Cheesecake for the Freezer

I honestly cannot take credit for this. My mom has always made her cheesecakes this way, it's a family favorite especially during the summer. We're not big traditional cheesecake fans, I will eat it more than she will but all that cream cheese is not something I'm big on. I like the fluffy whipped cream texture in this version.

While up at the river last weekend, my mom pulls out a container of prepared cheesecake filling from the freezer. She goes on to tell me that she had extra filling from the last time she made one and stashed it away in the freezer for another time. Genius! I have never thought of that before.

Instantly I bumped this up on my list for the month. It's too good not to share with you. We tend to make these cheesecakes more often throughout the summer just because it's such an easy dessert and I like to take advantage of the plentiful berries.

Since I can get two pies out of our batch of filling, I prepared one cheesecake for the freezer and then filled an empty container with the remaining mixture. Now when I need a quick dessert, I simply just need to add my desired toppings to the pie and we're good.

Freezer-friendly Cheesecake

Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
prepared graham cracker pie crusts


Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream and mix together well. Divide mixture between two pie crusts. Do not add any toppings at this point. Cover and place in freezer until ready to use.

If you'd rather not put into a pie crust just yet, simply divide the filling into two containers. Cover, label and date and place into freezer until ready to use.

When ready to enjoy, thaw cheesecake and top with fresh fruit or desired pie filling. If you froze just the filling, after thawing, spread mixture into prepared pie crust and again, top with your choice of filling.

Makes enough for 2 cheesecake pies.