Cheesecake stuffed strawberries

I don’t know what it is about these bites of delight but I find them to be extremely sensual and sexy! Over the holidays I was back in Michigan visiting my husband’s side of the family for Christmas and his Aunt Anne introduced me to one of the most exciting things ever, Pinterest!  I was amazed to see what Pinterest actually was and all the creative ideas it had to offer. As we were playing around and discovering new things on the site, out of the corner of my eye I saw a picture of these amazing strawberries with the tops covered in graham crackers and I was instantly intrigued. “Click on that picture” is what immediately came out of my mouth and I didn’t even say “Please” first. Whoops, how rude of me! All I was concerned about was finding out what the heck these strawberries were and how I could make them. This was before I even found out they were filled with cheesecake! She clicked on the picture and it redirected us to a site for the recipe for Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. Whaaaaat?! There’s cheesecake inside the strawberries? SOLD!! That’s all it took, I signed up on the spot to be a member of Pinterest. Once we returned to California my invite request to Pinterest was still pending. Too anxious to wait any longer, I Googled cheesecake stuffed strawberries and found a recipe on nutmegnanny.com that offered a simple and straight forward recipe. I made them right away and shortly after I dipped my last strawberry in graham cracker crumbs, my husband and I devoured them immediately! Ooooooh so good!! I have made them several times and for guests that come to my house and they are always a crowd pleaser! One thing I discovered when making these is that they are at their best when served immediately. One time I took them to a Super Bowl party and let them chill in the refrigerator 2 hours prior and I noticed that they lost their “Wow factor” and the strawberries turned soft. Definitely serve them immediately and you won’t even have to worry about putting them back in the refrigerator because they will disappear before your eyes! Yes, they are that good!

 Cheesecake stuffed strawberries

1 lb strawberries

8oz package of softened cream cheese (I used Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese)

4 tablespoons of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Graham cracker crumbs

Directions:

Rinse strawberries thoroughly and cut the tops off.  With a paring knife, hollow out the strawberries and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat crème cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Remove cream cheese and place it into a ziplock bag and cut a small corner off for piping. Fill strawberries with cheesecake mixture.

In a separate bowl, crush about 4 graham crackers into crumbs. Dip the top of the strawberries into graham cracker crumbs. I highly suggest serving immediately because they do not taste as good once they have been in the refrigerator longer than 30 minutes.