My Journey Through the Holiday Fluff
If you grew up in the south, ever visited the south, or know someone from the south, then chances are you’ve seen some of this mystery dish at a potluck near you. Maybe I should preface the rest of this post by saying, I have always been one to look at it and think, “How in God’s name can someone even stomach that slop?” So that brought me to this year.
Here I am on, the cusp of being 36 commending myself on my willingness to try most things, especially cooking new dishes. Yet this monstrosity has completely eluded my kitchen. So, this year I decided I was finally going to give in. Not just by trying someone’s version of Holiday Fluff or by just whipping up a batch to take to the next holiday gathering. Nope, I have resolved to try several recipes to decide once and for all if I’ve simply had it all in my head that or if I really don’t like it.
So here it goes…
First up on my list of being brave was the ever popular “Pink Fluff”.
I looked at several recipes and the one I settled on seemed like it had a lot of positives. But, kind of like when two beautiful people get married and end up with an ugly baby, you just never know what’s going to happen when you throw a bunch of yummy ingredients together. I followed the recipe and anxiously waited for it to chill for the recommended 1-2 hours. Then I took a quick taste. As I had suspected…..it was too sweet. So sweet in fact, that it just about gagged me. But I do understand for some people that is a bonus. For me it wasn’t. I will make this dish again for a Holiday dinner, but I will not be partaking of it a second time. For those wanting to give it a whirl, here’s where you can find the recipe.
Next up was my biggest concern: the Green Fluff.
This dish goes by many names. Besides green fluff, you may also hear it called Pistachio Salad or Watergate Salad amongst others. Once again I followed the directions and waited the recommended chill time. This time, a whopping 3 hours.
So what was the result of this attempt? I’d have to say, honestly I was surprised. After the sickeningly sweet pink fluff, I wasn’t setting the bar very high for the green fluff. But as fate would have it, the green stuff wasn’t half bad. It’s still not something that I think would ever be in my must-have holiday dish list, but I would eat it again if it happened to show up on the potluck table. It lacked the sweetened milk of the first recipe and also didn’t have the funky texture of the shredded coconut that I don’t love. So for me this was a middle of the road dish. If you would like to try your hand at Pistachio Salad, the recipe I used can be found here.
Lastly, I tried something that had a great deal of promise. And boy did it deliver.
For the final dish, I give you “Chocolate Fluff”.
The easiest way I know how to describe the flavor is to imagine you stuck an Oreo or a DingDong snack cake in a blender. This one was hands down the winner of the three. It’s also the one that I forgot to take a picture of until it was too late.
So here’s a beautiful picture from the same site you can find the recipe on.
What did I learn from my 3 day experiment? Well, I guess it can be best summed up in the words of pretty much every teacher I ever had, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Although all three dishes went over well with my extended family, I did confirm that “fluff” really isn’t something that I find super appetizing. But just the same, they are all worth giving a try if you ever come across them. Until next time…..enjoy the opportunity to try new things.
Do you have a favorite holiday dessert recipe? Please share it in the comments!
