I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep the other night, thinking about food (which, by the way, is pretty much the norm, especially in these last weeks of pregnancy). I was thinking about this enormous jar of delicious cherry preserves I bought at Costco last week, and what I would do with it all. Good thing I just picked up some light cream cheese! I though about cherry cheesecake, and how much I love it, but knew I didn't want to make it right now since we weren't planning on having dinner guests anytime soon (and really, as much as I'd love to, I cannot polish off an entire cherry cheesecake myself). So my mind wandered to a mini, and healthier version of cherry cheesecake that is super simple and requires no baking. Plus, only four ingredients are needed! I call them Almost Instant Cherry Cheesecake Bites.
All you need to make these little beauties is vanilla or honey flavored Greek yogurt (or plain, and add your own sweeteners to taste), light cream cheese (feel free to substitute Neufchatel, if you'd like), cherry preserves and graham wafers. I've found that all kinds of cherry products are much more common here in Wisconsin than back in Edmonton, probably because there are a lot of sour cherries grown around here. However, you shouldn't have trouble finding a jar of cherry preserves wherever you live. Mine is from Costco, and it is E.D. Smith brand, and delicious. It is like a thicker cherry pie filling with many, MANY more cherries. You will find it in the jam aisle.
The first step to making these is to mix equal parts of the Greek yogurt and cream cheese together. This is, by far, the hardest part of the process, but really not that hard at all. You can make as much or as little as you want, and keep any leftovers in the fridge for your future snacking needs. I used ¼ cup of each. This was enough to make 6 of the crackers, with about half or a little less left over. To make mine mix smoothly, I first added the cream cheese to the bowl and smeared it around with my spatula to soften it. Then I added the yogurt, and kept smearing. It came out with no lumps of cream cheese. You could also use a hand mixer if you were making a lot of it.
Now all that's left is assembly. Just smear 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese/yogurt mixture onto each wafer. This will be what I consider a fairly generous amount. Top each with 1 teaspoon of the cherry preserves and voila: you've got a super simple but delicious snack/dessert. Despite my love for all things make-ahead, I would not recommend assembling these ahead of time, for fear that the wafers would get soggy. And really, with anything this fast, you really don't need to anyway.
Quick and Easy Cherry Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
- Light cream cheese
- Vanilla or honey flavored Greek yogurt
- Graham wafers
- Sour cherry preserves
Instructions
- Mix equal parts light cream cheese and Greek yogurt together using a silicone spatula. You can make as much or as little of this spread as you want, and keep any leftovers in the fridge for several days.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese/Greek yogurt mixture on each graham wafer.
- Top the each graham wafer with 1 teaspoon of the cherry preserves. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Disclaimer: I try my best to make sure the nutrition information I provide is accurate to provide you with the best information possible. However, due to ingredient discrepancies and other factors, the above nutrition information should be considered an estimation only.
*Note: Nutrition info is for 2 graham wafers served as recipe indicates. This portion size can be considered a reasonable snack, or a light dessert.
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