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Remember all that clean eating we have been doing?
Yeah, well can we just take like a millisecond break while we devour these parfaits?
Good, good, good. I am glad we are all on the same page.
I feel like these are totally ok since today is Friday, we have been eating good all week long and it is the end of the first full week back from Christmas Vacation. That right there deserves a stiff drink or in my case a damn good dessert.
And this is a damn good dessert.
It is funny because the day I set out to make a dessert, I did not know that an hour later I would have these.
Let me back up a little. I have kind of been wracking my brain a little too hard lately and that has resulted in a little lack of creativity, which for a person like me it the very worst thing. I have had a ton of things “gone wrong” and my family is still smack in the middle of moving, so half our stuff is in the new house and half at the old. Some people are sleeping here at the new house (me!) and a few are back at the old. It is total chaos and totally exhausting.
I have not been back to the old house in a few days (we have until the 15th), but I hear it is even worse than it is over here. Regardless, it has left everyone pretty tired… and a little bit cranky.
So yeah, my brain’s a little fried.
But then I started actually messing around with food.
And the idea hit.
Originally these were just going to be peanut butter + chocolate fudge. Good, but pretty dang boring and nothing I was honestly very excited about. Which totally bums me out. My favorite thing is to be super excited about a recipe.
So I was mixing the peanut butter, taking a spoonful or two, you know, to make sure it really was good. Then I thought, “man, these would be good with some crunch”. I was thinking maybe graham crackers, but then I was like nope, mom’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yes, it has to be those cookies.
And so it was.
And then forty minutes later I had these beauties.
Oh my gosh. I can’t even explain my excitement towards these. So good, so good.
And yes – EASY!
Obviously you can tell I am excited.
I can’t stop with the exclamation points and there may or may not be a gazillion and one photos in the post. Trust me there were actually more. This is the narrowed down version.
And my gosh, you should have seen the original name (could have been the entire post!).
For such a simple and quick dessert these have a lot going on.
There is peanut butter mousse that is fluffy, light and kind of dreamy, then the fudge sauce. Yes, real fudge sauce that takes just minutes to make. It is worth dirtying a pot for. Just do it.
And I mean, sure you could totally just use store-bought oatmeal cookies, but don’t. Mom’s recipe is SO easy. No chilling the dough and it comes out perfect every single time.
I am thinking of doing a whole post on them. Of exactly how she makes them. What do you think? They are crazy easy so I am wondering if it is worth a whole post?
Anywho, these are what your Friday needs to end with.
If you have leftover cookies lying around than these are a definite must. Dessert can be done in fifteen minutes. They are good eaten slighty warm or cold right out of the fridge. And if you are doing some weird and crazy New Years diet, may I highly suggest you forget about it for at least a few minutes while you go to town on one of these, deciding to finish it off by licking the glass clean. Then you can go back to your diet… maybe followed by a nice winter’s hike on Saturday.
Anyway, everyone knows diets take a weekend break starting Friday evening.
Oh, and my glasses where BIG. Completely awesome if you ask me, but you can definitely use eight smaller glasses if you want. I mean, mine did have three whole cookies per glass though. Loved it.
Quick + Easy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Peanut Butter Mousse and Fudge Parfaits
Ingredients
Chocolate Fudge (or you can sub store bought fudge sauce)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
- 3 ounces good bittersweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cup into small cubes
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Mousse
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup cold heavy cream, divided
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- First, make these [cookies | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/]!! Really you must. They are SO easy (just one bowl and no chill time) and SO good. Make them. Just let them cool a little before trying to crumble them.
- Then make the fudge. Stir together cocoa powder, brown sugar, corn syrup, cream, salt and half of the chopped milk chocolate. Place in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted. Cook mixture at a low boil, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add remaining chocolate, butter and vanilla and stir until smooth. Any leftover sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container. Reheat over low heat, stirring or just use the microwave.
- To make the mousse. Add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt, cream cheese and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and a hand mixer). Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream and whip until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and whip until smooth, light and fluffy.
- To assemble grab 4-8 jars or glasses. Crumble a few cookies. Only crumble 1 or 2 at a time in case you end up not using them all. Add the cookie crumbs to the bottom of all the serving glasses. Top the cookies with the peanut butter mousse and drizzle on the fudge sauce. If the fudge sauce has become solid, just place it back on the stove for a few seconds to lightly melt the sauce back into a pourable state. Repeat the layer until all the mousse has been used, but make sure to top everything off with a final layer of oatmeal cookie chunks. I had a total of 3 cookie layers and 2 peanut butter + fudge layers, but my glasses where pretty big. Drizzle any remaining fudge sauce over the top of the final cookie layer. Either serve right away or cover the parfaits and place them in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
These are totally necessary today.
I hit send before I finished typing that last comment… I recently discovered your blog and absolutely love it !!! You have so many great rec
Thank you so much, Aly! That means the world to me!
Ok these are he most amazingly ridiculous sinful things ever. I keep trying to convince myself they are healthy because ya know oatmeal ? But thank you so much !!! I r
Totally healthy! 🙂
Tieghan!!! I made these tonight but I used coconut cream instead of regular cream and they turned out just fabulous!! I especially love the peanut butter mousse but then again, I love anything peanut butter! My fiance and I just gobbled these up! Thanks for an awesome recipe! It’s definitely a keeper!
So happy you loved these!! Thanks for making them, Jasmin!
Yum! I think the oatmeal cookies deserve a post!
I think so too! 🙂
Thanks!
These aren’t decadent enough. 🙁
Heh. Sorry! I just had to.
These look AMAZING! Down with the healthy eating and on to stuff like this. Yay! 😀
PS – How did you do your layering so neatly? Mine always comes out looking like a mess. An ugly mess!
🙂 Thanks Erin!!
And the layering? It took me forever! No secret, just a lot of careful scooping and wiping!
wow. I mean, WOW! I found these on Pinterest and will definitely be making these beauties! What a perfect dessert for the family for Valentine’s Day. My sweet 3 yo will LOVE these. And I get to lick the bowls 🙂
Thanks Ariel!! Hope you guys all love these!
Those cookies. The layers. I love it!
Thanks Shaina! These were a huge hit!
Ohh holy crap, Tiegs! I want to plunge my face into this! PB and Chocolate are my jam!
Thank you so much, Megan!! PB and chocolate are the best combo.
Headed to check out your vanilla bean pastry cream soon!
Just…wow. SO gorgeous!
Thanks Dorothy!
What a gorgeous and delicious dessert! I love that you turned a simple cookie into something so glamorous!
Thank you so much, Mercedes!!
These look so delectable! Amazing pictures!
Thank you so much, Sommer! Hope you have a great Sunday!
Can I just have a bowl of that pb mousse? It looks so amazing. Finally, a parfait that isn’t fruit! Cookies, mousse, sauce, what is not to love? Your photographs are so good. I really don’t like photographing smoothies, parfaits, etc. For some reason I never get good shots. These, now these are beautiful. Maybe it has something to do with the chocolate and peanut butter. I can be biased towards those two;)
Haha! Thank you so much, Mary! I love fruity yogurt parfaits, but for breakfast not dessert!
I want this… right now. 🙂
My mouth is watering.
Thanks Kristi! Hope you get to make it!
I can hardly call it a parfait – it is more like a giant bowl of yumminess! I have never even heard of Peanut Butter Mousse!!! How creative
Haha! Thanks Kira, but peanut butter mousse is not my all my creation. I have seen it around before, But I just put my own spin on it! 🙂
Now THIS is a parfait! Love all the layers! 🙂 Have a great weekend Tieghan! (Email coming your way…)
Thanks Laura!!