Exterior night view of snack bar and drinks, as seen on Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, Season 12.
Recipe courtesy of Trisha Yearwood

Gummy Eyeballs

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr 35 min (includes freezing time)
  • Active: 30 min
  • Yield: 12 eyeballs

Ingredients

Directions

Special equipment:
1 hard plastic 12-hole egg holder/carton; 1 plastic pipette or eyedropper; 1 paintbrush (the smaller the tip, the better)
  1. Lightly spray a hard plastic 12-hole egg holder/carton with nonstick cooking spray. Place a chocolate chip flat-side down into each hole of the egg holder to form pupils.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, mix 1 packet of gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water, mixing until combined and free of lumps. Heat 1/2 cup water in the microwave for 1 minute, until hot. Pour the hot water into the cool gelatin mixture and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved completely. Stir in the blue food coloring. Using a pipette or eyedropper, drop 3 to 4 drops of blue gelatin around each chocolate chip to form the blue iris of each eye. Place the egg holder into the freezer for 30 minutes, until the blue is set.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining packet of gelatin with 1/4 cup cold coconut milk in a small bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until the mixture is free of lumps. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk in the microwave for 1 minute, until hot. Pour the hot milk into the cool gelatin mixture and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved completely. Allow this mixture to cool for about 5 minutes, so that you do not melt the pupil and iris.
  4. Remove the egg holder from the freezer and carefully spoon about 2 teaspoons of the coconut mixture into each eye until the chocolate chip is covered. Return the egg holder to the freezer for 30 minutes more, until the gelatin is set.
  5. To remove the gummies, gently push each eyeball with a fingertip until loosened from the egg holder. Place the gummy eyeballs onto a serving platter.
  6. In a small mixing bowl, combine the vodka and red food coloring. Dip the tip of a tiny paintbrush into the mixture and carefully paint veins onto the eyeballs by drawing curved lines from the bottom of each gummy into the center of the iris. Allow the veins to dry for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Note

The vodka veins settle into the surface of the eyeball, so I recommend creating these as close to the act as possible. If the iris is damaged as you remove the eyeball from the egg holder, use your fingertip to gently push it back into place.