Mango Cream Cheese Delight

Mangoes are still in season here, and my hubby's co-worker recently blessed us with a bag full of mangoes from his grandma's mango tree.  I had made a loaf of mango bread a few weeks prior, so I changed it up and made a pan of mango cream cheese squares using this  recipe that I found on Hawaiian Electric's website.

I started this recipe by making with the last layer first (you'll see why later) by boiling 3 cups of water, and mixing it with one 6 oz box of orange flavored jello. I made sure the jello was completely dissolved before moving on.

While my oven was preheating at 350 degrees, I combined 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts, and 3/4 cup (1 1/2 blocks) of cut butter.  Then I lightly pressed it into the bottom of my 9 x 13 prepared baking pan and baked it for 15 minutes.

While my crust was cooling, I proceeded to make the middle layer by mixing 1 package of cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then I folded in 8 ounces of defrosted Cool Whip, and spread the cream cheese mixture evenly onto the crust.  Then I placed this in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Then I placed 4 cups of chopped mangoes on top of the cream cheese layer

and slowly poured my cooled down jello over the mangoes. 

Then I placed it back in the refrigerator and allowed it to set for a few hours.

If you ask me, this is the best way to enjoy mangoes!

If you prefer to make the gelatin layer from scratch, check out Nadia's recipe!

Click here for the link to the original recipe.