Earth Day Parfaits

 

I like to call these Earth Day parfaits the grownup version of dirt pudding. It has a chocolate cookie crust, pistachio cheesecake filling, and tasty decorations like white chocolate shavings, sprinkles, chocolate-covered strawberries, and gummy worms.

It's a simple, no-bake recipe, which of course I'm a big fan of. However, I want to point out the importance of following the directions with the heavy whipping cream. If you try to incorporate it without first whipping it, your cheesecake filling will be the consistency of toothpaste, which is especially gross in this recipe since the mixture is already green. 

But when you whip the heavy cream, you incorporate air into the mixture, and it will ultimately become whipped cream. That makes our result light and creamy. You could, of course, substitute store-bought whipped topping, but I guarantee it won't taste nearly as good. 

The decorations can be as elaborate or as simple as you want. I dyed white chocolate green and broke it up into little pieces for grass in the examples pictured in this post. I also dipped strawberries into orange candy melts so they looked like carrots. But if you want to do the bare minimum, you can just top your pistachio cheesecake filling with gummy worms.

Earth Day Parfaits

Yield: Makes about 8 parfaits

Time: About 1 hour

Ingredients

For the chocolate cookie crust

• 1 (14.3 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies
• 4 ounces butter, melted

For the pistachio cheesecake filling

• 1/2 cup (240 milliliters) heavy cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1/2 cup (57 grams) confectioners sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Optional: Gummy worms, orange chocolate-dipped strawberries, green sprinkles, green dyed white chocolate shavings, shredded coconut dyed green

Directions 

For the chocolate cookie crust

1. Crush chocolate sandwich cookies in food processor or sealed bag.
2. Mix with melted butter.
3. Evenly distribute mixture amongst 8 cups.

For the pistachio cheesecake filling

1. Whip heavy cream into stiff peaks on high speed, about 2 - 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cream cream cheese on medium speed with pudding mix, both sugars, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
3. Use spatula to slowly and gently fold whipped cream into pistachio mixture.
4. Spoon pistachio cheesecake mix over chocolate cookie crumbs.
5. Decorate tops of parfaits with gummy worms, orange chocolate-dipped strawberries, green sprinkles, white chocolate shavings, etc.

Granola Fruit Pizza

I'm a big proponent of getting kids in the kitchen at an early age. I think it cuts down on picky eating, and also, it gives them a better appreciation of food. I was thinking about when the last time I even cooked for a child was, and I don't think it's been since when I was in high school when I used to babysit a family of five kids that lived down the street from me.

The extent of the cooking I did for them wasn't even close to "gourmet." All they wanted to eat was hot dogs and sauerkraut (yes, they were German). I started cutting their hot dogs to look like octopus, and they thought it was the coolest thing ever.

But I feel like today's era of children would roll their eyes at my octopus hot dogs. They grew up with Pinterest moms, and they expect their food to be exciting. That's why I wanted to come up with a dish that was not only easy to make, but also colorful and pretty too.



I think I really nailed it with this granola fruit pizza.

The crust requires just a few ingredients, and you don't need to bake it. The ingredient measurements don't need to be extremely precise, so your kids can get practice measuring and patting the crust down into the cake pan.

As you can see, I made a rainbow design with fruit on the pizza, but you can use anything to decorate it. I suggest setting out a variety of ingredients in bowls (like chocolate chips, shredded coconut, sprinkles, nuts, fruit) and let the kids express their creativity by deciding what to put on top.

I served this Granola Fruit Pizza for my FOX59 segment on National Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day. I also shared two other kid-friendly treats: Banana Sushi and Apple Slice Doughnuts.

The Banana Sushi is just a banana wrapped in a tortilla that's covered with peanut butter. Slice it up so it looks like sushi. I drizzled melted peanut butter and sprinkled Fruity Pebbles on top for decoration.

Apple Slice Doughnuts start with apples sliced about 1-inch thick on their side. Just cut right through the core. Then use a melon baller to scoop out the center so it looks like a doughnut. Cover each apple slice with either cream cheese, nut butter, or chocolate then decorate with sprinkles or chocolate chips so they look like doughnuts!



Granola Fruit Pizza
Yield: Makes about 8 servings
Ingredients

• 3 cups granola
• 2/3 cups peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup fruit, other toppings

Directions

1. Combine granola, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla
2. Line 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper
3. Dump granola mixture into pan and spread until top is even
4. Refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 20 minutes
5. Remove granola pizza crust from cake pan and move to plate
6. Spread Greek yogurt evenly onto granola pizza
7. Top with fruit, chocolate, nuts, shredded coconut, or whatever you please

Recipe adapted from Tip Buzz