🍫Chocolate Covered Cherry No Bake Cheesecake Bars🍒
Ingredients:
For Crust:
- 25 OREO cookies (regular or double-stuffed), crushed
- 5 Tbsp. butter, melted
For Filling:
- 16 oz. (2 – 8 oz. blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 (8 oz.) container, frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 c. chopped maraschino cherries
For Topping:
- 16 marischino cherries, with stems
- 2 oz. (1/2 of a 4 oz. baking bar), bittersweet chocolate, melted
Instructions:
1Line a 9×9″ square pan with aluminum foil. Lightly spray with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
2Crush the 25 OREO cookies in a food processor. Add the melted butter, and pulse in the processor a few more times to combine. Pour the crumb mixture into the lined pan, and press firmly to the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
3With a hand or stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and powdered sugar and mix until creamy and slightly fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extract and mix. Gradually add in the thawed whipped topping. Fold in the chopped cherries, and mix together. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the crust, making sure to spread firmly and evenly into corners of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, or until firmly set.
4For the topping: Melt the bittersweet chocolate according to package directions. Dip the marischino cherries into the chocolate and place on to a piece of waxed paper to cool and harden. Refrigerate if you need the chocolate to harden quickly. Lightly drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the chilled cheesecake. (For an even better drizzle, cut the cheesecake into 16 squares before drizzling the chocolate.) Even place the 16 chocolate covered cherries on top of the cheesecake squares. Refrigerate any leftovers.
