Broken Glass Dessert

The following recipe is from Nancy Klock’s "little red cookbook." As noted in the cookbook, the recipe came to the Klocks in the early sixties from the the family of Poppy's high-school friend, Sue Shaw.
If it is not too hot to boil water in your neighborhood, summer may be a good time to try this.No matter which recipe you choose, all are magically easy!

BROKEN GLASS DESSERT (Shaw)

1 pkg. (small) each lemon, lime, raspberry jello
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin
1 cup pineapple juice, heated
10 graham crackers
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
1 pint heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sugar

Dissolve each 3-ounce package of jello in 1 ½ cups hot water. Refrigerate in ice cube trays.
Dissolve unflavored gelatin in ¼ cup cold water. Add 1 cup hot pineapple juice. Let cool in refrigerator.
Mix crushed graham crackers with melted butter and ¼ cup sugar.
Whip heavy cream and add ½ cup sugar and vanilla. Mix pineapple mixture with cream.
Cut jello into cubes and mix with cream.
Line bottom of angel food cake pan with half the graham cracker mix.
Pour whipped cream mix into pan.
Cover with remainder of cracker mix.
Chill 6 to 12 hours.

Yield: Serves 9 comfortably.

I was surprised to find out at the time of Jell-O’s 100^th birthday that Broken-Glass Dessert is a longtime favorite which has appeared in "favorite" recipe collections since the mid-fifties. There are slight variations but most are nearly identical to the above recipe from Nancy. The official JELL-O recipe at the end is the most different since it omits the pineapple and has strawberry flavoring the cream base as well as using strawberry Jell-O for one of the three cube flavors. Another interesting difference, use of different pans. Perhaps you will want to follow the version for which you own the pans.
The following version appeared in the April/May 1997 issue of Taste of Home Magazine. There, the contributor of the recipe comments that "When it’s cut, this dessert looks like stained glass windows." This version may help those of you who are uncertain about quantities for the crust, or would like a more specific suggestion about Jell-O flavors to use. It is also possible that frozen whipped topping, not in existence when the recipe first appeared, may hold up better than regular heavy whipping cream.

Broken Glass Dessert (à la Alaska)

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted
1 package (3 ounces) lime gelatin
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 package (3 ounces) orange gelatin
4 ½ cups boiling water, divided
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
1 cup pineapple juice
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine the crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto the bottom of a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. greased pan. Chill.
Combine lime gelatin and 1 ½ cups boiling water; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Pour into an oiled 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Repeat for strawberry and orange gelatins. Soften the unflavored gelatin in cold water. Boil pineapple juice; stir into unflavored gelatin. Set aside until slightly thickened.
Place whipped topping in a large bowl; gently fold in pineapple juice mixture. When flavored gelatins are firm, cut into 1-in. cubes; gently fold into whipped topping mixture. Spoon over chilled crust in the 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. greased pan. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Yield: 12-16 servings.

And last but not least, the recipe which appears in the official 100^th birthday book of Jell-O recipes —

Crown Jewel Dessert

1 package (4-serving size) JELL-0 Brand Lime Flavor Gelatin Dessert*
1 package (4-serving size) JELL-0 Brand Orange Flavor Gelatin Dessert*
1 package (4-serving size) JELL-0 Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin Dessert* 3 cups boiling water
1 ½ cups cold water
1 cup boiling water
1 package (4-serving size) JELL-0 Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin Dessert
½ cup cold water
1 tub (8 ounces) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

PREPARE lime, orange and I package strawberry gelatin separately as directed on packages, using 1 cup boiling water and ½ cup cold water for each. Pour each flavor into separate 8-inch square pans. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Cut into ½-inch cubes; measure 1 ½ cups of each flavor. (Use remaining gelatin cubes for garnish if desired or for snacking.)

STIR 1 cup boiling water into remaining package of strawberry gelatin in medium bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in ½ cup cold water. Refrigerate 45 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites).

STIR in 1/2 of the whipped topping. Gently stir in measured gelatin cubes. Pour into 9x5-inch loaf pan.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Unmold. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and gelatin cubes, if desired.

Yield: Makes 16 servings

You can find the above recipes listed in the Home Cookin' index. Tap on recipe index.

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