Alright friends, BBQ season is upon us. We have less than 4 weeks until MDW and as of yesterday, 2 months until 4th of July.
And coming out of 2020 like hangry bears who've been hibernating too long, it's an easy assumption that we all need some great grub and all-out parties this summer season.
So I'm starting with dessert! These here Minis will be the hit of the sweets' table and get extra points for a no-sharing-required, pandemic-approved option! Plus, they are just so damn Patriotic, right?!?
With a shortcut by using Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling whisked with just some Cool Whip, they come together in a snap. Fresh summer berries stirred with a spoonful of sugar really bring out the sweetness and add a tang of tartness as well. Not to mention, the sugar run off from the berries dribbles down into the graham crackers and wow, works wonders for creating a makeshift crust.
They are just delicious, super simple and can even be made ahead of time. Also, pretty adaptable to the season. I'm already thinking of swapping out the berries for cinnamon dusted apples come Autumn.
But that's not important yet, it's the here and now we all want to savor and relish in. So in that case, find your flip flops, crank up the grill, pass around these Patriotic treats come sundown and let those fireworks fly.
Enjoy.....
Red, White & Blue Cheesecake Tumblers:
Makes: 10 individual mini cups
Ingredients:
I package (10 count), mini tumblers or something of that size ( I found those pictured at Wegmans)
1 sleeve, 8 sheets, graham crackers, roughly crushed
1 Cup Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling
1 C Cool Whip or Whipped Topping (not whipped cream), divided
3/4 C fresh blueberries, rinsed, dried and cut in 1/2
1 C fresh strawberries, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks
3 tsp sugar, divided
Place blueberries and strawberries in two seperate bowls. Add 2 tsp sugar to blueberries, mix well. Add 1 tsp sugar to strawberries, mix well. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, stirring at least once.
Meanwhile, whisk together the cheesecake filling and a 1/2 Cup of whipped topping. Using a rubber spatula, scrape this into a large Ziplock bag. Twist bag and move contents of bag to the bottom corner, snip the corner of bag to create a pastry bag. The hole should be about 1 inch.
3. Line up the tumblers.
4. Spoon 1 TBS graham cracker crumbs into each tumbler, top the crumbs with 1 TBS blueberries. Using the pastry bag, pipe about 2-3 TBS (out 2 swirls of piping) cheesecake mixture atop the blueberries.
5. Spoon 1 TBS of strawberries atop the cheesecake filling. Using the rubber spatula again, create another pastry bag (with a large Ziplock bag) filled with 1/2 C plain whipped topping. Twist that to the bottom corner and snip another 1 inch hole and pipe about 1 TBS whipped topping over the strawberries.
6. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill, or make ahead of time for up to 1 day.
7. Enjoy!
