R & R~ Strawberry Cream Cheese Squares~ Delightful~

Delightful and not filling~  This is a perfect dessert to serve after a fully loaded meal~  It's very light and refreshing and it won"t  just sit in the tummy or give you a sweet sugar or chocolate rush that some desserts can do~  Fresh Strawberry season will soon be over so now would be the perfect time to test drive this very easy and decilious recipe. Vanilla pudding added to plain old cream cheese highlighted  and  transformed  it  into a Boston Cream Pudding.  This mixture alone would be totally awesome in some cream puffs or little dessert shells~  Wonderful for individual desserts~  I used shortbread cookies instead of the vanilla wafers for the base in this recipe and I think that it nudged the base flavor up a notch, giving it a richer taste. All in all this is a dandy little recipe that takes very little time to prepare ~  Janie

* The whipped topping was not even missed~  It's just fine as is  with just the extra cookie crumbs  sprinkled on top.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Squares

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs ( made from cookies)

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

8-oz softened cream cheese

1-3/4 cups of milk

3 (approx) oz package of Vanilla Pudding ( used regular not instant)

1/2 tsp lemon zest (  this really adds  a little sharpness to the pudding ) Also helps it taste lighter

2 cups of fresh slices strawberries (  I used a whole quart)  Load it up

2 cups whipped topping  ( did not use and it was not missed)

Combine the cookie crumbs and butter. Mix well and reserve a 1/2 cup.  Pat the rest into a buttered 9x13" dish ( my dish was down by 1 size and it worked fine)

Add a 1/2 cup of milk to the softened cream cheese and blend well.  Add the pudding mix and again mix well. Add the remaining milk and lemon zest and beat till smooth.  Be sure to get any lumps out as this dessert is not baked. Mixture will be slightly thick. Pour over the crust and smooth out ( an off set spatula is perfect for this job)

Spread whipped topping over the top and sprinkle with the reserved cookie crumbs.  Chill till firm about 2 hours~

*  Some added chopped almonds to the reserved cookie topping would be a very nice addition or added to the crust~  I can just see nuts somewhere in this recipe ~   Janie

Thank you so much for the recipe! 

This sounds  Great Janie- Right in time for the fresh berries. Thankyou!

Sounds terrific, thanks Janie. Am I going blind, not sure when you add the strawberries. On top or in it? Thank-you!

Jill

This looks wonderful and I can't wait to try it.  I'm also curious as to when the strawberries are added.  I assume they go on top of the pudding mixture?

Thanks for sharing, Janie.

Linda

Oh, I'm going to try this one!  Thanks for the review.

Yikes  Yep  ~  The Berries go on top and load it up ~  Janie

Thanks for the clarifictaion, Janie!  So you skipped the Cool Whip and just sprinkled the extra cookie crumbs on top of the strawberries?

This sounds so good...I wish I had a piece right now!

Linda

Thanks Janie, so tempting but will need to talk dh into going into the store for me. He helped me make a fruit salad this morning. Yum!

Have a great holiday wkend.

Yep,  Eljay, I  did not use the topping~  I just used the reserved Cookie crumbs.  If you decide to try this one mix some nuts into the  cookie crumb topping and I just bet it's wonderful~  Janie  You all have a fantastic weekend~