Creamy Fruit Dip

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Oh how I look forward to my Guilty Pleasure Mondays, a.k.a. The Bachelor! It's funny to think that I used to hate these kinds of shows, and now, I'm hooked! Like for this season, Adrian and I both made our own teams of 3 each. Adrian's team consists of Corinne, Liz, and Vanessa. My team is made up of Danielle L., Danielle M., and Kristina. Sadly for Adrian, his team is actually down to two people after last week's episode, but my team is still going strong, and one of the ones on my team had a great starring moment during the Backstreet Boys part of tonight's episode :) :) I know, I know, no spoilers, and trust me, I'm trying super hard not to give too much away just in case some of you haven't seen tonight's episode yet. I mean, I'm still watching it as I'm writing this - speaking of, OMG, is Nick crying??!!

In preparing for tonight's episode, I decided I wanted a light dessert, something I could pair with all of the strawberries and blueberries I have in the fridge. I didn't want anything sticky or overly sweet, but I did know I wanted something fast, easy, and creamy, and something that Adrian would like as well, since this is his post-birthday week. Since he was at home today, I had him set out some cream cheese for it to get to room temperature, you know, something easy but enough for him to feel like he really took part in making this dip lol - it's one of my inside jokes with him. Once I got home, I mixed the cream cheese with the sour cream and the brown sugar in my stand mixer until everything was mixed well. I added a splash of vanilla and some milk, just enough for it to be creamy without being too liquidy, and oh my, it was delish! It reminded me of that cream cheese marshmallow fruit dip they sell at Publix, except sans the marshmallow. It was very lightly sweetened and really brought out the natural sweetness of the berries - a great way to end my Monday night. Now, let me sit back on the couch to enjoy the rest of this dip while watching the second half of The Bachelor. Good luck to all of the contestants!

Creamy Fruit Dip
adapted from: New Cook Book 14th Edition by Better Homes and Gardens

*makes: 2 cups*

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/8 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp "Crush" pure vanilla bean extract
2 tbsp whole Grade A milk

Directions:
1) In a small mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
2) Gradually add sour cream, beating until combined.
3) Add brown sugars and vanilla; beat just until combined.
4) Stir in enough milk to reach dipping consistency.
5) Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.
6) Serve with assorted fruit.



Spice Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/8 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp "Crush" pure vanilla bean extract
2 tbsp whole Grade A milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Lower-Calorie Fruit Dip

8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
8 oz light sour cream
1/8 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/8 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp "Crush" pure vanilla bean extract
2 tbsp whole Grade A milk



Creamy Marshmallow Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
7 oz marshmallow creme
1 tsp "Crush" pure vanilla bean extract
2 tbsp whole Grade A milk