Reese's Mousse with Junk Food Crumble
August 8, 2017 by Nicole Collins
I am pretty much obsessed with mason jar desserts.
I mean, could they be any more adorable?!?
They're easily transportable; they're the perfect serving size; and you can see their pretty layers because they're see through! #winning
I made today's recipe for Jen's birthday this weekend. We went on a girls' weekend sailing trip, and it was absolutely the best! The weather was amazing. The water was sooo peaceful. And the marinas we visited were fantastic.
We started at Ferry Point Marina on the Magothy River. It was a fairly small marina, but it is right next door to this restaurant that was hopping! We had dinner there the first night. Crabs, honey jalapeno corn bread, deviled eggs, and sweet Eastern Shore corn. It was AMAZING! I'm going to need to figure out how to recreate that corn bread asap. I've got southern blood in my veins. I think I can do it!
On day two, it was SUPER windy, which was perfect for sailing. The wind was rocking, but we safely got to port at our next destination at Haven Harbour Marina in Rock Hall. We went biking through the small town, enjoyed some wine while being the only inhabitants of the “Adults Only” pool, watched the sunset from the back of the boat, then had dinner at the Bar/Grille next to the marina. We had a TON of food there, but some of the highlights include crab dip with pretzel bread, old bay wings, mac and cheese with brie, and seafood stuffed potato skins. I make seafood skins a lot, but I think I've got a new strategy to try after having those delicious babies at the restaurant. MMMMM...
On our final day, we relaxed on the boat in the morning, then sailed back to Jen's home in Annapolis. It was the most relaxing trip ever. Until I came home to a plumbing leak and a hole in my ceiling, but that's another story for another day.
During our time at sea (or at river and at bay, I guess it technically was), we had goodies to eat on the boat too. I made some shrimp salad. Our friend Alison made us BBQ chicken salad. But of course, there was dessert. You guys know that I'm obsessed with the salty/sweet combo, and my dessert for the trip was no different. These Reese's Mousse cups satisfy our sweet tooth, but the crumble balances it out so we're not in a sugar coma. Let me tell you, they were a hit with the ladies!
They're super simple to make, and they store really well for a few days in the fridge. The mousse is only 4 ingredients: cream cheese, Reese's Spreads, powdered sugar, and cool whip. That's it! Reese's Spreads is like a peanut butter cup Nutella. It's like eating a peanut butter cup on a spoon. YUM!
We pretty much beat everything together in a stand mixer or with our hand beater, and then we let it set. It really is zero effort, and it's minimal clean up.
But then, there's the junk food crumble. I went back and forth on what to call the crumble. Pretzel Kettle Chip Crumble? Junk Crumble? Crack? But obviously, I settled on Junk Food Crumble.
And the crumble is just as simple as the mousse with only 4 ingredients. We beat some pretzels and kettle chips in a bag with a rolling pin until they're crushed (which is great for releasing some tension or aggression). We mix it with some melted butter and brown sugar. Then we dry it out in the oven for a few minutes. We cool it, and we top the mousse with it. Done! Well, we're done after we stick some mini Reese's peanut butter cups on top.
Since I made these in little mason jars, they were easy to take with me on the boat, and they didn't require a ton of space...which is important to consider when you're taking up residence on a sailboat for a few days. But, if you're serving these for a party, they're just as cute in small glasses or ramekins. The options are endless!
And if you really want me to blow your mind right now, this recipe is a convertible recipe. With a few small tweaks, you can take this from individual servings and turn it in to a pie! That's actually how this recipe started, and it transformed in to the mason jar dessert for our trip. The pie details are outlined below in the recipe notes.
So, thank you to Jen for being born so that I had a reason to make these treat cups! And thanks to her for a wonderful weekend on the water. MUAH!
Let's eat!
Reese's Mousse with Junk Food Crumble
Serves: 9 Print
Ingredients:
For the Reese's Mousse:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 jar (13 oz) Reese's Spreads
½ cup powdered sugar
8 oz cool whip, thawed (regular or lite is fine)
For the Junk Food Crumble:
1 cup pretzels
1 cup plain kettle chips
½ stick (4 tbsp) butter, melted
2 tbsp brown sugar
18 mini Reese's cups
Directions:
Make the Junk Food Crumble: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels and chips in a freezer bag, squeezing the air out of the bag, and seal. Bang bag with a rolling pin, heavy skillet, or hammer to crush chips and pretzels in to small pieces. Transfer to a bowl, and mix with melted butter and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Spread on to parchment lined tray in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Make the Mousse: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and Reese's Spreads on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar, and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add cool whip, and beat on medium high speed until fully combined, about 1 more minute.
To assemble: Evenly divide mousse between 9 serving jars or glasses. Top with cooled crumble. Garnish with 2 mini Reese's cups. Allow to set in fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve, or keep leftovers sealed in the fridge.
Recipe notes:
*You can also make this in to a pie! Double the crumble ingredients to 2 cups pretzels, 2 cups kettle chips, 1 stick of melted butter, and ¼ cup brown sugar. Run pretzels and kettle chips through a food processor until ground in to crumbs. Mix with melted butter and brown sugar. Press in to a pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely, and fill with mousse (same measurements as above for mousse). Allow to set at least 4 hours before cutting. Garnish with whipped cream and mini Reese's.
*I like to use 4 ounce jelly jars because they're easy to transport or store, and they're the perfect serving size.
*You can easily use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. The stand mixer just works a little faster.
*For the crumble, we want the chips and pretzels to be crushed for texture, not ground.
*The crumble is just as amazing on some ice cream or straight on a shovel to your mouth!
