[Royal Treats]: Strawberry Cheesecake Dream Squares + Other Variations!

The recipe is based on this one from Kraft, with a few minor changes.

I started out making the recipe just as it is -- and it's great, a perfect summery treat. 

But then I started playing around with the flavors, a new one almost every week.

Below is the recipe for this week's experiment -- Strawberry Cheesecake. At the very end I'll also share some of the other flavor variations you can try.




What you'll need:

Crust:

8 – 10 sheets of graham crackers, finely crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake layer:

2 cups frozen vanilla yogurt, softened (vanilla ice cream can also be substituted)
1 small pkg cheesecake instant pudding mix (sugar free or regular)
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Lite

Strawberry layer:

1 cup frozen vanilla yogurt, softened
1/2 small pkg strawberry Jell-O mix (sugar free or regular)
1 cup thawed Cool Whip Lite

Directions:

1)      Line 8-inch square pan with plastic wrap, with ends of wrap extending over sides.
2)      Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Freeze until ready to use.
3)      Beat yogurt and dry pudding mix in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add Cool Whip. 
4)      In separate bowl, do the same with the strawberry layer ingredients.
         NOTE: The mixes may seem a bit gritty right now. That's okay! They will not taste that way when served.
5)      Spoon the cheesecake mix onto the crust. Top with all of the strawberry mix.
6)      Cover lightly with another sheet of plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours. Use plastic wrap handles to remove dessert from pan before cutting to serve.

Notes: Pudding flavor can easily be switched out, or Jell-O flavors used for a fruity dessert. Different cookie crumbs could be used for the base. Possibilities are endless!

Other variations I've done:

Lemon (original recipe):

I used vanilla wafers for the crust. I did not do the second flavored layer, instead doing just the 2 c + 1 pkg + 2 c ratio.

Lemon Lime:

I used vanilla wafers for the crust. Lemon Jell-O for layer one, and 1/2 a package of lime Jell-O for layer two.

Orange Dream:

I used vanilla wafers for the crust. Orange Jell-O for the first layer, and the second layer was just the 1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt and 1 cup Cool Whip.

Raspberry and Vanilla:

I used vanilla wafers. Raspberry Jell-O in the first layer. Just the frozen yogurt and Cool Whip in the second layer. 

For the strawberries that night, I cut them up and mixed with a bit of vanilla sugar, letting them sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to create a light "sauce".

Chocolate and Vanilla: 

I used graham crackers for the crust. Chocolate pudding mix for the first layer. Just the frozen yogurt and Cool Whip for the second layer. 

Also of note, this one tasted like s'mores. I'm not complaining one bit! :D

That's all the flavor combinations I've tried so far, but you can bet I'll be trying more! 

Enjoy! 


Until Next Time,


 
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