No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars
Cheesecake: A Horror Story
Gather round for a story, children. One day, many years ago, our next door neighbors had a party. The next day, the woman came over with a cheesecake that hadn’t been eaten. When we cut into it, the inside oozed out, completely raw. And from that day forward, I was terrified of making cheesecake for guests. The end. Well not, because that is how I created these delicious No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars.
Cheesecake? In a Jar? No Bake Cheesecake in a Jar!
Once again, the name of this dish is too long and a bit ridiculous. I struggle! But it does capture all of the things you need to know. This dessert requires no baking. It is in a jar, tastes like cheesecake, and includes Baileys Irish Cream. Maybe I should also add the word EASY because it is exactly that.
Baking as Therapy
The base of the dish is a graham cracker crust – just smashed graham crackers and melted butter. This week my students are taking their state exam, so instead of using my food processor, I relieved my stress by whacking a stack of graham crackers in a Ziploc bag. Try it! It is very therapeutic.
No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Filling
For the filling, I started off by whipping up some heavy whipping cream. After that, I blended softened cream cheese, Baileys, and confectioner’s sugar and folded in the whipped cream. That cream made what could have been a super heavy concoction, surprisingly light.
It’s Parfait!
In the end I decided to create a parfait, alternating layers of graham cracker and cheesecake filling. I topped it off with some chocolate shavings. Voila! No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars. I then went online and found a recipe for salted caramel topping. Why? Why would I do that to myself? It was AMAZING!
So Many Possibilities!
This dessert is also pretty versatile. You can leave out the Baileys (we were having a late St. Patrick’s Day theme) and add a teaspoon of vanilla instead. You can layer it with all kinds of things like fresh berries or pineapple or Nutella or…the list goes on!
If you, like me, are afraid of serving uncooked desserts, this may be the perfect thing!
No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz block of cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
- 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/3 cup sour cream room temperature
- 8 graham cracker sheets
- 3 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Use a mixer with a whisk attachment to whip one cup heavy whipping cream to firm peaks. That means the cream won't fall off when you flip over the whisk. Be careful! If you over whip cream, it will turn into butter.
- Set aside the whipped cream (I slid it into another bowl) and put the paddle attachment on the mixer.
- Cut the cream cheese into cubes.
- Add the softened cream cheese and confectioner's sugar to the mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides and paddle.
- Add the Baileys and sour cream to the cream cheese. Mix well. Always scrape the sides and paddle.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a spatula.
- Break up the graham cracker sheets and put them into a Ziploc bag.
- Whack the graham crackers with something heavy (like a rolling pin) until they are crumbs.
- Melt the butter.
- Place the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and add the melted butter.
- Toss the crumbs and the butter thoroughly.
- Begin assembling your parfait. Using an 8 ounce jar, begin with a layer of crumbs, add the cheesecake filling, more crumbs, and end with cheesecake.
- Chill, covered (I used the lid), for at least three hours.
- Top with chocolate curls, whipped cream, or salted caramel sauce, if desired.
