EASY CHEESECAKE BARS

All the beauty of cheesecake in no time.

My biggest issue with the combination of being back home with my parents and baking is deciding on a dessert.  LITERALLY half of my family is all chocolate everything and the other half is (not really) allergic. It’s almost impossible to find something to agree on (cue in: pancakes 3 ways) and when we finally do agree, we make sure to eat it right away (hence photos of half eaten cheesecake). 

Guys, this cheesecake is soooo easy. 

For all of my experienced bakers, you know that a good cheesecake takes time. Baking, cooling, refrigerating. It’s like a process that takes 40 years. NOT THIS ONE. There’s only a 10 minute baking of the crust & then letting set in the fridge/freezer for 1-2 hours.  But the process leading up to letting it chill… no time. No, seriously. Also, you could totally make it your own. I did half with blueberry pie filling and fresh berries and then the other half covered in chocolate and topped with chocolate chip cookies. Make it. It’s so good. It satisfies everybody’s palette, and it makes you look like a BOSS because you made cheesecake but it actually only took you 20 minutes. 

 
 

4 cup crushed Graham Crackers (or Digestive)

1/2 cup of melted butter

1 cup of sugar (split into 2 halves)

16 oz. room temperature cream cheese

8 oz of thawed Cool Whip (or Dream Whip)

2 tsp vanilla

1 can of pie filling of your choice for topping

 

+ Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees (or 200 degrees C). Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.  In a bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1/2 C of white sugar.  Press mixture into dish and bake for 10 minutes.

+ Beat together cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, and vanilla.  Fold in whipped cream until combined.

+ When crust is cooled, spread cream cheese mixture over crust.  Top with pie filling (or topping of choice) and chill in freezer for 1-2 hours. Can be put in refrigerator as long as needed.