No Bake Cheesecake {w/Recipe!}

The cheesecake shots that I made for our 4th of July party were a HUGE hit! After seeing them here on Hostess with the Mostess, I had to give them a go! I'm bringing them up again because....
I don't think our party had even wrapped yet when my husband asked me when I could make them again - but he wanted the mac-daddy version...and entire cheesecake. Sidenote: I had a difficult time finding those shot glasses and after going to multiple stores, ended up scoring them at Walmart - the day before our party. The first Walmart I went to only had 2 sets, and I needed 3...so after two trips, to two different Walmarts, I got what I needed. Clearly I was determined to make this dessert! And I'm glad I did!

So last week I granted the husband's request for a full cheesecake and whipped one up. I used the same recipe that I did when making the cheesecake shots. It's a no-bake recipe. I do want to find a 5 star cheesecake recipe that requires the cheesecake to be baked in the oven, for comparison purposes to see which I like better. If I find one I'll be back with a post in the future letting you know how the two match up.

If you'd like to give this no-bake {and very easy} cheesecake recipe a try, here's what you'll need:

By Carrie of Half Baked

Ingredients:
– 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
– 1/3 cup + 1T sugar
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla
– 1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
– 8 – 10 graham crackers
– Fresh Berries {optional}
– Finely crush graham crackers.

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until smooth....

Gently stir in cool whip until well blended... Fill a pie crust with the cheesecake mixture. I cheated and bought a pre-made graham cracker 9" pie crust...Refrigerate cheesecake for 4 hours, or until firm. Serve chilled. Top with berries, if desired. I topped mine with strawberries....
All of my cheesecake mixture didn't fit into the pie so I had a little bit left over, but not enough to fill another pie crust with. So what did I do with the excess? I made individual cheesecakes in champagne glasses..... Whether you want to make cheesecake mini's in shot glasses, or give yourself a larger version of the mini, here's what you do: Fill individual glasses half way with cream cheese mixture, either using a spoon or a piping bag fitted with a large round tip for a more polished presentation. Top with 1 tsp graham cracker crumbs. Shake glass to level crumbs. Fill to the top with more of the cream cheese mixture. Lightly sprinkle with additional graham cracker crumbs and top with berries {optional}. Again, even with these, refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Serve chilled. Makes roughly 16 mini servings, depending on the size of your shot glass. My left over cheesecake filling allowed me to fill 3 champagne glasses.

Tips:
– Use a Ziploc bag to fill glasses if you don’t have a piping bag. Just fill it partially, seal and snip off one corner. Squeeze out!
– Set out cream cheese ahead of time so that it is room temperature. This will help everything blend together and create a smooth consistency.