(Note: this post was originally published on June 22, 2021. It has since been updated with a few tweaks.)

The Perfect Summer Dessert

Imagine your ideal summer dessert. Does it involve chocolate chip cookies? What about a creamy, dreamy chocolate avocado mousse? And maybe some colorful summer berries? Now imagine that it's also made with nourishing, whole-food ingredients. If this is sounding perfect, then you've come to the right place.

Simply put, this avocado mousse cookie tart is all of my dessert dreams realized. It's crunchy yet creamy; chocolatey yet still light; fresh, colorful, and festive. I can guarantee that we'll be making this pretty (and good for the body) avocado dessert for every special occasion all summer long, but especially July 4th!

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Avocado Mousse Cookie Tart Components

This summery avocado dessert has three simple components: a delightful cookie crust, a dreamy chocolate avocado mousse filling, and a rainbow of beautiful summer berries. Each element contributes a different texture and taste to this special seasonal dessert. Even though this tart looks fancy, there's absolutely nothing tricky about this recipe. If you can make cookies from a box, then you can make this tart!

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Step One: Cookie Crust

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a huge sucker for a good chocolate chip cookie. That's why I was thrilled when Meli's Cookies asked to partner with me on a recipe using their wonderful cookie mixes. I'll choose a cookie over a cake or tart 100% of the time, but in this dessert you can have BOTH (!!!) because the tart crust is made out of a chocolate chip cookie crumble.

You'll just bake the cookies, crush them up, and bind them together with some peanut butter and coconut oil. Easy! Because Meli's Cookies are made with whole foods like oat flour and oats (with no other flour substitutes), this crust is delicious but also made with wholesome ingredients. Their cookie mixes are certified gluten free, kosher, and preservative free, and the resulting cookies are surprisingly protein-rich.

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Step Two: Chocolate Avocado Mousse Filling

Next up is the filling. I wanted to create a dessert that would be good for the body as well as the soul, so this chocolate mousse filling actually gets its wonderful richness from avocados. If you've never tried an avocado dessert before, please keep an open mind. The chocolate covers up the avocado flavor completely, and the texture is creamier than any traditional pudding or mousse out there. I promise you'll be smitten.

Because the filling is just avocados (make sure they're ripe), cocoa powder, melted dark chocolate, vanilla, and a bit of maple syrup, it comes together quickly using a food processor. Like the crust, it's made with real food ingredients. (Hint: bookmark this recipe and make the avocado mousse any time you want a rich, chocolatey treat. It's dynamite just piped into cute serving dishes with berries on top.)

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Step Three: Summer Fruit

The final component of this special dessert is colorful, juicy, fresh fruit. I used dragonfruit and strawberries cut into stars as well as blueberries, since I wanted to create a red, white, and blue July 4th vibe. The end result is unique and festive. But you can easily use whatever berries you love, or any fruit that pairs well with chocolate. I bet a raspberry version of this for Valentine's Day would be fabulous.

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Make-Ahead Tips

Even though there's nothing hard about making this tart, it does require a couple different steps and some waiting time. Fortunately, it's make-ahead friendly and quite flexible. I even tested it a few different ways to give you as many options as possible. Because it's so make-ahead friendly, this unique avocado dessert is great for entertaining.

For the crust, you can make the cookies in advance and freeze them. Or, make the whole crust, carefully slide it into a big freezer bag, and freeze the whole thing. Either works great, but the latter will make your life even easier. The crust can stay in the freezer for as long as a couple weeks, so make it whenever you have some free time and it will be ready to go.

For the chocolate avocado mousse, you can make it up to a day ahead of time. Then you can either fill the tart right before serving, or fill the tart and then chill it overnight. I recommend the overnight chill for easier cutting and minimal effort. Or, you can fill the tart crust and freeze the whole thing; the make-ahead options really are endless here.

You can even cut the fruit in advance for extra efficiency. Just store it in a sealed container for up to a day. The only time-sensitive piece is that you'll want to add the fruit to the tart right before serving; otherwise, any extra fruit juice could make the avocado mousse look messy.

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Ingredients and Substitutions

Here's what you'll need for this decadent-yet-healthy avocado dessert, as well as some thoughts, tips, and possible substitutions. If you make any substitutions, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.

• Box of Meli's Monster Cookies Choco-Lot gluten free cookie mix. Yum these mixes are fun! Buy yourself a couple, you'll definitely use them.
• Peanut butter. I've only tried this with good old PB, but I imagine it would work great with any nut butter. Leave a comment below if you try it.
• Coconut oil. I expect melted butter would work fine too, although note that I haven't tried it.
• High-quality dark chocolate chips
• Avocados. They absolutely must be ripe for this to work! Please please don't try to make this recipe with unripe avocados, I can assure you that the results will be disastrous.
  
• Maple syrup
• High-quality cocoa powder
• Vanilla
• Dragonfruit. I adore these bizarre, beautiful fruits, but they can be hard to find and are expensive. Any light-colored fruit will work if you can't find dragonfruit. Or omit it altogether and use raspberries instead.
  
• Strawberries
• Blueberries

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Closing Thoughts

Isn't this chocolate avocado mousse tart dreamy? The combination of crunchy cookies and creamy mousse is absolute heaven, and I love that it seems so fancy but is secretly easy (and very make-ahead friendly). Everything about this dessert is begging to be invited to your next summer party.

I'm so excited about this recipe. Summer is definitely the time for celebrations and festive desserts, and this one is so perfect for July 4th. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

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Share It!

It makes me so happy to hear from you and see your creations! Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this recipe. If you post a photo on Instagram, hashtag #TheRogueBrusselSprout and tag me (@TheRogueBrusselSprout) in the post text so that I'm sure to see it.

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Suggested Pairings

Coconut Paloma

Watermelon Nachos with Avocado Sauce

Mojito Corn Salad

Grilled Peach and Farro Salad

Grilled Corn, Strawberry, and Avocado Salad

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‍Disclosure: This recipe has been developed through a paid partnership with Meli's Cookies. However, all opinions and thoughts are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Rogue Brussel Sprout running.