Cranberry Nut Jello Salad

OK, so I first need to let all my real-food type friends know - back slowly away and avert your eyes.

This recipe won't fit in with a real-food recipe collection unless you get a little crazy and throw caution to the wind a couple times a year - LOL! I don't see any way to make substitutions in this recipe to meet those kind of standards. But if you want an easy, tasty side dish for your non-real-food family members, then here you go! This can even be served as a side for a Thanksgiving meal!

I've had this recipe for years, but only recently brought it to a church potluck and everyone who tried it enjoyed the flavor. And jello salads take me right back to my childhood! At any family gathering, there was at least one dish that contained jello. Did you grow up eating jello salads?

Cranberry Nut Jello Salad

2 6-oz packages cherry-flavored jello
2 cups boiling water
1 16-oz can jellied cranberry sauce
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine the gelatin from the packages with the boiling water. Stir {carefully 'cause that is some serious red color that can splash out - LOL} until gelatin is completely dissolved. Mix in cranberry sauce and drained crushed pineapple. Stir until completely mixed.

Transfer to individual serving dishes {10+} or pour all into 1 large dish. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Chill until set and serve. Could also top servings with some whipped cream.

And just so you know, I grew up having the canned jellied cranberry sauce with our Thanksgiving meals! I don't serve it at my Thanksgiving meals these days. I have made homemade cranberry sauce, but the cranberry side I serve most often that everybody seems to enjoy is Pantry Cranberry-Apple Sauce. What kind of cranberry side dish do you have at Thanksgiving?

This post linked to:
 ~ Chic & Crafty Party at The Frugal Girls

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Have a blessed day friends!

Would You Like Dessert With That? ~ Jello Cookies

Well look at you.  You almost made it through another week!  Hey - I did too!  It was a tough week with my kiddo home sick the entire week (still home now) - that definitely calls for chocolate, doesn't it?  Why don't you get some chocolate and toast the end of the week with me!

Since this is the first Friday of the month, I like to make it Dessert Friday so the poor little non-chocolate desserts get their chance to shine!  :)  You can link up dessert recipes with or without chocolate or your usual chocolate posts.

Today I'm going to share some cookies with you that you can color to match your occasion.  The recipe came out of my Celebrating 100 Years of JELL-O that I got several years ago.  I forgot all about these cookies and remembered them on St. Patrick's Day when I was trying to think of a green dessert to make for my kiddo!  The official name is Gaiety Pastel Cookies.  Really??  You can just call 'em Jello Cookies like I do - LOL!  The fun part is that you can use any flavor of jello and get that color - I used lime for green.  The color is subtle, but sprinkling the jello on top helps enhance it.  They are yummy - like tangy sugar cookies!

Jello Cookies

3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 package (4-serving size) JELL-O gelatin, any flavor
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Additional JELL-O gelatin (same flavor you used), for sprinkling

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix flour and baking powder in medium bowl.  Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer to soften.  Gradually add sugar and 1 pkg gelatin, beating until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating well after each addition.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten with bottom of glass.  Sprinkle with additional gelatin.  

Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Remove from cookie sheets.  Cool on wire racks.  Store in tightly covered container,

Makes about 5 dozen cookies **(I cut the recipe in half - a little tricky with the Jello - because I didn't want that many cookies and couldn't handle using up 3 sticks of organic butter in 1 shot!)

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Have you ever heard of these cookies?  What flavor/color of Jello would you use?

Now...it's your turn!  Go get (or write) those dessert or chocolate posts and bring them right back to link up!  I'm using the fun little thumbnail linky so we can see pics of the yumminess that's linked up!  I would love for you to share something, even if it's been buried in your archives - dust it off so we can get some new dessert ideas!

Have a lovely day friends - filled with chocolate and desserts (but not *too* much, OK?)!