No Bake Blueberry Cheesecakes {for Jeremy’s birthday}

I thought I’d share a peek at a little something I threw together yesterday afternoon… no-bake blueberry cheesecakes. 

I call these “no bake” cheesecakes because technically they “set” in the fridge, not in the oven.  There is a teeny tiny bit of baking, if you decide to make your crusts from scratch.

If I’m in a huge hurry (instead of a regular hurry, you know), I opt for a crustless cheesecake.  Equally yummy, but definitely missing that tasty crunch. 

Since we’re a gluten-free family, store-bought graham cracker crusts aren’t an op   tion.

But, if you’re okay with wheat and you don’t mind buying a quick crust, then there you go.  Completely bake-free.  🙂

Today is my husband Jeremy’s birthday, so these cheesecakes are for him.  Well, he won’t eat them both… but you know what I mean.  He loves blueberry cheesecake… we all do, so two cheesecakes it is.

I’ll just tell you right now: I am a notorious dump cook, so this “recipe” is an approximate guess.  I basically threw together a few ingredients (cream cheese, raw sugar, heavy cream and blueberries) and out came the cheesecakes… or something like that.

Grab your apron and get your “dump” on… here we go- 

Jeremy’s Birthday Blueberry Cheesecake(s)

• 2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
• about 2 C sugar, divided (I used organic raw sugar from Aldi or Costco)
• 1 small carton heavy cream (don’t use half-and-half… it won’t whip!)
• 2 bags (12-oz) frozen blueberries
• about 4 TBSP butter
• about 3/4 C water
• a dash of pure vanilla
• corn starch as a thickener
• 2 gluten-free graham cracker crusts

{Directions}

1. Place the softened cream cheese, raw sugar, and entire container of heavy cream in a heavy duty blender (I use the Blendtec).  Process the ingredients at medium/high speed for about 30 seconds, until the heavy cream is completely whipped.  Your sugar will turn into “powdered” sugar in the process!  The consistency should be very fluffy and smooth.
2. Set aside the creamed mixture . . . it’s time to make that blueberry pie filling.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat the blueberries, butter, sugar and water over medium/high heat.  
4. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat and let everything simmer for about ten minutes.  Stir it frequently!  
5. Once the blueberries have cooked down a bit and the sugar is completely dissolved, add a bit of thickener to the sauce: pour about 1/3 cup of water into a cup and sprinkle a pinch of corn starch over it; whisk, and add to the sauce. Stir, stir, stir!  The sauce should thicken very quickly now.
6. Remove the sauce from the stove top and pop it into the fridge to let it cool for a while.
7. Once your crusts and blueberry pie filling have chilled a bit, spoon half of the whipped cream cheese mixture into your prepared crusts.  Smooth them out a little with a spatula so they look pretty.  🙂
8. Pour half of the blueberry pie filling over each of the cheesecakes.  I like mine to look a little “rustic”, so my filling doesn’t go all the way to the edges of the pie pans.  
9. If you want to make your pies look a little more fancy and “finished”, consider buying a can of Redi Whip and edging the cheesecakes in with pretty whipped cream.
10. Pop the cheesecakes back into the fridge and let them cool for a few more hours.  The longer these babies chill, the more amazing they taste!  We love ours best when they have chilled over night.

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When you make these cheesecakes from scratch there are a few extra steps involved, but they really are simple to throw together.  And I garantee the taste will knock your socks off!  So delish.

These cheesecakes will have a small part in our birthday’ing today, I promise.

Pssst… I won’t tell you how old Jeremy is, but I’m thirty-four and he’s four years older than me. 😉

xo, Kristy