Ironcraft #27 and dessert of the month: Cheesecake Tarts!

This week's challenge was to make something patriotic....with starts and stripes.

Well, I decided to go a different route and made a little tart for Dean's dessert of the month club....and they were quite a hit!
Here is what I did

Ingredients:

1. 18 pre-made graham cracker tart shells
2. 2 blocks cream cheese
3. 1 can sweetened condensed milk
4. 1 teaspoon vanilla
5. 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (or ReaLemon)
6. 1/4 cup strawberry jam
7. 2 cups mixed, cleaned and hulled berries.  Any kind
8. sugar (optional)*
9. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

*Put your berries in a bowl and then sprinkle them with about 2-3 tablespoons regular sugar and put in frig.*

Arrange your tart shells on a pan that you can fit in the refrigerator.

Blend cream cheese on high until light, smooth and creamy, add sweetened condensed milk and beat again.  Add vanilla and lemon juice, blend.  Get all lumps out.  
Take a cookie scoop and put 1 scoop of the cream cheese mixture into each tart shell. Jiggle the mixture to smooth it out.  You can use the back of a small spoon to make the center a bit concave if you want.  It holds the berries better that way.


If you are serving immediately, go to the next step.  If not, put in frig or freezer until serving.

When serving:
Strain the berries and fill the little tart shells with them, carefully piling them up a bit. You may have a little bit leftover....eat it!

**Now, take the strawberry jam and heat it for about 30 seconds in the microwave.
Remove and stir in the lemon juice. Mix well.  (This is also optional)

Gently drizzle the jam mixture over the berries....this will act as a binder once it cools.


Place in the frig for a bit to set the jam or eat right away. 

Before serving, add a tiny dollop of cool whip and a cutesy cupcake topper!


Then step back and watch your son toss the topper into the trash and shove the entire tart in his mouth in 2 bites!

It makes me so happy when I make stuff up on the fly and everyone loves it!!!!