This Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Salad is a blend of creamy vanilla pudding, buttermilk, whipped topping, strawberries, and shortbread cookies. With its irresistible taste, you’ll find yourself reaching for ‘just one more’ spoonful (I know I did!), making it a must-have addition to your collection of Cookie Salad recipes!
Customize Your Cookie Salad: Ingredients & Yummy Substitutions
- Pudding: I used a box of instant vanilla pudding mix, which is the base for the creamy texture and vanilla flavor. You could try this with other flavors of instant pudding mix such as white chocolate or cheesecake.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds a little tanginess and richness to the pudding mixture. If you don’t have any on hand, make your own! You could use whole milk instead of buttermilk, but the salad won’t have that tanginess. It will still be delicious, though!
- Whipped Cream: You can use an 8-ounce tub of store-bought whipped topping that is thawed. Or, make my super creamy homemade whipped cream!
- Strawberries: With strawberries in season, I prefer fresh berries. Be careful if using frozen strawberries, as they release more liquid. If using frozen berries, thaw and drain as much liquid as you can before adding them to the salad.
- Shortbread Cookies: To give this salad (dessert) a buttery flavor like a classic strawberry shortcake, I love using shortbread cookies. They also add a nice crunch. Add the chopped cookies right before serving the salad so they don’t get soggy. If you don’t have shortbread cookies, graham crackers would also be delicious.
Alternatives To Strawberries In This Cookie Salad
If you don’t have strawberries, try this cookie salad with other kinds of berries. Here are a few options you could mix and match. Or, use a combination of several to create a unique and flavorful variation of the dessert salad!
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Sliced peaches
- Sliced bananas
- Diced mangoes
- Pineapple chunks
- Kiwi slices
- Mandarin orange segments
How To Store Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Salad
This Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Salad can be served right away or stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If not serving it right away, wait to fold in the cookie pieces. This will keep them from getting soggy. The salad will last in the refrigerator for up to a day or two.
Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup (245 g) buttermilk
- 8 ounces whipped topping, store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups (332 g) diced strawberries, reserving some for garnish (optional)
- 1 box (8 ounces) shortbread cookies, roughly crumbled, reserving some for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the pudding mix and the buttermilk. It will be thick. (You can use a whisk or a hand-held mixer.)
- Fold in the whipped topping.
- Add in the strawberries and stir well.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, mix in chopped cookies. Top with extra strawberries and cookies if desired.
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All these recipes are making me drool!! Actually I think I just gained weight thinking so deeply about them!! Thank you. Can’t wait to try them!!