B's Guest: Brownie and raspberry trifle

Earlier in the week you met Lauren who I had met during Fall Fashion week in New York in September and today you get to meet my other blog bff Erika! I've been drooling over this post since she sent it to me and almost couldn't resist waiting to share it while I was away but thankfully I held back so you could experience this goody while I'm still in Turkey. We will be finishing up the weekend in Izmir then on Sunday it is off to Rome so the next time we chat I will be saying Buongiorno!

Hey everyone, Erika from Shoes, Shirts & Other Sh!t here guest blogging for B will she's enjoying a fabulous vacation in Europe!

Most people think that the time to indulge is around the holidays, but my favorite time to indulge is during the summer--I'm more active and burning more calories, so I feel less guilty eating little treats every day! (Seriously, I think I've had ice cream 6 out of 7 days a week since the weather started to get nice.) My favorite new recipe for summer is a recipe that my mom made for the first time for a BBQ on the 4th of July that she got from a friend, who got it from a friend...and so on... so we have no idea where the original recipe is from, but it is totally delicious!

Chocolate pudding mousse, clouds of cool whip, gooey brownies and summer's ripest raspberries make up this delicious trifle that (if you don't include the brownie baking time) only takes about 15 minutes to whip up! You have the option of making the trifle in one large trifle bowl, or like I did, in small bar glasses for individual servings. Should you decide to make them in glasses, you'll need about 10-12, 6 oz bar glasses or parfait glasses, depending on how many times you want to layer the trifle.

Here's your ingredient list:
3 cups of cold milk (skim, whole, 2%, soy...whatever your preference)
2, 3.9 oz packages of Jell-o Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling (sugar free is an option)
1, 8 oz tub of Cool Whip, thawed, divided (I used Cool Whip Lite to cut the calories and fat)
1 pt (2 cups) of rinsed raspberries

Directions:
-Prepare brownies according to box directions, or your favorite recipe. When cooled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes or smaller.
-Pour milk into a large bowl and stir in pudding mixes. Beat with a wire wisk for 2 minutes or until well-blended (pudding will begin to thicken).
-Stir 1 cup of Cool Whip into the pudding.

Assembly:
-In glasses, place 2-3 brownies at the bottom. I flattened the brownies with a spoon, to make the appearance from the outside look nicer. In a trifle bowl, use half the brownies.
-In glasses, top with about 2 teaspoons each of chocolate pudding/Cool Whip mixture, followed by a layer of the remaining Cool Whip. In a trifle bowl, use 1/2 of each mixture.
-Top with raspberries.
-Repeat layers until glasses are full.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve, if you're anything like me, you'll eat it immediately!

This recipe would also work really well with strawberries or bananas, even though I haven't tried it yet, I may try both very soon!

I hope you enjoy this tasty, refreshing summer treat!

xoxo, Erika