Candy Cane Inspired Mini No-Bake Cheesecakes

These candy cane inspired mini no-bake cheesecakes are the perfect dessert for any holiday party!

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One of the reasons I love the holidays so much is because I get to spend time with family and friends that I don’t see very often.  Thanksgiving was a blast because we spent it with my cousin and an aunt that I love dearly but only get to see every year or two.  Now my parents, my sister and her husband are visiting for Christmas and our best friends are coming to town for their annual New Years visit!  I can’t wait!

Since we’re celebrating Christmas at our house, I’ve been working hard on my menu.  Dinner is already planned so that leaves appetizers and dessert.  Since I love mini desserts so much, I thought it would be fun to create a mini dessert with a Christmas theme.  Why not mini “candy cane” cheesecakes…cheesecake, raspberries and raspberry puree layered in a shot glass.  These would be perfect!

I made my shopping list and headed to Walmart. Since I already had vanilla and sugar at home, I just needed cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and raspberries.   I also picked up some sprinkles to decorate the rim of the glass.  Don’t you love that you can get everything under the sun at Walmart?  However, I wanted something to give my dessert a little crunch and since I love granola for breakfast anyway, I picked up some  Quaker® Simply Granola Oats, Honey & Almonds.  I knew it would make a perfect topping for my cheesecakes!

When I’m not topping my desserts with it, I love eating Quaker® Simply Granola for my first meal of the day because it’s not only delicious but it’s really filling too.  It has big, crunchy granola clusters, plenty of nuts throughout and 34 grams of whole grains.  It’s also pretty versatile because even though I normally just eat it for breakfast, it’s perfect for including in recipes too.

Just for fun, I decided to break out my new spoon mold, using red and white candy melts to make “candy cane” spoons.  If you’re using one of these molds, be sure you’re very careful when popping them out…the handles of the spoons break easily (let’s just say that I learned the hard way).  You can also buy these if you want the lines to be factory perfect but I thought it would be more fun to make them myself.

To make my desserts prettier, I rimmed the glasses with red and white sprinkles.  If you don’t have shot glasses, this recipe can easily be made in mini pastry shells (or even larger ones).  You won’t get the candy cane look but you’ll still have a yummy dessert.

Once you’ve rimmed the glasses, you’re ready to start the puree. Combine the raspberries, sugar and water in a saucepan, stir well and bring to a boil.  Let it simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes until it thickens.  Once you’ve reached the right consistency, remove it from the stove, then strain to separate the seeds.  You may still get a few seeds but that’s okay.

If you find that you’ve accidentally make your puree too thick,  stir in a spoonful of water and that should do the trick.  Put the puree in the fridge to cool while you work on the rest of the recipe.

Now for the cheesecake.  Mix the cheesecake, sugar and vanilla until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until peaks form, then gently fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

When you’re using shot glasses, spooning the cheesecake mixture in can get kind of messy.  I found that it’s easiest to use a cake decorating bag with a large tip.  Start by filling the glass 1/3 full with cheesecake. Add three raspberries, cut in half, and drizzle a little puree over them.  Repeat that step again…cheesecake almost to the top, raspberries and puree.  Top it with Quaker® Simply Granola Oats, Honey & Almonds, add a dollop of cheesecake and finish it off with a raspberry on top.

My daughters helped with the taste tasting and it got a big thumbs up all the way around.  I can’t wait to make this for our Christmas dessert…yumm!

Check out these #SimplySatisfying recipes to find more delicious inspiration!

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