When I found this recipe I was very, very excited! This was a childhood treat for me that I had less than five times in my life! It was something that deli counters would often offer, by weight, often mixed with a variety of fruit and a few different flavors of JELLO – kind of like an ambrosia. It was heaven!
A bit of whipped cream, bits of coconut, pineapple, cherries, mandarin oranges, marshmallows and chunks of JELLO … what more could a kid want?? I remember having this at a couple of birthday parties and considered those kids some of the luckiest kids I had ever known! When you’re a kid, you measure “lucky” and “special” in all sorts of different ways – didn’t you? Who had the cool toy or the BIG box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back? What kids got fruit snacks or something other than bologna sandwiches in their lunch? These things make quite an impression when you are in grade school!
I was very excited to make this for Mei’s birthday and would be happy to start a tradition of making this each year on her birthday and for any summer BBQs or get-togethers. It’s a light, fruity salad that can be made with any variety of fruit or colors if you are sticking to a certain theme and it’s just a treat for the masses! unfortunately, most of my guests, even the Americans had never had this before. That really struck me as odd because it was very popular when I was growing up and I can remember my friends telling me that their parents would get a tub of macaroni salad, potato salad and this JELLO fruit salad for BBQs and picnics, but what the heck – now my guests can’t say that! Most that tried it, found it very tasty and addicting. Especially the kids! I left out the coconut, since most of these kids were under five and probably would not appreciate the coconut or the pineapple for that matter!
The only regret that I have is not having taken a picture of the dish that I made before the party began because the bowl was wiped out with just smears of Cool Whip in it, leaving no traces of the Fluff JELLO salad behind. So I have found a photo of another person’s orange fluff JELLO salad so you can see what the finished product looks like! It also makes for a great dessert!
Mei had many a spoonful to lick clean while we mixed this one together. She was one happy birthday girl!
Ingredients:
- 1 large package of cook & serve vanilla pudding
- 1 large package of orange JELLO
- 2 C water
- one 16 oz/12 oz container of Cool Whip
- 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
- 1 can of pineapple bits (optional)
- 1 can mandarin oranges
- 1/4 -1/2 bag of coconut flakes (optional)
Mix the pudding, JELLO and water over medium heat until the mixture is boiling. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Allow it to come to room temperature then press plastic wrap to the surface and refrigerate the mixture until thickened – at least one hour.
Pull out the mixing bowl and beat the mixture with a fork until it is broken up and “creamy” then fold in the Cool Whip, marshmallows and fruit. Chill for at least one hour before serving.