Red White and Blue Picnic Cheesecake

If you’re heading for your holiday weekend and looking for a treat that can be made ahead and stored in the cooler or served at your backyard barbecue, this decadent dessert is for you. The extra creamy cheesecake is tamed with the fresh raspberry gelatin on the top and a with your standard crunchy graham cracker crunch on the bottom. Throw a blueberry or two on top and you have all the holiday colors creating a patriotic addition to the day.

Other fantastic cooler swag to pack along for your weekend is our Homemade Cooler Vinaigrette and our Kickin’ Summer Blackberry BBQ Sauce.

2 c crushed graham crackers
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp pure cane sugar
1 stick of butter, melted

32 oz cream cheese
1 c pure cane sugar
2/3 c sour cream
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp of clear gelatin
1/3 c water
2 pints of fresh raspberries
1/2 c pure cane sugar

Whipped cream
Blueberries for serving

Preheat your oven to 325. Mix together the crushed graham crackers, sugars and the butter. Spread mix into a 9” square glass pan or a round pie pan if you don’t have one. Push down the mix to compact it and push some up the sides to form the crust.

Next, soften the cream cheese by whipping, just enough to get it airy. Don’t overdo it here. Add in the sugar, sour cream, vanilla and salt using your hand blender to mix it again until evenly incorporated. Start blending In the eggs one at a time, until all combined and our out your mix over your crust. Give it a whack or two on the counter to spread it evenly and bake at 325 for 75m or until it’s not jiggly when you shake it.

Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for and hour in the fridge and get to work on your jello topping. To activate your gelatin, mix it with the water and set it aside for five minutes. Put your raspberries and sugar into a pan and boil it down to a liquid. With a fine mesh strainer, push the liquid into a bowl while capturing the seeds. Toss the seeds and add in your gelatin mix. Cool it slightly until it becomes a bit jiggly, but pourable. You can do this over an ice bath or in the fridge for a bit. Take out your cheesecake and pour the mix over the top. Leave it in the fridge until it all cools completely and the gelatin has formed into a hard jello. I cut it into squares and serve with with a spot of whipped cream just to old the blueberry.

Serves 8