5 Cup Fruit Salad

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5-Cup Fruit Salad is a delightfully simple fruit salad consisting of just 5 ingredients: mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut, mini marshmallows, all tossed in plain yogurt or sour cream. A bit of pineapple juice is used to lightly sweeten the yogurt/sour cream, bringing the whole thing together in a simply sweet way.

This fruit salad has been a part of family dinners and holidays since I was a teenager. It couldn’t be quicker to pull together, it’s inexpensive, and it’s fruit based, while still being delicious (creamy!) and fun (marshmallows!). The coconut gives texture, the fruit is juicy, and the mini marshmallows soften, melting in your mouth.

This 5 Cup Fruit Salad uses canned fruit to keep prep time and costs down, but feel free to use fresh fruit where you wish!

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5 Cup Fruit Salad
Yield 3-5
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Total time
10 Min

5 Cup Fruit Salad

Easy, creamy, tropical fruit salad with just five inexpensive ingredients is perfect for holidays or anytime!
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine oranges, pineapple, marshmallows, and coconut. Toss lightly to combine.
  2. Add sour cream and reserved pineapple juice and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served day of making.

Notes

  • Sweetened coconut can be used in place of the unsweetened. Unsweetened may be harder to find than sweetened, but it keeps the sugar down and lets the fruit really shine.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

458

Fat

21 g

Sat. Fat

18 g

Carbs

64 g

Fiber

10 g

Net carbs

55 g

Sugar

50 g

Protein

11 g

Sodium

52 mg

Cholesterol

3 mg

Nutritional information is approximate; based on 3 servings.

tropical fruit salad, retro five cup fruit salad
side dish, dessert
American
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5 Cup Fruit Salad

Serves 3-5

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15oz/425g) mandarin orange segments, drained

  • 1 can (8oz/226g) pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained and 1 Tbsp juice reserved

  • 1 cup / 57g mini marshmallows

  • 1 cup / 80g shredded unsweetened coconut

  • 1 cup (8oz/226g) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine oranges, pineapple, marshmallows, and coconut. Toss lightly to combine.

  2. Add sour cream and reserved pineapple juice and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served day of making.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Sweetened coconut can be used in place of the unsweetened. Unsweetened may be harder to find than sweetened, but it keeps the sugar down and lets the fruit really shine.

S'mores Cookies

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Last Updated September 22, 2024

An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summer goodness.

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven.

There are a couple of different ways to make these cookies, depending on if you prefer to whip up cookies using ingredients you probably already have on hand, or if you don’t mind planning a bit ahead to make it as close to a real s’more as possible.

The Chocolate

Classic s’mores call for Hershey’s milk chocolate. The thin, milk chocolate 1.55oz bars. Not thick ones, not the minis given out at Halloween. For some reason, s’mores need that specific thickness and size of Hershey’s. For this reason, to get the closest to classic s’mores as possible, use the 1.55oz Hershey’s milk chocolate bars.

For a slightly more convenient option, use milk chocolate chips. It’s still milk chocolate, even if it doesn’t have the unique taste of Hershey’s milk chocolate.

In a pinch, you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in these, but those options are not as s’mores-esque as milk chocolate.

The Marshmallows

Classic s’mores call for regular sized marshmallows, but cutting up marshmallows is sticky and not so fun. Mini marshmallows are the way to go. Here I do highly recommend you do not skip nor forget to line your cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper, as any marshmallows that come into contact with the cookie sheet while baking will want to stay attached for life. The marshmallows get all chewy in the cookies and delicious, so can be worth any potential mess.

S'mores cookies made with milk chocolate chips and dehydrated marshmallows

Another option is to use dehydrated marshmallows. They still give the marshmallow flavor without getting too sticky. They might not be as readily available as regular or mini marshmallows, but they have become more mainstream than when I first discovered them years ago. My local Meijer grocery store carries them! If you aren’t able to find them locally, they can be found on Amazon if all else fails, although probably more expensive than a grocery store.

The Graham Crackers

You’ll want to use classic, or regular graham crackers for these, or whatever you’d normally use to make s’mores. They lend a subtle, but buttery graham flavor to the cookies that completes the trio of s’mores flavors. They’ll need to be ground up to make fine crumbs, almost flour-like in consistency, or at least as fine as you can get them. Using a food processor is quickest, but you can also grind them up with a rolling pin.

If you’re thinking that adding 18 sheets (270g), of graham crackers feels like a lot, especially when the recipe already calls for 2 cups of flour, rest assured it is the correct amount. In fact, when I first began playing with this recipe I started with less graham crackers because I thought it might be too much. It wasn’t, and I was able to easily square off the recipe with using an even two packages (9 each) of graham crackers.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

S’mores Cookies

Makes about 26-32 cookies

Cookies and 2 year old drawings in the background, does it get any sweeter?

  • 3/4 cup / 169g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g brown sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 18 sheets / 270g graham crackers, finely ground

  • 2 cups / 240g all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 cup / 175g milk chocolate chips OR 4 (1.55oz bars) Hershey’s milk chocolate candy bars, roughly chopped

  • 1 cup / 50g dehydrated marshmallows OR 2 cups / 114g mini marshmallows

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

  1. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.

  2. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.

  3. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.

  4. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

S'mores Cookies
Yield 26-32
Author
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
35 Min

S'mores Cookies

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven. An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summery goodness.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
  2. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.
  4. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.
  5. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Notes

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

227.73

Fat

9.98 g

Sat. Fat

2.05 g

Carbs

30.67 g

Fiber

0.59 g

Net carbs

30.08 g

Sugar

13.51 g

Protein

2.35 g

Sodium

231.19 mg

Cholesterol

18.89 mg

Nutritional information is approximate, based on 26 servings.

s'mores cookies, toasted marshmallows, Hershey's milk chocolate, graham cracker cookies, summer dessert
dessert
American
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Avalanche Bark - Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Copycat

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White chocolate peanut butter coated Rice Krispie treats with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips.

These are so delicious and simple to make, needing only about 10 minutes and 5 ingredients. Pop it in the fridge and you’ve got yourself a tasty treat for yourself or for that party you forgot you were supposed to bring something to!

I always have people asking for this recipe when I take it places, and it’s an easy one to give because it’s so simple. Even once when I had made this in Italy, and only had some older overly-chewy marshmallows, (marshmallows aren’t a big thing there and different than US ones to begin with) it was still a hit. In fact, a friend, after asking for the recipe, asked what the chewy bits were, and when I embarrassingly told him about the stale marshmallows, he laughed and said, “they’re my favorite part!” These are so good, they’ll even make chewy marshmallows shine.

The shameless blogger backstory

I once worked at a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and honestly it was one of the most fun jobs I ever had. I enjoyed working with chocolate, making the caramel apples, fudge, barks, etc., I liked my colleagues, had a good boss, and yes, also enjoyed eating some chocolate. It was very low-stress and not overly physical, at least compared to having spent 6+ hours at the ballet studio during the day before going to RMCF.

This recipe is a copycat of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s Avalanche Bark. While legally I can’t give you the exact recipe, I would like to note that it would be completely impractical for me to even try. Everything there is made in much larger batches than a home baker would need to make, and by the time the recipe would be reduced down to a manageable quantity, you would have awful measurements like 0.1625 lbs of this or 2/3 tsp of that.

What I can tell you, is that this recipe is probably the closest you can get. But all of that could actually be irrelevant, as some of the other copycat recipes probably adjusted the recipe according to their tastes, and you can too! It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to look at a slice of authentic Rocky Mountain Avalanche Bark and compare it to some of the other copycat recipes to realize that hey, Rocky Mountain’s has more Krispies. Because really, if you like a lighter, crunchier version, add more Krispies (it would also be crumblier, by the way). If you want more of a true “bark”, add less Krispies. Or, add more marshmallows and less Krispies, for a chewier version. Maybe you want more chocolate chips on top. Maybe you want to mix chocolate chips into these instead of just sprinkling on top. As you can see, for only having 5 ingredients, this recipe has quite a few possibilities for customization.

Avalanche Bark

Makes about 9 generous squares

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz white chocolate chips

  • 1/2 cup / 130g peanut butter

  • 1 1/2 cups / 86g mini marshmallows

  • 3 1/2 cups / 98g rice krispies

  • 1/4 cup / 43g mini chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Line bottom of an 8x8in / 20x20cm square pan with wax paper.

  2. In a medium large pot, melt white chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat, stirring often.

  3. When white chocolate has just melted, remove from heat and stir in mini marshmallows. Gently fold in Rice Krispies until evenly coated.

  4. Spoon and spread into prepared pan, being careful not to flatten too much.

  5. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press lightly.

  6. Allow to set at room temperature or in fridge before slicing.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • While this recipe is very similar to Rocky Mountain’s, feel free to customize as you wish. Add more or less Krispies, more or less Mini marshmallows, more chocolate chips or even mix them in, etc.

Avalanche Bark - Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Copycat
Yield 9
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Inactive time
20 Min
Total time
30 Min

Avalanche Bark - Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Copycat

White chocolate and peanut butter coated rice krispies with chewy mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips make up this simple, no-bake dessert that tastes just like Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory's

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Line bottom of an 8x8in / 20x20cm square pan with wax paper.
  2. In a medium large pot, melt white chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat, stirring often.
  3. When white chocolate has just melted, remove from heat and stir in mini marshmallows. Gently fold in Rice Krispies until evenly coated.
  4. Spoon and spread into prepared pan, being careful not to flatten too much.
  5. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and press lightly.
  6. Allow to set at room temperature or in fridge before slicing.

Notes

  • While this recipe is very similar to Rocky Mountain’s, feel free to customize as you wish. Add more or less Krispies, more or less Mini marshmallows, more chocolate chips or even mix them in, etc.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

382.4

Fat

20.86 g

Sat. Fat

9.55 g

Carbs

45.03 g

Fiber

0.96 g

Net carbs

44.08 g

Sugar

32.81 g

Protein

6.56 g

Sodium

162.96 mg

Cholesterol

8.69 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 square if cut into 9 slices.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Avalanche Bark, no bake dessert
dessert
American
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