Celebrate Pi(e) Day: No Bake Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Tomorrow is March 14th, or 3.14. For you math aficionados out there, that's Pi day. But since this is a food blog, that's Pie day. :) I'm not much of a pie baker; I usually stick to cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. But recently, I did make a pie for Tim's Valentine's Day dinner. I know, that was like a month ago. I haven't gotten around to writing it up yet, but you can enjoy it now!One of Tim's favorite desserts is Cherry Cheesecake, so when I was planning the Valentine's Day menu, I wanted to include that. But, I also wanted to be a bit selfish and have something chocolate. So I searched for a Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake, and I found a recipe on Kraft.com. It looked delicious, and as a bonus, it was no-bake! I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I decided to give it a try. I did add a little extra chocolate - a layer of fudge under the cheesecake, and chocolate drizzled on top. If you decide to do the same, make sure you get the actual fudge topping, not just chocolate sauce, because it will work much better for you when the pie sets up. It won't run out all over the place when you cut the pieces.All in it, this was soooooo delicious and decadent. You would never know it took so little effort. Tim and I both loved it. It was difficult to stop eating after one piece! I would definitely make this again. It was easy to put together, and the cherries and chocolate cheesecake really went together well. I used everything lite or low fat, except for the fudge, so I didn't feel as guilty about it. I'm thinking I'll keep this in my arsenal for cookouts this spring!

No Bake Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 4 squares  Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted, cooled
• 1/3 cup  sugar
• 1 tub  (8 oz.) lite whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 1 low fat Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
• 1 20 oz. can lite cherry pie filling
• about 1/3 cup of hot fudge ice cream topping

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, chocolate, and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Fold or gently beat in 2 cups whipped topping.Microwave fudge for about 15 seconds (I just did it right in the jar), just until it is stirrable and easy to spread.  Spread an even layer in the pie crust (including up the sides as best you can). I don't know exactly how much I used here, I just put a layer in. It was thick enough that I couldn't see any crust through it, but it wasn't too thick.Carefully spoon cream cheese filling into crust and spread evenly.Refrigerate pie for at least 3 hours. Spoon or pipe (I just cut the tip off a large plastic baggie) remaining whipped around edge of cheesecake, fill center with pie filling, and then drizzle with additional chocolate fudge sauce if desired.Enjoy!