Cheesecake Parfaits - close enough for National Cheesecake Day

 How could I have missed that today is National Cheesecake Day?????  Had no idea it was even a thing until I heard the radio ad from Big Box Cheesecake.

So now I have to celebrate last minute with you, Dear Reader.  

I know! I'll share a summer rerun.   A mad-easy no-bake recipe for ... tah-dah ... Cheesecake parfait.   You don't even need to heat the strawberries.  The only heat needed is the microwave to nuke the butter for the graham cracker base.  So enjoy this last-minute desssert.  Or save it for tomorrow.  There's no law against cheesecake any other day of the year.

If you want to cut back on the fat and calories, substitute low-fat cream cheese and/or low-fat sweetened condensed milk, then serve in smaller glasses.

TIP ALERT!   To properly fill the glasses, spoon cheesebake batter into a large freezer bag.  Snip off a corner, and pipe in the batter.  This avoids shmearing batter all over the sides of the glasses.  Doesn't affect flavor, but really looks spectacular.

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits
No strawberries?  Substitute with a cup of either blueberries or chopped peaches. 
Adapted from: Annie's Eats and Food.com
Yield: 6-8 company servings

1 (8 oz.) package regular cream cheese
1  cup chopped strawberries
2 Tbl.  granulated sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (7-8 crackers, crushed or whizzed 30 seconds or so in a food processor)
1 Tbl.  granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
1 (10 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.  Set aside for 30-45 minutes to bring to room temperature.

Stir together the strawberries and sugar in a 1-quart bowl.   Let stand at 1 hour, stirring occasionally . Using a fork, gently mash the berries. Cover and refrigerate.

In another 1-quart bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until evenly mixed. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the crumb mixture into the bottom of 6-8 flute glasses.  Set aside.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.  Pour in sweetened condensed milk; continue to beat another minute or until thoroughly combined, stopping the mixer to scrape down sides of bowl with spatula as necessary. Add lemon juice and vanilla; beat at low until incorporated.

Spoon or pipe the cheesecake evenly into the glasses.  Cover and refrigerate up to two days.

No more than a couple hours before serving, drain strawberries, then spoon strawberries evenly over the cheesecake batter.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.