The Try, Try, Try Again Dessert : Jell-O Cheesecake Dessert

Some of you may remember my post about the cherished dessert that my grandmother used to make that I tried to recreate several times but something always went wrong. So I put it on the back burner and decided to try the recipe again in a bit, also so we wouldn't get tired of the dessert.

A couple of weeks ago, while at the grocery store I spotted Cool Whip Whipped Dessert Topping with a picture of what looked to be my grandmother's dessert, or a close version, so I bought it. On the back of the picture was the recipe. Now armed with the recipes and directions I knew I was going to master this dessert.

As promised, I tried it again but this time with the "found" recipe. There were a couple of things that were different: instead of the recipe using Dream Whip like my grandmother's recipe it used Cool Whip, and this new recipe adds sliced strawberries to the Jell-o. Though I could have added the strawberries I wanted it to be as close as I could get to my grandmother's recipe as I could without her here. This time I had success and the recipe turned out exactly the same except for the bumpy Jell-O. The reason for the bumpy jell-o was that I let the Jell-O set for too long in the fridge.

What Not to Do - Lessons Learned

1. Do not cook the crust because it changes the texture of the crust. My first two tries I baked the crust.

2. Not let the crust and the cream cheese layer chill long enough. This caused the cream cheese mixture to melt slightly.

3.Not letting the Jell-O set up long enough (which happened in the first two tries) but not too long as I learned this 3rd try. Getting the time right prevents the more dense cream cheese layer from floating to the top like in this picture.

Though it doesn't turn out as perfectly as I wanted,  I definitely learned that practice gets you closer and keep trying, again and again until you succeed.

Here's the Recipe from Kraft Canada that was on the Cool Whip Lid.

Strawberry Delight Dessert

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. Honey Maid Graham Crumbs

1/4 c. non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

1 1/2 pkg. Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese Spread Light, softened

2 tbsp. skim milk

1 c. thawed Cool Whip Light Whipped Topping 

2 c. boiling water

2 pkg. (85 g. each) Jell-O Strawberry Jelly Powder Light 

1 1/2 c. cold water

1 qt. (4 c.) strawberries, sliced 

Directions

Mix graham crackers and margarine, press firmly onto the bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Beat cream cheese spread and milk until well blended. Stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust . Refrigerate until ready to use. Stir boiling water into dry jelly powder in a large bowl at least 2 mins. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Store any leftover dessert in refrigerator. 

Have you had any recipes you had to try several times before getting them just right?