No Bake Blackberry Cheesecake Cups

How do you make a no-bake dessert, you ask? You use dates and cashews, of course! The date-and-cashew-combo is probably the best kept secret in the world of baking. That’s because, when blended together, these two simple foods create a delicious and really simple foundation for a whole range of snacks and desserts – without any added sugars. In this recipe, we  use the delicious combo to create little cups that we then filled with the most delicious whipped blackberry and cream cheese filling.

With this recipe, you’ll likely end up with more filling than you need, so feel free to cut those ingredients in half OR do what we did, and just spoon it right into your mouth as you go about preparing the recipe (no, seriously).

Feel free to omit the sweetener. We tossed in some honey on a whim but if you prefer to skip the extra sugar, the filling is probably sweet enough on its own (you can also taste test first).

Our favorite part about this recipe, like most of our recipes, is that it is completely customizable, which means you can replace the blackberries with whatever fruit is in season.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups unsalted cashews
• 20 California dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 10 – 15 minutes
• 1 cup fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. sweetener of choice (honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, etc.), optional

Directions:

1. Drain dates then, in a food processor, combine cashews and dates and puree until they form a sticky dough.
2. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray then press mixture into seven cups.
3. Rinse food processor then puree blackberries until smooth and liquid-y.
4. Add cream cheese and blend until well mixed. Add sweetener if desired.
5. Use a butterknife to carefully separate crust from muffin tin, and move to a flat plate or serving dish.
6. Use fingers to press crust into cups, making sure to leave bottom of cups thick enough to support filling.
7. Scoop raspberry filling into cups, top with blackberries or chosen garnish then place in fridge for at least an hour to set.