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Game Day Treat: Adult Root Beer Jello

I live in Connecticut, so it's not a given that I'm going to be able to see the Eagles game. So imagine my delight when I found out that I would be able to see the Eagles face the Chargers this week. I decided I should celebrate and make a game day treat.

Behold, alcoholic root beer jello in the shape of little footballs.

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Nom nom nom.

These were not complicated or hard to do at all. Here's the recipe:

1 cup root beer (I used a local brand called Foxon Park, but you can use whatever you like)
1 cup root beer vodka (Smirnoff makes this, but you could also use cheap vanilla vodka, which I've done in the past)
2 envelopes plain gelatin (Knox is your best bet -- find it in the jello section of the grocery store)

Pour the root beer in a small saucepan and sprinkle in both envelopes of gelatin. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes. It will foam up due to the carbonation of the root beer, but that's okay. Then, put the saucepan with the root beer and gelatin over low heat and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved, which will be about five minutes or so. Make sure you stir it for at least four minutes. You want the liquid to be warm-to-hot, but not scalding (do not let it bubble or boil), and it should be slightly thicker than normal root beer with no gelatin crystals present. Remove it from the heat and pour in the vodka, and give it a good stir.

Now it's time to pour it into the molds. If you're using a silicone mold, like I did, you need to prep the mold before this stage. I typically put a little non-stick cooking spray on a paper towel and wipe out each compartment of the mold so there's a very thin film. It does't affect the flavor and you can get them out easily. Or, you can use a loaf pan, square pan, or cookie sheet. With those, there's no prep necessary. I spooned the hot jello mixture into the molds with a regular cereal spoon and then put it in the fridge overnight. Letting it sit overnight lets the flavors mellow so you don't get a huge alcoholic kick when you eat them.

And that's it! I had randomly picked up a few football shaped silicone ice cube trays for $1 at Target this week, and they ended up being perfect for this.

I run the SB Nation Phillies website The Good Phight, and one of the things I love about baseball is that there are so many games. But that makes it difficult (impossible, actually) to make any kind of treat for a special game. There are 162 of them. But with football having a shorter season and fewer games, every single game is special and deserves to be celebrated. Celebrated with booze.

I'm pretty excited about the Eagles, guys. I'm sure I'll be loudly singing this in my living room every time they score a touchdown.

Editor's note: Please consume responsibly.