Broken Glass Dessert

Some people call this dessert "stained glass" and others call it "broken glass". We've always called it broken glass. It's one of our mom's favorite desserts and we've had it around our house since we were kids. It is a pain in the patootie to make - simply because it dirties so many dishes - but is totally worth the effort. 

When you need a light dessert for after a heavy meal, this is the one you want. You can use your favorite Jello flavors and colors to customize it. It's also great because it can be made a day ahead and refrigerated so you have that much less to do during a get together. Aaaaaand....it's no bake. Seriously... the only downside is the dishes. 

Broken Glass Dessert

Ingredients

Jello

1 pkg (85 gr/4 serving size) red Jello

1 pkg (85 gr/4 serving size) orange Jello

1 pkg (85 gr/4 serving size) lime Jello

1 pkg (85 gr/4 serving size) peach Jello

6 cups boiling water

Step 1

1 envelope (approx 7.2 gr) Knox unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup boiling water

Step 2

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup pineapple juice

Crust

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Prepare the 4 pkgs of Jello - Dissolve each package of Jello in 1 1/2 cups of the boiling water. Pour each into a separate shallow pan and refrigerate until set (pie plates work great).

Prepare crust - Mix together the graham crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Reserve 1/3 cup off the crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into a 9 X 13 pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray. (FYI - you can also divide the mixture into 2 - 8 X 8 pans if you would like to share it with someone, as shown below!)

Chill crumbs in fridge while waiting for Jello to set.

Lastly, prepare the unflavored gelatin. Mix the package of unflavored gelatin with the 1/2 cup of cold water first. Stir in the 1/2 cup boiling water and stir well. Pour gelatin into a dish and refrigerate for about 1 1/2 hours - until set a little bit but not completely set. 

Assemble dessert - Whip the whipping cream with the 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat in the gelatin mixture and the pineapple juice. 

Cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently fold into the whipped cream mixture.

Spread over the crust.

Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top.

Chill until ready to serve - at least 5 hours but even better overnight. 

So pretty.

Like I mentioned above - use whatever flavors of Jello you like. I used cherry for the red, orange, lime, and peach. You could use lemon or strawberry or berry blue or raspberry or...well.... I'm sure you get the idea. 

Oh, also, I've made this several times and sometimes I have forgotten to get to the unflavored gelatin before it completely sets. Never fear, it's not ruined - I have a solution! Simply place the set gelatin and the pineapple juice into a blender and blend until smooth. Then continue mixing it in the whipping cream! Sue told me - once it sets there's no coming back. Ha! I showed her. Blending it takes away the lumps and the dessert will still set (albeit just not quite as firmly), just so you know. 

 

 

We're sharing over at Carole's Chatter. Be sure to stop by and say hi!