I don’t even know where to begin to describe telling you how great these squares are. With three main components to make this mother of goodness how can you not fall in love? Oh and did I mention it’s NO-BAKE?! That’s right, no need to wait by the oven in the hottest month of the year for this treat to set. It’s the perfect alternative to frozen desserts for last minute barbecues. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.
I’m not crazy over cheesecake, but this here did have me going crazy over it. You may have heard me mention over Facebook how I had to take a breather, away from the kitchen. I almost didn’t have enough batter to make this dessert even exist. You know when you’re supposed to spoon to taste what you make? My mind kept telling me to keep tasting. That’s how good it was.
The sweetness of the sugar added into the cream cheese reduced the sharp flavor. Vanilla extract, put it into just about any dessert and it pretty much tones the flavor to one that’s more palatable. For my favorite part, whipped topping is stirred in to give the dessert a more light and fluffy texture and continues to help reduce any remaining sharpness of the cream cheese. I used non-fat Cool Whip however, any brand or fat content would suffice.
So, not bad for someone who isn’t into cream cheese or cheesecakes in general due to it’s sharpness. But as you can see, it does get reduced by added ingredients. So with that said, if you weren’t into this dessert, did I make you think twice about trying it? Hopefully I did. Or if you already love cheesecakes, you probably went straight for the recipe below. In any case, it’s definitely worth a shot!
No Bake Chocolate & Cheesecake Squares
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 16 squares 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped and divided
- 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tub (4 oz.) whipped topping, thawed
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with foil leaving the ends of the foil extending over the sides; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix crumbs, butter and sugar and press into pan. Refrigerate.
- Melt chocolate in microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds stirring well between each interval until completely melted; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Stir in whipped topping.
- Pour half of the batter into a medium bowl with half of the melted chocolate, stir.
- Pour chocolate cheesecake batter over crust. Gently pour regular cheesecake batter on top.
- Drizzle remaining melted chocolate over batter via bag method.
- Place in refrigerator uncovered for 3 hours or until set. Best served chilled.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
No-Bake Chocolate & Cheesecake Squares slightly adapted from Baker’s.