No-bake Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Cream Filling!

I had some leftover cream cheese from the Buckeyes, along with some fresh strawberries from the Redlands farmer's market that were getting a bit withered in the fridge.  I had planned to make these little tarts to use everything up but I haven't been feeling well and was pretty tired.  I don't usually make desserts when I'm sick (in fact, the last couple of posts about desserts are really an anomaly.  I don't actually make desserts all that often.) but I needed to use the cream cheese and strawberries up.  What's a girl to do? ;)

But then Becky Carlton showed up and provided more than enough energy to get the job done.  The  filling was so good that we were snacking on strawberries dipped in the extra cream sauce during the whole process!  Once prepared, these are best eaten the day of making them.  But the filling and topping hold well in the fridge if you want to prepare it ahead of time.

No-bake Strawberry Tarts with Vanilla Cream Filling
Makes 4-5 small tarts

Crust

9 graham crackers, crushed

4 Tbsp margarine, melted

(If you run out of graham crackers or don't have any, blend a mixture of nuts and skip the butter.  It works perfectly and tastes wonderful.  I happened to have some graham crackers this time so I used them instead.)

Creamy Filling

2 blocks tofu

4 oz Cream Cheese (that happened to be the amount I had left.  Use whatever you've got or not at all.)

Scant 1/4 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 a meyer lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring (or the seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean pod)

Strawberry Sauce

1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled

Sugar, to taste (We used only a tablespoon because our strawberries were so sweet.)

Juice from 1/2 a meyer lemon

Garnish

Sliced strawberries

Mint leaves

Directions:

• Mix crushed graham crackers and butter in a bowl and press into small tart pans to create a firm crust. 
• Blend tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in blender until smooth.  Pour into prepared tart crusts.  Smooth with spatula or spoon.
• Blend strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender until smooth.  Pour over top of the creamy filling in the tarts.
• Garnish with sliced strawberries and mint leaves.
• Chill & enjoy!

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.