I love to bake and I especially love to make my desserts look special. I made these Cheesecake Bars for Easter brunch. They were pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Without the sliced strawberries and COOL WHIP Whipped Topping the cheesecake bars would have been good but they would have been missing something. It only took a few minutes to slice up some strawberries and add the COOL WHIP topping and this became a special dessert. That’s why I love keeping COOL WHIP on hand. You can always kick your desserts up a notch with a simple spoonful of the yummy topping.
If you want to make these Cheesecake Bars, here’s the recipe:
Crust
- 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, about 8 whole crackers
- 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
Batter
- 16 ounces (2 large packages) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
To make the crust: Crush the graham crackers in a zip lock bag using a rolling pin or use your food processor. Stir together the crumbs, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter. Line an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1/2" inch up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and cool for a few minutes while you lower the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the batter: Mix the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice; mix until combined. Spoon the batter into the crust. Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is set but still soft in the center. Remove the bars from the oven, and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.Just before serving, top with fresh berries and COOL WHIP. Enjoy!
For everyday desserts, I don’t always have time to bake something special. But you can easily serve up a special dessert without baking.
This mock strawberry shortcake is delicious and refreshing. All you need are cookies, strawberries, sugar and COOL WHIP.
I used Belgian Waffle Butter Crisp biscuits from the grocery store {I bought the generic brand but there are several types available}, or any light, crispy cookie will do. Slice up some strawberries and add a little sugar to make a syrup. Spoon the strawberries on top of a cookie, add another cookie and top with a dollop of COOL WHIP. Then grab a fork!
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Thanks for visiting.
Carolyn
Yummmm.....!!!!! :) x Julie
ReplyDeleteYour desserts look both beautiful and yummy. And here's another good use of Cool Whip; one I do ALL the time. Remove container from fridge. Open. Take spoon in hand. Eat the whole darned thing. Sigh. Oh, yes. I HAVE been known to do that. Hello. My name is Kai and I am a Cool Whip addict.
ReplyDeleteThese all look so good! One of my favorite things to do with Cool Whip is stir some yogurt into it for a creamy fruit dip. Oh, the joys of fake cream!
ReplyDeleteLove your mock strawberry shortcakes!
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Trish
Hi Carolyn! I'm new here and spotted your bars at a linky party...thinking they looked a lot like mine. Great job! Our recipes are similar:) I'm your newest follower! Come say hello sometime at
ReplyDeletehttp://stellabskitchen.blogspot.com
Did you mean 1/4 CUP of sour cream? Or a different measurement? Can't wait to try these!!!
ReplyDeleteOoops - yes 1/4 cup. Thanks for catching that! And yes, they are scrumpy!
Delete