I should call these “lucky day” dessert shooters.
And it’s not for the obvious reasons. Before we get down to all things shamrock-y for these Rainbow Dessert Shooters, I want to impart a sweet little secret that allows me to stave off late-night ice cream and cream-pie cravings. Two little words: yogurt and whip. Mix up your favorite flavor of Yoplait light yogurt (vanilla, key lime pie, etc.) 50/50 with some reduced calorie whipped topping. Add a tablespoon or so of your fave yummy-but-highly-caloric-granola, and there you have it. Sweet, creamy, crunchy – but you can even add a berry or two or a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips to cover all the dessert bases.
Best of all, the concept is highly customizable – add a green sugar rim, a little food coloring, and swap out the granola for a more holiday appropriate Lucky Charms, and it’s an adorable little St. Patty’s Day treat!
The method is almost too easy to write out for you, but let me impart a few tips that may be helpful.
The first is making little holiday flags. I have friends who make elaborate, embellished personalized flags for their desserts – something I find so impressive! But I personally don’t have the time or the scrapbooking equipment. Cute stickers from my local craft store are a fun, easy substitute. Just sandwich the pointy end of a toothpick in between two identically shaped stickers, and there it is – a tiny flag!
Next, sugar the rims of the glasses. This is super fast and easy if you have leftover white frosting on hand – just spread a tiny bit along the very rim and dip into the sugar. To avoid white patches, color the frosting green first. If you don’t have frosting on hand, moistening the rims with water or a slice of orange or lemon. Set the sugared glasses aside until you’re ready to start layering.
Mix the yogurt and whipped topping, 50/50, divide into bowls and color as desired. For 8 good sized parfaits (made in 9 oz plastic cups) I used a 2 lb tub of Yoplait vanilla yogurt. (I used the empty tub to measure the whipped topping.) Then just divide the mixture into six bowls, color as desired (I used 4 to 6 drops of liquid food coloring in each bowl).
Layer in cups, starting with the yogurt mixture – about 2 heaping tablespoons. Add enough cereal to cover the yogurt (otherwise the colors will bleed). Then, repeat. I was able to get three colors in each cup. It’s a delicate balance, you need enough cereal to keep the layers apart, and enough yogurt mixture so the shooter isn’t too dry. So three was my “lucky” number. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
These little guys are best when assembled shortly before serving – maybe an hour or so. Otherwise the cereal can get a little soggy. Before serving, top each parfait with a little flag, and get ready to enjoy a 9 oz helping of rainbow-y dessert-y good fortune!
More Lucky Charms to Eat!
XO, Michelle
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