Thursday, December 20, 2012

Holiday Cookie Salad

This sweet side-dish is known in our family simply as "Cookie Salad." The recipe was shared with me by my mother-in-law and it has become one of the staples of our family celebrations. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter~ it's a perfect addition to any holiday meal.
Do not be fooled by its humbly short list of ingredients, for, once assembled, they combine to make the most sublime salad ever to grace your table. Children and adults alike will flock to you with requests for more. You will suddenly be their favorite auntie/cousin/sister-in-law/person, if only you give them more COOKIE SALAD! {said in the voice of Cookie Monster, natch.}
Here's what you'll need:
1 {15 oz.} can of mandarin oranges, drained
1 {8 oz.} tub of Cool Whip
1 package of instant vanilla pudding
1 package of fudge-stripe shortbread cookies, crushed
1 cup of buttermilk
In a large bowl, whisk the pudding mix and buttermilk together until well blended.

Dump in the can of drained oranges and gently stir together.

Fold in the Cool Whip, till you have a lovely, fluffy cloud of goodness.

Now comes the fun part: smashing the cookies.
Place the cookies in a gallon zip-lock bag and just squeeze, squish, or stomp away till they are all broken up. You want some big-ish chunks left.
Just before serving, stir in the cookies. If we are traveling, I will mix everything up, smash the cookies in their bag and bring that right along. Then I just stir it together at the last minute. The cookies get a little soft after a day or so, but the salad is still delicious. 

I promise, if you leave Santa a dish of Cookie Salad instead of a plate of cookies, he will be one jolly old elf!
Enjoy!
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6 comments:

  1. I love you, Jessie! My husband's family is in North Dakota and he took our oldest out there for a family reunion several years ago. She came home to Seattle raving about "cookie salad" so I googled it and made it. After a lot of raised eyebrows at the neighborhood party I debuted it and the bowl was scraped clean. I had forgotten about it until now so thank you!!!!

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    1. Lol! Back atcha, Shannon! I think this is a Midwestern potluck specialty. You'll find similar dishes in every church basement in the 5-state area!

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  2. Oh my, this sounds yummy! Gotta give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. This is really different. The thing that throws me is the buttermilk. Sounds like it wouldn't be good; however, I totally trust you. I also generally like these fluffy types of desserts, so I have a feeling I'll be making this over this next holiday week.

    I'm pinning it now, so I'll find the recipe easily. It's my kind of a no-bake recipe!
    ~FringeGirl

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    1. I know the buttermilk seems weird, but don't let it scare you. I promise you will love this! It's easy and everyone will be wowed by your mad culinary skills! ;)

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