Keep sweet treats simple on those hot, summer days! These easy and pretty Watermelon, Berries, and Cream mason jar desserts combine fresh fruit and crispy vanilla cookies, with no baking required.
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When it's way too hot outside to bake up your favorite cookies, cake, or pie, no-bake desserts like this one save the day! Watermelon, Berries, and Cream Mason Jar Desserts are refreshing and pretty to look at, too.
The red, white, and blue colors of the layered fruit and cream desserts mean that they're perfect for Memorial Day or Fourth of July cookouts. They're also fun to make with kids who are home for summer vacation!
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In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: A pretty, refreshing dessert that captures all the sweetness of summertime in New England. Layers of watermelon, berries, and whipped cream make darling mason jar desserts.
- You'll love this part: It's a simple treat that's perfect for hot days when you don't want to turn on the oven. And a fun recipe to make with kids.
- How it's made: Use a cookie cutter to get fresh watermelon shapes, whip up some cold cream, and then layer them in jars with cookies and berries.
Summer is watermelon-flavored
There are many sure signs of summer in New England—like the opening of the first farmer's markets of the season, hopeful gardeners moving vegetable starts out into the dirt, weekend traffic backing up on 90, 495, 93, 89, 295, Route 7, and Route 6, umbrellas and brightly-colored towels dotting the beaches, and the tinny music of ice cream trucks seeping through neighborhoods.
Oh, and there's also the watermelon! Long before locally grown options are available, huge, bulging cardboard bins of hefty watermelons appear in grocery stores; an irrefutable sign of summer.
Once they appear, we jam watermelon into our days every which way we can! Chunks of the pink fruit are blended into slushies and cocktails, diced into salsas, or folded into fruit salad. Thick slices are set out on picnic tables at barbecues and cookouts.
Whole melons are injected with vodka or tequila, then sliced into boozy cubes to eat as the sun sets. Some folks cover watermelons with frosting and call them cake! Sensible home cooks even pickle watermelon rinds with vinegar and cinnamon, wasting not one bit.
Perhaps we do all this because for us, watermelons represent summer itself—a thing that's refreshing and sweet, a source of cheer, with us for only a short while, and one that we miss dearly once the season is over.
Why you'll love this dessert
One of the first things you'll love about Watermelon, Berries, and Cream is the lightly sweetened homemade whipped cream that's so easy and quick to make. And it tastes AMAZING thanks to a hint of vanilla extract.
Also, desserts in jars are just fun to make. The sliced melon, summer berries, and cream are layered into small mason jars, making them easy to serve. No mason jars? You can use small glass bowls, sundae dishes, or clear cups instead.
A vanilla wafer cookie on top provides a satisfying crunch as you delve into the layers.
If you have kids, nieces and nephews, grandkids, or kids you're babysitting, this is a fun recipe to make with them! They can help press out watermelon stars with a cookie cutter and layer the ingredients into the jars.
🔪 How to make Berry, Watermelon, and Cream Mason Jar Desserts
Ingredients:
- Watermelon: Choose a firm melon with no mushy spots and that's heavy for its size. You will have some watermelon leftover.
- Whipping cream: Make the whipped cream from scratch with heavy whipping cream. It's really easy and very tasty.
- Confectioners' sugar: The fine texture of powdered sugar ensures that it will dissolve smoothly into the cream.
- Vanilla extract: Always use a quality, pure vanilla, such as Nielsen-Massey brand.
- Blueberries: Check through your fresh blueberries to remove any that are shriveled.
- Vanilla wafer cookies: Such as 'Nilla Wafers! The simple cookies are the finishing touch on each dessert.
Slice up a watermelon.
Cut the watermelon into slices about one inch thick.
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Cut out stars
Use a cookie cutter to cut stars out of the watermelon. Then slice the stars into thinner stars.
Make the whipped cream
Make the whipped cream using a chilled bowl and beater, heavy cream, and sugar.
Assemble the desserts
Layer the fruit and cream in the mason jars, with the watermelon stars along the sides so they're visible through the glass. The cookie goes on top!
Tips:
- Get the freshest fruit you can find for the watermelon, berries, and cream recipe. A ripe watermelon should feel heavy for its size, have a hollow sound when you knock on it, and have one yellow spot from where it was laying on the ground. Check the blueberries for stems and discard any shriveled ones.
- In all likelihood, you'll have watermelon leftover. Use what you need for this recipe, then slice up the rest for snacking. Or use some to make Tomato Watermelon Salad.
- Before slicing the watermelon, take a little slice off the bottom of it so that it sits flat while you make the larger cuts.
- If you don't have glass mason jars, you can use clear plastic cups or small glass bowls. Clear dishes are ideal, so that the watermelon stars will show through the sides.
FAQs
Yes, this can be a make-ahead mason jar dessert! Layer the watermelon, berries, and cream in the jars, cover them with food wrap, and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to serve them—up to 24 hours in advance. Add the cookies to the top just before serving.
This easy mason jar dessert will work just fine with spray whipped cream, which is good news if you're a little short on time. I do recommend trying these layered fruit desserts with homemade whipped cream, though. It's very easy to make and so delicious!
You can pair the sweet flavor of watermelon with several other fruits in this mason jar dessert if you'd like. I recommend sliced strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, sliced fresh peaches, orange segments, or cantaloupe chunks.
Half-pint mason jars with wide mouths (like these from Amazon) are ideal. They're just the right size to make single-serving mason jar desserts. And the good news is that brands like Ball are reasonably priced and often sold at grocery stores. After the desserts are gone, the mason jars are great for storing food or for shaking up homemade margaritas!
The recipe for Watermelon, Berry, and Cream Mason Jar Desserts is below! And here are more colorful fruit dessert recipes, too:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Watermelon, Berries, and Cream, a Mason Jar Dessert
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Equipment
- 4 half-pint mason jars or small bowls
Ingredients
- 1 small watermelon (About 3 to 4 pounds)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 6 ounces fresh blueberries, washed and dried
- 4 vanilla wafer cookies (like Nilla Wafers brand)
Instructions
- Place the bowl and whisk attachment from a stand mixer into the freezer to chill.
Prepare the fruit:
- Slice the watermelon into 1-inch thick slices. Use a small star-shaped cookie cutter (mine is 2¾ inch) to cut out stars from the slices.
- On a cutting board, use a sharp knife to carefully slice each star into 4 or 5 thinner stars—the thinner they are the more flexible they will be when placing them in the jars.
- (Wrap and save any leftover watermelon for another time.)
Make the cream:
- Get the mixing bowl and whisk attachment from the freezer and assemble them on your stand mixer. Pour the whipping cream into the bowl and whip the cream on high speed. After the cream has been mixing for 3 minutes, turn it off and add in the confectioner's sugar and the vanilla.
- Turn the mixer back on and beat the cream on high speed for another 2 to 3 minutes. Watch the cream carefully for the last 2 minutes or so: you want the whipped cream to be stiff but if you overbeat it you will end up with vanilla-flavored butter!
Assemble the desserts:
- Spoon ¼ cup of whipped cream into the bottom of the mason jar or small bowl. Tap the jar a few times on the table to settle the whipped cream.
- Hold the jar at an angle and place a watermelon star inside, against the side of the glass. Still holding the jar at an angle, drop in 10 to 12 blueberries so that they layer against the watermelon slice. Then, place another watermelon star in the jar above the blueberries.
- Hold the top watermelon slice against the glass with your finger and spoon in another ¼ cup of whipped cream: the cream should go over the blueberries and between the watermelon stars, so that the stars are visible from the outside of the jar. Tap the jar on the table a few times to settle the whipped cream.
- Drop in 10 to 12 more blueberries on top of the cream. Top off the jar with one more watermelon star and one vanilla wafer cookie.
- Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
To make in advance:
- If you are preparing these in advance, hold off on the cookies. Assemble the fruit and cream in the jars or bowls up t0 24 hours ahead of time. Cover the jars loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate them.
- Top each with a cookie just before you serve them.
Notes
- Get the freshest watermelon and blueberries you can find. A ripe watermelon should feel heavy for its size, have a hollow sound when you knock on it, and have one yellow spot from where it was laying on the ground. Check the blueberries for stems and discard any shriveled ones.
- To make these in advance, layer the fruit and cream into the jars, cover them with plastic wrap, and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to serve them—up to 24 hours in advance. Add the cookies to the top just before serving.
Nutrition
Christian says
I will NEVER advocate for changing a recipe, but your watermelon-less version of this was delightful!
Nancy Mock says
Yes, it is an easy treat to change up for non-watermelon fans! Any fresh fruit can be layered into this mason jar dessert.