This is my grandmother’s recipe. I was always happy to see this on a Sunday afternoon dinner. When I was 9, I wrote this down while she prepared it. I was not very experienced in documenting recipes. Luckily, I was able to interpret my jumbled directions. I believe the secret is the Dream Whip.

Dream Whip and Cool Whip are iconic whipped toppings, but have one key difference: preparation and dairy. Dream Whip, introduced by General Foods in 1957, is a powdered mix requiring milk and vanilla to whip. Cool Whip, introduced by Kraft Foods in 1966, is a ready-to-use non-dairy whipped topping.

While some recipes use Cool Whip, I stick with the old-fashioned way.

Old Fashioned Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups Cinnamon Sugar Graham Crackers Crumbs (about 15 sheets)
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • If using regular graham crackers, add 3 TBS of powdered sugar.

Filling

  • 2 envelopes Dream Whip, prepared according to package directions
  • 1-8 oz pkg Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar (4x)
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 package Knox plain gelatin
  • 1 can cherry pie filling

Directions

  1. Place approximately 15 graham cracker sheets in a Ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin to crush crackers.
  2. Melt ½ cup butter and add to crushed graham crackers. Press mixture into the bottom of a Pyrex 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 (6 cup rectangular glass food storage). Bake in 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
  3. Prepare Dream Whip packets according to package directions. Use an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
  4. In a separate container, use an electric mixer to combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and plain gelatin.
  5. Gently fold mixtures together and spread over the graham cracker crust.
  6. Spread cherry pie filling over cheesecake.
  7. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

Ingredients are in the Food City cart.

 

Dishing It Out is a place for Aneisa Rolen to share favorite recipes that require minimal preparation, limited culinary knowledge, yet provide maximum flavor, designed for the hesitant cook who loves good food but isn’t particularly a culinary enthusiast. The recipes provided will accompany the videos, making cooking accessible even to the most reluctant chefs.

Comments may be sent to dishingitoutktt@gmail.com and follow Aneisa on Instagram for more recipe ideas @ aneisarolen

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.