Cookie Salad with Fudge Stripe Cookies
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Cookie Salad with Fudge Stripe Cookies is classic Midwest recipe! This dessert salad features mandarin oranges, pudding, whipped topping and plenty of crumbled cookies for the ultimate side dish or dessert. It’s a crowd favorite and a fabulous addition to your next gathering!
I have lived my whole life in Minnesota, so I’m very familiar with fruit salads that are more like desserts. It’s our excuse to have a dessert as a side dish, and I’m here for it. Don’t knock it until you try it! It’s the perfect addition to any holiday party or summer potluck. Need to bring something to your Labor Day celebration, work party, picnic, or cookout? Try this mandarin cookie salad and watch it go quickly!
This cookie salad recipe is so easy and right up there with some of my favorites like fluff and jello salad. And while it does have fruit like ambrosia salad, it is also similar to this Oreo Fluff Salad that is light, sweet, and loaded with broken pieces of cookie! Who doesn’t love cold jello desserts?
Cookie Salad Recipe Ingredients
To make this cookie salad recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Fudge Stripes Cookies
- instant pudding (vanilla or French vanilla preferred but cheesecake pudding would also work)
- buttermilk
- canned pineapple chunks or tidbits
- canned mandarin oranges
- Cool Whip whipped topping
This classic recipe has always featured buttermilk in place of regular milk. The tangy flavor added by the buttermilk makes this salad special, in my opinion. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own buttermilk with lemon juice or vinegar with the instructions at the bottom of this post.
If you really don’t like the flavor of buttermilk, you can substitute whole milk or 2% milk. Skim milk can work but it may affect the flavor, texture and overall creaminess to this salad.
How to Make Cookie Salad
While this classic cookie salad recipe is quite easy, I’ve still broken it down with simple steps. No hand mixer required! Start by grabbing a large bowl and whisking buttermilk and instant pudding for two minutes.
Fold in your whipped topping. (Make sure your Cool Whip is fully thawed.)
Add in canned pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges. Be sure your canned fruit is very well drained so your cookie salad lasts longer and doesn’t get as watery. Cover and chill at least one hour or until ready to serve.
Just before serving, break your Fudge Stripe Cookies into bigger, bite sized chunks. Gently fold into your chilled pudding mixture.
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with additional fudge striped cookies.
You can keep it simple with a couple of cookies or you can crumble another cookie or two to really take it over the top.
It may seem that all of these ingredients together would be too sweet, but I’ve never found that to be the case. It is light, fluffy and refreshing. The tang of the buttermilk combined with sweetness of the fruit, pudding and whipped topping are quite delicious. I especially love the surprise crunch of the cookies. Somehow this vintage recipe just works!
How to make a buttermilk substitute:
Buttermilk is preferred as it adds a nice tang to the salad. If you don’t have buttermilk available, you can make buttermilk using the following method:
- Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup.
- Fill the measuring cup with milk until you reach the 1 1/2 cup mark.
- Stir well and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly and thicken, creating a buttermilk substitute.
How long does cookie salad last?
Ideally, you would enjoy this salad with crunchy cookies. Over time they will soften which is why you add in the striped cookies just before serving. However, I’ve found that the softened cookies still taste delicious and if you’ve drained your fruit very well, this salad lasts for several days covered in the refrigerator. (Assuming you don’t devour it all well before that.)
Cookie Salad with Fudge Stripe Cookies
Cookie Salad is an easy side dish or dessert option! It is always a hit at any potluck, cookout or holiday party and a favorite Midwest recipe. Give this fluff salad with crumbled Fudge Stripe Cookies, canned pineapple, mandarin oranges, pudding, and Cool Whip a try!! The tang from the buttermilk brings this recipe to another level.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 box (5.1oz) vanilla pudding (or french vanilla, or cheesecake)
- 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip whipped topping thawed
- 1 can (20oz) pineapple chunks well drained
- 1 can (11oz) mandarin oranges well drained
- 12 Fudge Stripes Cookies divided
Instructions
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In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk and pudding for two minutes.
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Fold in whipped topping and well drained pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges.
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Chill until ready to serve, at least one hour.
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Break up 10 Fudge Stripe Cookies into bite sized pieces. Fold into pudding mixture right before serving. Transfer to serving dish.
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Garnish with two additional cookies, either whole or crushed before serving.
Recipe Notes
Can be stored in refrigerator up to three days.
Buttermilk is preferred as it adds a nice tang to the salad. If you don’t have buttermilk available, you can make buttermilk using the following method:
- Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice into a measuring cup.
- Fill the measuring cup with milk until you reach the 1 1/2 cup mark.
- Stir well and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. The milk will curdle slightly and thicken, creating a buttermilk substitute.
If you don’t like the flavor of buttermilk, you can substitute whole milk or 2% milk.
Adding cookies right before serving keeps them from getting soft, however it is still delicious over time, even with softened cookies.
You can also garnish each individual serving with a whole cookie, if desired. This recipe calls for a half of a package (11.5 oz) Fudge Stripes Cookies so you will have extra.
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
More Dessert Salad Recipes
Looking for more dessert salads like this one? Here are some more of my favorite recipes!
- Pistachio Fruit Salad (Watergate Salad)
- Strawberry Jello Fluff
- Banana and Strawberry Cheesecake Salad
- Cherry Jello with Fruit
- Orange Jello Fluff
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Why is this just so goooood??? So easy and delicious.