Five Minute Cool Whip Cheesecake

This delicious dessert made with Cool Whip is an old family favorite we call “Cool Whip cheesecake.” My grandma's been making it as long as I can remember.

She makes a version with homemade Nilla wafer crust, but I take the even easier route with storebought graham cracker crust. Cream cheese, Cool Whip and powdered sugar make up the filling, and a canned blueberry pie filling makes a sweet, easy topping for a cheesecake that “whips up” in about five minutes.

Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip on low until just mixed.

Spoon the COOL WHIP filling into the graham cracker crust.

Top with blueberry pie filling.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate for about an hour for a firmer cheesecake.

I always keep the filling the same, but we do sometimes change up the toppings with cherry pie filling or blackberry pie filling. My grandparents have a nice row of blackberry bushes by their house up in Washington, so I love to pick blackberries in the summer and make my own topping (obviously, this makes it more of an all-day task rather than an easy five minute cheesecake). Strawberries mixed with a little sugar make a nice topping as well. For the fourth of July, my grandma sometimes makes a large pan of this and decorates it like a flag, with blueberries in the corner where the stars go, and stripes of cherry filling for the flag stripes. It's very festive.

This freezes well and can be made in advance for a holiday or for a nice dessert for unexpected company…or any old day! I'm a big fan of regular old, no-particular-occasion desserts (especially when I'm pregnant!), so this is a big hit in our house. Something about sitting out in the yard on a warm summer day with a nice chilled berry pie makes me feel so domestic. And with this Cool Whip cheesecake, I can pull it off in less time than it takes Nate to light up the backyard tiki torches.