Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Let’s be honest. As impressive and delicious as cheesecake is, it’s also a true labor of love. It takes time to prepare. When you don’t have the time for the full cheesecake experience but you still want that sweet cream-cheesy flavor, here’s a genius solution. These strawberry cheesecake bites have full-size strawberry cheesecake flavor, with zero fuss.

Fresh strawberries are the star of the show here, so make sure to get the freshest berries possible. Look for larger-sized berries, like Albions, which are uniformly shaped, fragrant and bright red. Then, all you need is a sweet and creamy cheesecake-like filling, which gets piped right inside the strawberry. You’ll drizzle chocolate over the strawberries to gild the lily a bit.

The very poppable dessert is one of our favorite recipes for fresh strawberries, and because they can be made ahead, they’re the perfect dessert for a busy kitchen day.

Ingredients for Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

• Strawberries: We recommend going for the bigger berries so they’re big enough to scoop out and fill with the cream cheese filling. If you’re buying from a farmers market or U-pick patch, make sure to ask for the best variety for flavor and size.
• Cream cheese: As with real cheesecake, you need cream cheese for these strawberry bites. Make sure your cream cheese is softened to room temperature before using to incorporate the confectioners’ sugar and extract.
• Confectioners’ sugar: For the fluffiest results, use a mixer to whip the confectioners’ sugar and cream cheese. The confectioners’ sugar will add sweetness and make the filling sturdy enough to pipe into the strawberries.
• Chocolate chips: We use semisweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but any kind of chocolate is fine to use. In a pinch, you can even use a chocolate bar instead of chips. Just melt it down like you would the chocolate chips.
• Graham cracker crumbs: While these are optional, sprinkling the tops of the filled strawberries with graham cracker crumbs really brings home the cheesecake flavor.

Directions

Step 1: Make the filling

Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and extract until very smooth. If there are still lumps, keep mixing until they are smoothed.

Editor’s Tip: If your confectioners’ sugar is very clumpy, sift it through a sieve before adding it to the mix.

Step 2: Fill the strawberries

Remove the stems from the strawberries. Use a paring knife or small melon baller to cut a 1-inch-deep opening in the stem side of the strawberries. Pipe or spoon the cream cheese mixture into the openings. Place the filled strawberries on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet to prepare for the chocolate drizzle.

Editor’s Tip: An easy way to fill a piping bag: Put the piping bag inside a tall glass, then fold the piping bag over the glass to create room for the filling. If you don’t have a piping bag, you use a plastic bag (similar to frosting cupcakes with a Ziploc bag). No bag at all? Use two spoons to scoop the filling into the strawberries.

Step 3: Drizzle with chocolate

In a microwave or double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring well until smooth. Remove from the heat, and immediately drizzle the chocolate over the strawberries. If desired, sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate until set.

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Recipe Variations

• Chocolate-dipped strawberries: Love the strawberries but need more chocolate? Skip the drizzle, and go for a dip instead. Fill the strawberries the same way you would in Step 2. Then hold a strawberry at the filled end, dip the bottom half into the warmed chocolate, and allow any excess chocolate to drip off. Place it on the waxed baking sheet to set, and repeat with remaining strawberries. Or make a mix of dipped and drizzled!
• Try a different type of chocolate: In addition to semi-sweet chocolate, there are bittersweet and dark chocolates, white chocolate, and even strawberry chocolate. With these different types of chocolate, give your strawberry cheesecake bites a twist.
• Fill them differently: If you’d like the strawberries to stand up on their own, simply remove the stem, set them on their flat side, and cut a small “X” in the tip of the berry. Open the “X” a bit, and fill with the cream cheese filling, like these cheesecake-filled strawberries. You can also use a drinking straw by pushing the straw up through the bottom of the berry and through the top.

How to Store Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Store these strawberry cheesecake bites in the fridge. You can store them fully filled and drizzled with chocolate or store your prepped strawberries and cream cheese filling separately. Either way, they can be stored in the fridge for up to one day.

Can you make strawberry cheesecake bites ahead of time?

Strawberry cheesecake bites are best enjoyed freshly made, but you can make the components ahead of time and store them separately. Although you risk the strawberries losing their bright color and firm texture, you can prep and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for one day (here’s more about how to store strawberries). Store the cream cheese filling in a separate container. If you need to make them in advance, prep the berries, fill them, drizzle with chocolate, and store in the refrigerator for no more than one day.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites Tips

Taste of Home

How do you clean strawberries?

Before cutting into your strawberries, make sure they’re as clean as possible. There are several different ways to clean strawberries, but rinsing them in cold water generally will do the trick.

What’s the easiest way to scoop the strawberries?

If you have a paring knife, cut the stem off the bigger part of the berry and scoop out the inside. If you don’t have a paring knife, you can use a small spoon or a melon baller to remove the flesh of the berry. Save the strawberry remnants for smoothies!