No-Bake Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Cheesecake Cups
Individual no-bake cheesecake cups with a crushed chocolate cookie base and cookies through the filling.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- No oven, no water bath, no cracked top. The three things that make baked cheesecake stressful are all absent.
- Individual cups mean no slicing and no arguments about portion size.
- Twenty minutes of work, and it has to be made ahead, which makes it easy to plan around.
Recipe
No-Bake Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Cheesecake Cups
Individual no-bake cheesecake cups with crushed chocolate cookies.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
For the base
For the filling
Instructions
- Step 1. Crush the 180 g of cookies to fine crumbs and mix with the melted butter until it looks like damp sand.
- Step 2. Divide the crumb mixture among six small glasses and press down lightly.
- Step 3. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until completely smooth, scraping the bowl at least once.
- Step 4. In a separate bowl, whip the cold heavy cream to medium peaks.
- Step 5. Fold the whipped cream and the roughly crushed cookies into the cream cheese mixture, keeping as much air as you can.
- Step 6. Spoon into the cups and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Beat the cream cheese completely smooth before anything else joins it. Lumps at this stage never come out once the whipped cream is folded in.
- Fold rather than stir. Every bit of air knocked out of the cream is body the filling loses.
- Stop whipping the cream at medium peaks. Overwhipped cream folds in grainy and can split as it chills.
- Two hours is the minimum for the filling to firm. Overnight is better and the base softens into something closer to a crust.
No-Bake Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Cheesecake Cups — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/no-bake-chocolate-sandwich-cookie-cheesecake-cups/
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese
- Full fat block cream cheese, properly softened. Spreadable tub cheese has more water and the filling will not hold its shape.
- Cold heavy cream
- Cold cream whips; room temperature cream does not. If the kitchen is warm, chill the bowl and the whisk for ten minutes first.
- Chocolate sandwich cookies
- Filling and all. The cream filling adds sweetness and helps the crumbs bind, which is why no extra sugar goes into the base.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves instantly into the cream cheese. Granulated sugar stays gritty in an uncooked filling.
Equipment
- Six small glasses or tumblers
- Food processor or rolling pin and bag
- Two mixing bowls
- Electric mixer or whisk
Substitutions
- Chocolate sandwich cookies
- Any similar cream-filled chocolate biscuit works. Plain chocolate digestives work too, but add 20 g of sugar to the base to compensate for the missing filling.
- Heavy cream
- Whipping cream works. Anything below about 35 percent fat will not hold peaks.
- Cream cheese
- Mascarpone gives a richer, softer set. A dairy-free block cream cheese works with coconut cream whipped cold.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The base softens over time, which most people prefer by day two.
Freezing: Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge for several hours — served semi-frozen they are somewhere between cheesecake and ice cream, which is not a bad thing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my filling runny?
Either the cream was underwhipped, or it was stirred rather than folded and lost its air. It can also happen if spreadable tub cream cheese was used instead of block.
Can I make this as one large cheesecake?
Yes. Use a 20 cm / 8 inch springform tin, press the base in firmly and chill for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. It needs much longer to set at that size.
Do I have to use a food processor?
No. A sealed bag and a rolling pin works fine and gives a slightly coarser crumb, which is not a problem.
Why did my cream cheese go lumpy?
It was too cold. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes and beat it smooth on its own before adding anything else.
Can I make them the day before?
Yes, and they are better for it. Add any whole cookie decoration just before serving so it stays crisp.
Can I reduce the sugar?
You can drop the powdered sugar to about 40 g. Below that the filling tastes noticeably of plain cream cheese, since the cookies are carrying most of the sweetness.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
