mix two packets of black cherry gelatin four cups of boiling water mix it until it's completely dissolved once the gelatin is completely dissolved you need to add four cups of cold water place in the refrigerator for approximately two hours or until the gelatin reaches a liquidy consistency slightly gelled it's been about one hour it's still a little bit too liquidy needs to set up just slightly more so probably another half an hour to 45 minutes okay we're going to check the consistency it's very close now it's still slightly liquidy but it's starting to gel so it's very soon 15 more minutes looks good it's about the right thickness takes anywhere from two to three hours for it to reach this consistency okay the consistency is just about perfect you don't want it too liquid otherwise everything sinks to the bottom which is not what you want you want to suspend it in the the jello okay we need to strain the liquid off the fruit cocktail if you use the liquid off the food cocktail it'll keep it from gelling don't have to get it too dry but get the majority of the liquid out okay we use pecan chopped pecan nuts you can use walnuts or some other kind of nut if you don't like pecans okay and then i use extra creamy cool whip because as a child we actually used whipped cream i use a whisk to mix it together nicely blended together which is what you want so it doesn't have to be smooth slightly chunky is fine this is about the right consistency you want to put it back in the refrigerator and let it cool and it's ready to serve in a couple hours this is good for christmas thanksgiving it's easy to fix it's light and usually doesn't last long because everybody likes it you can use sugar-free ingredients but i prefer it with the real stuff works really well you can use low-fat creams or a cool whip depending on your own taste i prefer the extra creamy because it has a better flavor you