BRONZE BUDGET BRIDE

Memorial Day will be here soon and these Stars & Stripes Cheesecake Shots would make a great treat for the unofficial start of Summer.

Ingredients:

– 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
– 1/3 cup + 1T  sugar
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla
– 1 tub  (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
– 8 – 10 graham crackers
– Fresh Berries
– Finely crush graham crackers

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until smooth. Gently stir in cool whip until well blended.

Fill individual glasses half way with cream cheese mixture, either using a spoon or a piping bag fitted with a large round tip for a more polished presentation.  Top with 1 tsp graham cracker crumbs.  Shake glass to level crumbs.  Fill to the top with more of the cream cheese mixture.  Lightly sprinkle with additional graham cracker crumbs and top with berries.  Add a star pastry for an extra fun little touch.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.  Serve chilled.  Makes roughly 16 mini servings, depending on the size of your shot glass.

Tips:

*Use a Ziploc bag to fill glasses if you don’t have a piping bag.  Just fill it partially, seal and snip off one corner.  Squeeze out!

* Set out cream cheese ahead of time so that it is room temperature.  This will help everything blend together and create a smooth consistency.

*Serve with a bowl of berries and additional Star Pastries for a patriotic display. 

This recipe came from Carrie of Half Baked but I found it on Hostess Blog.com!