No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

 

I've been challenging myself to try new recipes lately, and pinterest has been a great help with that challenge. I'm only just starting to learn to like cooking, up until I got pregnant it was always just a chore. Then,  once I got pregnant, smells were just so, well, smelly, that I didn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I can count on one hand the number of times I remember cooking while pregnant. Which tells you two things: 1) I didn't cook much and 2) I was in an exhausted daze for many of the 40 long weeks. 

Anyways, I'm back to cooking now, but of course I now have a three month old to juggle cooking and baking around. Which I am actually finding to be super helpful, because it means I need to have a plan at the beginning of my day, and work on a meal throughout the day as I have time. Smaller blocks of time in the kitchen and more planning, along with some new recipes, seem to be a winning combination for me. 

We had friends over for dinner a few weeks ago and I made a nice, simple meal and these Nutella cheesecakes for dessert. And they were yummy enough to tell you about! :-) They were also incredibly simple to whip up - I made them during nap time and still had time to squeeze in a quick nap for myself. Here's the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
For the Crust
12 Oreo Cookies, crushed into crumbs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

For the Garnish
whipped topping, optional
chocolate shavings, optional
toasted, chopped hazelnuts, optional

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended and no streaks remain.

3. Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4. If desired, garnish with additional whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and/or toasted, chopped hazelnuts.

Makes 4- 6 servings. 

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My thoughts: These are really sweet, but taste less sweet after they've chilled a bit. I divided the batch into 4 servings, and they came out as huge servings. So I would definitely do at least 6 servings, maybe even 8. We also make a lot of mini desserts in shot glasses, and I think these would look darling as minis. All in all, a very yummy dessert!

Original recipe here