Okay, I gave you guys the grapefruit bars last week and triple chocolate brownies earlier, but I couldn’t resist another adorable, pink-themed dessert for the upcoming V-Day.
I’ll preface by saying my husband does not like fruity desserts at all. To him, it’s chocolate or bust. Caramel, butterscotch, cheesecake, and Twinkies are also fine, thank you very much. But people, Jim loves these bars.
He describes them as a smoother, dessert version of Trix cereal or a Starburst. I think they taste like a strawberry milkshake. Whatever way you find to describe your delicious, the color is pretty rad. And it all comes from…JELL-O! Yup. This recipe is probably 100% full of highly processed foods, but I shrug my shoulders at that fact every now and then. I mean, I eat McDonald’s and Papa John’s Pizza.
So if you’re fine excusing hoity-toity-ness for a couple of days, this is a really fun dessert to whip up! And the red JELL-Os gave me this awesome color. Cherry, raspberry, or strawberry. Yum, yum, yum. Like Kool-Aid in a wax bottle circa 1997.
The bars are like a hot pink, Malibu Barbie magenta. I used a very light filter in my photos to even out the lighting, but the color of the bars is pretty much the exact same.
I actually clipped this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine Jane sent me home with a few weeks ago. I modified a few things, and the recipe is actually considered a summer dessert, but I am pretty sure raspberry, strawberry, and cherry JELL-O have a peak season of…let me check…all year round.
This recipe kind of reminds me of the 1950’s JELL-O molds you’d imagine housewives bringing to their new neighbors or a mysterious green Watergate salad. It’s the same idea of turning JELL-O into something smooth and creamy.
I brought these bars over to Sunday night dinner at Jim’s parent’s house and his dad said he’d be content to just eat the filling! (I agree. Imagine a fluffy, whipped yogurt-y version of a strawberry Starburst. That graham cracker crust, though…)
Similar to the chocolate-covered raspberry marshmallows, these are a fun Valentine’s Day treat, but Cupid doesn’t have exclusive rights to them! These would be perfect for a girl’s night out, a girl’s birthday party, a bachelorette party, or anything else tending towards hot pink.
You can also change out the JELL-O flavor and make it bright blue raspberry or lime. Or make it teal with blue raspberry lime. Have fun with it and let me know what you think of the recipe!
Hot Pink Bars
Ingredients
- 2 sleeves Graham crackers ~16 cracker sheets
- 8 tbsp Salted butter melted
- 6 oz Strawberry JELL-O 3 oz Cherry JELL-O + 3 oz Raspberry JELL-O also work
- 1 cup Boiled water
- ¼ cup Lemon juice
- 1 cup Heavy whipping cream
- ½ can Sweetened condensed milk ~ 8 oz
- 7 oz Marshmallow fluff
- 4 oz Cream cheese softened
Instructions
- Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper. Grind up graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs. Drizzle in melted butter to moisten the crumbs. Press into prepared pan and allow to chill in refrigerator.
- Whisk together gelatin, hot water, and lemon juice in a bowl. Set in refrigerator, ~20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whip heavy whipping cream until stiff. Add marshmallow fluff and whip to combine. Add in sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese. Finally add in strawberry gelatin. Note: If there are tough, leathery pieces of gelatin, discard them. This sometimes happens with the acidity of the lemon interacting with the gelatin.
- Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan. It will still be a liquid. Place in refrigerator to allow it to set. Chill for at least two hours.
- To cut these squares cleanly, use the parchment paper overhang to lift and transfer the bars to a cutting board. Then, use a sharp, long knife and press straight down into the bars and drag the knife out through the bottom to avoid dragging crumbs up to the top. Wipe knife off between cuts. Cut into 24 squares. Garnish with berries and/or more whipped cream.
