Thursday, June 7, 2012

Feeding Friendship: No-Bake* Strawberry Cheesecake

Well, strawberries have been plentiful at the Farmer's Market and grocery store! Thanks, Ellie, for choosing strawberries for this round of Feeding Friendship!

I did a quick search of the usual sites (Pinterest, Punchfork) to get some ideas of what to make for this round. I ended up searching through the recipes at Skinny Taste and found this AWESOME No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake recipe!

The reason there's an asterisk in the title for this blog, is because I did some baking when I made it. I made the crust from scratch which required baking. It was So. Worth. It. though. This cheesecake makes me cackle to myself every time I cut myself a slice. I've decided this is the sign of a truly good dish from me: it inspires a cackle. So, without further ado...

Graham Cracker Crust (The recipe says to get store bought, but we're better than that, right?)
1 package of Graham Crackers (about 9 rectangular sheets)
1/3 c white sugar
6 T butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional, I just did a sprinkle)

Cheesecake Filling
1  8oz package cream cheese (go for the low-fat or fat-free if you wish)
1  8oz package cool whip (fat-free or lite, if you dare)
5-6 small strawberries, pureed (I added these for color and perhaps some flavor)
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
15-20 small strawberries, hulled and halved, lengthwise

1) To make the crust, combine all crust ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Press into pie plate and cooke at 375 degrees for ~8-10 min, until browned. Let cool before adding filling.

2) Whip cool whip, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy.

3) Add filling to cooled pie crust.

4)Place in refrigerator for a few hours to chill.

5) Before serving, add sliced strawberries to the top!

Enjoy!
Before
After!

1 comment:

EllenQ said...

I love the mental image of you cackling about your dessert.