Creamy Fruit Mousse

I don't know about you, but I love a good no-bake dessert in the summer.  

I loathe heating up the kitchen (hence baking day).  I mean, I'll do it, of course, but if I can avoid it, I will.

Enter Creamy Fruit Mousse.

Where did I get this wonderful recipe, you ask?

Why, let me tell you ;)

I read a food blog called Our Best Bites, and I love them!  If you've ever had the 7 Layer Greek Dip that I make sometimes, it's from them!  

I got their cookbook a while ago and let the girls take a look at it and choose a recipe from it.  I was hoping they'd become enamored with some veggies or a healthy main dish.  Instead they focused in on all of the delectable desserts...and there are many!  

Can't say I blame them :)

Maggie picked an awesome Christmas cake (which we'll wait on), but also the Creamy Fruit Mousse, which we whipped (literally) up today!  I did make some of my own changes.

You need:

1 (3 oz) box fruit flavored jello
1 cup boiling water
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, divided (I used the 1/3 less fat variety=health food)
1/2 cup cold water
1 (8 oz) container of Cool Whip, divided (also lite...health.food. ;))
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-ish teaspoon milk

Dissolve the jello in the boiling water.  Place in a blender, and add 4 ounces of cream cheese.  Process until smooth.  Add 4 ounces (which is half of the container) of Cool Whip to the blender and process until just combined and mixture is free of lumps.

I loved using the blender!

It made it super easy to pour into the cups!

The recipe says it makes 6 half cup servings, but I just made 5 because there are 5 of us.  You could also just pour it into a serving bowl and go that way.

Let the mousse set up in the fridge until firm...about 3-4 hours (or longer if it's more convenient).  

Shortly before you are ready to serve, make the creamy topping.  It will get hard if you refrigerate it.  

Combine the remaining 4 ounces of cream cheese with the 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon milk.  Beat until creamy and smooth.  Fold in the remaining 4 ounces of Cool Whip.  Add a tiny bit more milk if you feel like you need to.  I didn't.  

Top the fruit mousse with the creamy deliciousness.  I piped it on because I'm fancy like that...plus it's super easy.

We used black cherry jello, so I garnished the top with some fresh cherries.

Brace yourself for an obnoxious photo...it's been really overcast in these parts :)

If you can look past the horrifying-ness of the picture, you can see they're pretty cute.

And I assure you, also very delicious!