Let them eat cheesecake!!
Even though the summer is my favorite season, I am looking forward to the upcoming festivities surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I love to entertain friends and family (and to be honest, I need to have frequent events at my home in order to motivate me to clean my house, otherwise my house would be endlessly in disarray).
Since I do have a lot of cleaning to do before my guests arrive, I do not have as much time to prepare a meal and a dessert on the same day. This year my life will be much easier now that I have The Smart Cookie to help out, I will be able to prepare dessert ahead of time and store it in the freezer for later use.
The Smart Cookie is not just for cookies, below is a recipe for no bake cheesecake that will wow your dinner guests and also give you a small hit of creamy, rich cheesecake in bite size portions whenever the mood hits.
Mini cheesecakes, no baking required!
Makes: 24 cheesecakes Prep Time: 15 min Baking Time: 0 min
1 1/2 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 tsp vanilla
Directions
- In a bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and brown sugar, set aside.
- In another bowl, beat cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
- Whip the cream in a separate bowl, and mix into cream cheese mixture only until fully incorporated.
- Divide the mixture in two and spread into the bottom tray of your Smart Cookies, making sure to spread evenly and not to fill the tray past the top.
- Divide the graham crumb mixture and sprinkle evenly over the top of the filled Smart Cookie trays.
- Place the lid onto the tray and seal on all sides.
- Store in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- Before serving, carefully transfer desired number of pieces from The Smart Cookie onto plates. Make sure to defrost for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with sliced strawberries and leftover whipped cream.
Serve the cheesecakes with the graham cracker on top, if you prefer more of a crunch you can use the graham cracker crumb mixture on the top and the bottom. You can easily make this dessert more fancy shmansy - try topping each piece with chocolate sauce and garnish with raspberries and mint. Enjoy!
Leea Dowling
November 27, 2013
I tried the mini-cheesecakes today! They were very easy to make – I love “easy” recipes!
My family loved them!
Will share with whole family at our Thanksgiving get-together tomorrow.
Thanks for the recipe and the “Smart Cookie”!
Leea