It is officially holiday season. The days are getting cooler, leaves of every color cover the campus ground, and Starbucks is back with its festive holiday cups. My favorite part of the holidays—besides not having school—is all the marvelous delicious food that awaits. With Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza all coming up within the next few weeks, it’s never too soon to learn a new, great tasting dish to accompany you with your holiday festivities. This No Bake Salted Caramel Cheesecake is just that dish.
With only six ingredients—and no baking required—this fool-proof cheesecake recipe incorporates quick and easy shortcuts for a cheesecake that tastes just as good as your grandmother’s Thanksgiving cheesecake. For this cheesecake, I used this salted caramel sauce recipe. But any (even store bought) caramel sauce works. The salted caramel drizzle takes things over the edge and adds a layer of vibrant complexity to round everything out. Best of all, this cheesecake whips together in no time and can be made hours ahead and chilled in the fridge. All in all, it’s sure to bring a big smile to everyone’s face at your next holiday gathering.
#SpoonTip: No time to make your own crust? No problem. Pick up an already prepared graham cracker crust in a pie tin at your grocery store’s baking aisle.
No Bake Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Create a graham cracker crust by pulverizing crackers or biscuits into a fine dust. A quick and fun way to do this is to place crackers into a resealable ziplock bag and smash them with a cutting board until crumbled. Slowly mix melted butter with crackers and transfer to a pie tin. Using your fingers or bottom of a cup, mold cracker dust into a shape of a crust, rising up on rims of the pie tin. Make sure things are evenly distributed and there are no cracks. Bake for 5-7 minutes then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whip cream cheese until fluffy using either a whisk or a hand mixer. Add in vanilla extract followed by tub of whipped topping. Slowly fold whipped topping into cream cheese mixture until well incorporated. Spoon in a few dollops of caramel sauce (about 2 or 3 spoonfuls) and one pinch of salt and continue to combine.
Once all mixed, carefully transfer cheesecake filling to cooled pie crust. Level and smooth out the sides and top of cake. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours. One hour before serving, drizzle, dress, or decorate remaining caramel sauce on top of cheesecake. Finish with an extra sprinkle of salt before placing it back in the fridge.
This No Bake Salted Caramel Cheesecake is exactly what we all need as the holidays approach and another year comes to a close. Vegan or lactose intolerant? No worries, try this dairy-free cheesecake recipe. However you like it, feel free to make this cheesecake any time of year or swap in different toppings and flavorings for a more versatile and creative dessert year round.