son’s disability. They so bright, cheery and summery! I can’t wait !

  71. Teresa says:

    They look so wonderful! I can’t wait to surprise my family tomorrow by baking them.although I am not sure I would even know where to buy the chunky sugar.. I have never seen it anywhere?? best places to find it??? Thanks so much!

    • Helen says:

      You should be able to find the chunky sugar anywhere that sells Wilton’s products, like Michaels…maybe even Walmart, in the cake decorating section. It’s just a decorating sugar. It was quite by chance that I had all those colors on hand…so exciting when that happens! I got different brands at Home Goods and Marshall’s, but I usually find it on sale after the holidays.

  72. Amanda C says:

    Can you make these with kool-aid and add back the 2 oz. of sugar you’ll miss or is the gelatin important to the recipe?

    • Helen says:

      Hmmm…I really don’t know. They do have a different consistency than my regular sugar cookies. I gave up kool-aid years ago, so I don’t have any on hand to try. It sounds like another experiment waiting to happen…if you try it, and like it, let me know!

  73. Michele says:

    Have you ever tried to create a flower out of the cookies instead of pressing them flat? I saw another post on Pinterest that shows how to cut the cookie with scissors to create the look of a daisy. Do you think they would still bake the same (not burn) if I made them in that shape?

    • Helen says:

      I don’t know why it would not work. I have seen that too. It does look super cute. Just don’t over cook them. This is a super soft dough, though. Maybe you could use a flower cookie cutter after you squash them flat. Sounds like some experimenting needs to be done!

  74. Sarah says:

    These were absolutely heavenly! I made them in raspberry and orange and they were tangy and delicious. The dough consistency was just perfect, as was the light chewiness of the finished cookie. Awesome; thanks for sharing!!

  75. Karen says:

    These look so fun in the bright colors– can’t wait to try them. Thanks for sharing!

  76. Barb says:

    I made the orange flavored cookies because it was what I had on hand. Instead of shortening I used butter. I got 37 cookies out of a batch. They are so good and soft. Can not wait to make the different flavors. Thanks for sharing the recipes.

    • Helen says:

      Yes, the orange ones are really good. The original recipe calls for shortening. I used to make all my cookies with shortening or margarine, but I don’t trust margarine any more, and I love butter, so I’m sure they’d be great. Did you use unsalted or regular? Thanks for your response!

  77. Georgia says:

    I take a same package of sugar cookie mix and add a small package of jello for an easy cookie. Bake as the same as package says.

    • Helen says:

      That does sound easy! I’ll have to try that sometime. I got a really good deal on some sugar cookie mixes after Christmas and I think that will work great! Thanks for the idea!

  78. Jenny says:

    How many cookies does one batch make?

    • Helen says:

      Depending on the size you make them, about 2 to 2 1/2 dozen. Mine were about 1 1/4″ balls. The nice thing is how quickly they bake up!

  79. Ann-Marie says:

    Do you buy the colored sugar or did you make it yourself?

    • Helen says:

      I’ve been collecting colored sugar for ages. I buy it seasonly at after-holiday sales and at stores like Marshall’s or Home Goods. But coloring my own is something I might want to try…good idea! Thanks!

  80. Nicole says:

    These look wonderful! I just stumbled upon them and can’t wait to make them! They sound as easy as my cakebox cookies- but look so much more festive and spring-season appropriate! Thanks for posting!!!

    • Helen says:

      Thanks for your comments! I haven’t always done the sprinkling of the chunky sugar, but I love the look and the extra crunchiness. The key is not overcooking them…6 minutes is really enough! That time passes really quickly!

  81. […] kids and I made these Jell-O Cookies – very interesting flavors. They have a kind of tangy sweet taste, and I believe the lime is […]

    • Helen says:

      Yes, lime is yummy. It’s a toss up between lime and raspberry, although I really like the others. However, I didn’t like the blue(berry) or grape…not strong enough flavor!

  82. Dana says:

    Wow! I too made these cookies way back when, starting in about 1977. A christmas staple for many years. My 33 year-old daughter just this last holiday season asked for the recipe, a memory from her childhood!

    • Helen says:

      I didn’t make them quite that far back…that was the year I got married. But I was making them by the time I had my third child, which wasn’t that long after. Yummy recipes just need to be passed forward to a new generation, ready to revisit the past!

  83. Kathy says:

    Do you grease the pan?

    • Helen says:

      I don’t. I don’t ususally because there is enough butter/shortening in the recipe. If you have silicone baking sheets, you can use those, but not necessary.

  84. PattyC says:

    Can you use Sugar-free pkg of Jello or only the “full” version. Either way, I can’t wait to try… I’m thinking Raspberry w/ mini chocolate chips…. I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like!!

    • Helen says:

      I haven’t tried them with the sugar-free Jell-o…it may be an ingredient volume issue. I would stick with the regular, full-strength stuff – heck, you roll them in sugar then sprinle the chunky stuff on top anyway! There’s no getting away from it on this sugar cookie!

      • Leann says:

        I used the sugar-free because it was the only kind I had in the house. I just added about 1/2 cup sugar to make up for the ‘lost volume’ and they were perfect. Rave reviews all around.

        • Helen says:

          Good to know! I usually have some sugar-free as well as the regular. If I run out I won’t stress about getting to the store…I’ll just try your recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  85. Megan says:

    I took them to work and they were a hit. They loved the tanginess of the cookies. A nice break from the basic chocolate chip!

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