If I had known it was to be our last time together, I would have paid more attention. I would have etched into my memory every detail, every sensation, and every joyous nano-second. I would not have taken our time together for granted, as if it could happen again at any moment. How could have I been so careless, so blasé?
In truth I don’t even remember the last time I ate an Oreo cookie – it never occurred to me that they wouldn’t always be a part of my life. And to be very honest, I didn’t even mourn the loss of Oreos along with other gluten-filled foods such as pasta and bagels at the time of my gluten intolerance diagnosis. It wasn’t as if I ate them every day. But then I saw my husband eating one, gently twisting the two chocolate wafers away from the creamy white center, scraping almost all of the filling with his teeth then crunching happily on each lightly creamy layered cookie, one at a time. Oh the envy. Oh the remorse. It was then that I mourned.
You can imagine my joy when I was meandering through the gluten free section of my local natural foods store and found Kinnitoos – gluten free chocolate sandwich crème cookies! They looked just like the beloved cookies of my past, but how did they taste? Let me give you a clue – I created a whole dessert in honor of them! – No Bake Cookies & Crème Cheesecakes.
This dessert is so simple and it takes maybe 5 minutes to prepare. To make it even easier you can forgo whipping the cream and substitute an 8 ounce tub of Cool Whip and if you want to reduce the fat and calories, use fat free Cool Whip and low fat cream cheese. The cheesecakes are ready to eat after just a few minutes in the fridge or you can even make them up to a day ahead.
What food would you have taken more care to etch into your memory if you knew it was the last time to eat it?
Click here to see my cooking demonstration of this recipe on Daytime TV!
Gluten Free No Bake Cookies & Creme Cheesecakes Recipe
Ingredients
21 Kinnitoos
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place paper liners in the cups of a standard muffin pan (12 cups).
Take 3 of the cookies, cut them in quarters for garnish and set aside. Place 12 cookies in a plastic freezer bag and pound them with a rolling pin until they turn into fine crumbs. Divide the crumbs among the muffin cups and press down firmly and evenly. Place the remaining cookies in the bag and break them up so that there are bigger pieces of cookie as well as some crumbs.
Whip the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form with a hand held mixer. Place the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and well blended. Fold in the whipped cream and the crushed cookie pieces. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. Place one of the quartered cookies on top of each cheesecake. Refrigerate until serving, at least 5 minutes, up to a day ahead.
Servings
This gluten free recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes.
Need a quick meal?
Simply…Gluten-Free Quick Meals is now available, with over 100 recipes not featured in my blog.
Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.
“The “Simply” in ‘Simply … Gluten-Free Quick Meals’ doesn’t just make for a catchy title. The recipes in this cookbook truly are quick and easy to prepare. – A. C.
“I set the timer on two separate nights and made two complete meals from Carol’s latest cookbook in 30-40 minutes. They not only pleased my family, but gave me new recipes and techniques to get dinner on the table faster every night.” – W. K.
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Ready for dessert?
Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts is now available, with over 135 recipes not featured in my blog.
Available at bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powells, Books-a-Million and Amazon. You can get it also HERE.
“I can now have recipes I know I can count on for every Dessert and Breakfast occasion! I’m thrilled!” – A. M.
“I am amazed! This recipe is BETTER than the ‘regular-with-gluten’ recipe! Thanks so much, Carol” – V. P.
“I love your gluten free recipes – I can now have my desserts.” – F.R.
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