Frozen Fruit Dessert

Watergate pistachio salad. Candy apple salad. Cherry pie salad. Snicker® apple salad.

I smirk when I think of “salads” such as these — each composed with a full container of whipped topping, perhaps a box of instant pudding, a can of pie filling or up to six chocolate-coated caramel peanut nougat candy bars. Don’t take me wrong — they are yummy and I enjoy a serving of them when they appear at a potluck or family get-together. But calling them “salads” brings out the grins and “snickers” in most of us.

Maybe because they bear the salad label, we enjoy a more-or-less guilt-free helping (or two) of them with the main meal and still give ourselves permission to freely sample from the dessert table at those special gatherings we all love so much. I’m sure someone has figured out the psychology behind it. But, what’s the fun in that?

I’ve seen a number of frozen fruit salad recipes this year that fall into the category I’ve been discussing. It’s been a hot, muggy summer and I can imagine they’ve been much appreciated — cool and refreshing — perhaps doubling as a dessert at a picnic or cookout.

I’ve experimented with the concept this summer, too, and come up with one I’ve received compliments on. I’m not going to call it a salad, though. I’m going to classify it as a dessert because that’s how I served it. (Feel free to “brand” it in the category that works best for you.) Smiles. CJK

    

Frozen Fruit Dessert

(Carol Jessen-Klixbull)

Photo by Nikki Rajala

1 cup heavy cream

2 bananas, sliced

1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries (do not thaw)

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen peaches (do not thaw)

1/4 cup sugar

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided

2 (1.85 oz.) chocolate bars, broken and divided

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Whip the cream until just before stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the bananas, pineapple and frozen strawberries and peaches and set aside.

Beat sugar and cream cheese together with a mixer. Mix in one cup chopped pecans and about 1 1/2 bars of the chocolate pieces. Gently fold into the whipped cream mixture. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Score the dessert into *desired number of pieces. Cover and freeze — for several hours, overnight or for a few days before serving.

Remove from freezer 1 to 1 1/2 hours before serving. Cut pieces along scored lines and garnish with the rest of the chopped pecans and mandarin oranges. Shave the rest of the chocolate bar on top to complete the garnish.

Yield: *12 to 24 servings

A note from Carol: There is no hard and fast list of ingredients in this recipe — almost any fruit would be delicious in it. Pitted Queen Anne cherries, maraschino cherries, sliced golden or green kiwi fruit, diced mango, halved red or green grapes, craisins or golden raisins, flaked coconut, pieces of angel food cake or miniature marshmallows might also be great additions. For me, the components vary each time I make it.