If there’s one thing I love (and sometimes hate) about my husband, it’s his tireless enthusiasm for holidays. So, when he suggested we throw a Christmas party on the only free day we had during the three weeks leading up to Christmas, I wasn’t immediately sold. However, after the tiniest bit of convincing, I too was overtaken by the Christmas spirit and conceded. We chose a 3:30 p.m. start time since most guests (ourselves included) would be bringing babies under the age of 1. With that in mind, we settled on a menu of heavy snacks, plus several holiday-themed cocktails.
My husband volunteered to play bartender for the night and immediately began workshopping an apple spice simple syrup for a riff on an old fashioned . He dubbed it the Good Old-Fashioned Christmas. Once he started talking about making ice wreaths for Christmas margaritas, I knew he had his station covered.
I set my sights on a menu of comforting crowd-pleasers that would be easy to put together and could include a few store-bought items. Sausage balls, charcuterie (in the shape of a Christmas tree of course), pigs in a blanket, and jalapeno popper dip all graced our spread. I also made a trip to my local Sam’s Club to stock up on their Chick-fil-A nugget dupes and the mini spanakopita that stole the show during a previous year’s Christmas party.
For dessert, I wanted something with a bit of pizzaz. When I came across our recipe for Heaven In A Bowl, I knew it was perfect. The chocolate-peanut butter trifle was such a hit that I decided to make it again just four days later for our church group’s Christmas party. Two times in one week—now that’s a party.
Why Heaven In A Bowl Is The Perfect Party Dessert
Credit:
Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Can Be Made In Advance
When deciding on a recipe, I knew I wanted something that could be made in advance and wouldn’t require any of my precious oven space in the hours leading up to the party. A trifle fit the bill.
Showstopping Display
There’s nothing like adding a little bit of a height to your tablescape, and dessert is an excellent way to do it. If you don’t have the time or skill to make a multilayer cake (that’s me), a trifle achieves the same “look at me” wow factor with far less work.
Crowd-Pleasing Flavors
They say you can’t go wrong with chocolate, and in my opinion, unless you’re dealing with a peanut allergy, you really can’t go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate. Yes, something with a raspberry swirl would have looked nice and festive on my holiday table. But I think my guests were happy to trade the color for the classic flavor combo.
A Touch Of Nostalgia
Something about a glass trifle dish just screams tradition. It’s easy to imagine the vintage platter on your grandmother’s table and that’s partially what we love it so much.
Easy To Make
The fact that this recipe calls for boxed brownie mix tells you everything you need to know. The peanut butter “custard” is easy to whip up, then all that’s left to do is chop some Reese’s peanut butter cups and start layering the components.
How To Make Heaven In A Bowl
Credit:
Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
My favorite thing about this recipe is that there’s not much baking involved. Try as I may, baking is just not my gifting. Whipping up a couple boxes of brownie mix (as this recipe requires), I can handle. Anything else is above my pay grade.
Prepare The Components
Credit:
Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
After you’ve made and crumbled up your brownies into bite-sized pieces, you’ll want to unwrap and roughly chop about a zillion Reese’s peanut butter cups. Okay, it was actually 41, but the pile of wrappers filling my trashcan made it feel like more. The next step is to make the peanut butter custard or pudding filling. This step starts with making your own whipped cream. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get my heavy whipping cream to achieve “stiff” or even “soft” peaks, so I had to acquiesce to store-bought. Luckily, I can report that the substitution worked perfectly fine. Next you whip together peanut butter, cream cheese, whole milk, and vanilla pudding mix. Fold in the whipped cream, and you’re ready to assemble.
Assemble The Trifle
Credit:
Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
This was my favorite part about making this recipe. The layers are as follows: brownie, peanut butter cups, pudding, brownie, peanut butter cups, pudding, whipped cream. Do all that again, then garnish the top with leftover brownies and peanut butter cups. Once the trifle bowl is so full you can’t possibly add another thing, you know you’re done and ready to chill or serve. And the best part? Everyone can serve themselves. No fumbling over a cake knife or trying to get out that first piece. Everyone grabs a scoop (or three) and continues down the buffet table. It’s the perfect holiday dessert, and I’m so happy this is the year I found it.
Dining and Cooking