These were the last of the strawberries we had left over from the strawberry festival. I made this at the beginning of the week. It’s a quick and easy, no bake, no cracking cheesecake. Don’t you hate it when cheesecakes crack? I have never had one not crack, although I have gotten the cracks very small. Sometimes I just want a no pressure, easy cheesecake, and that’s when I look to the no bake versions like this one. You can find my recipe for no bake strawberry cheesecake at the Family Kitchen.
Yield: Serves 8
2 packages, or blocks, 8 oz each, cream cheese, at room temperature
1 – 8 oz tub cool whip, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh chopped strawberries
1 – 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves (optional)
1 graham cracker crust (recipe follows) or use pre-made
Graham cracker crust ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or about 1 1/3 packages graham crackers
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1. Place graham crackers in food processor and turn on until crumbs are very fine. Add butter and sugar and pulse until well combined. Press in a 8 inch spring form pan or 9 inch pie plate.
2. Combine all ingredients for cheesecake, except strawberries, in a large bowl and mix with hand mixer. Mix until well combined and smooth.
Tip: if anything was too cool and your batter is lumpy, continue to leave it out on the counter until it warms up, or transfer to a metal or glass bowl and put over a boiling pot of water, creating a double boiler. Mix until batter warms a little and lumps are gone.
