Description
This Circus Animal Cheesecake is a fun and colorful dessert featuring a crumbly circus animal cookie crust topped with a smooth, pink cream cheese filling. Decorated with rainbow sprinkles and additional circus animal cookies, it’s perfect for celebrations or anytime you want a playful, sweet treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust
- 9-ounce bag circus animal cookies
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pink food coloring (amount to achieve desired color)
Toppings
- Rainbow sprinkles
- Circus animal cookies (for decoration)
Instructions
- Crush Cookies: Pour the circus animal cookies into a large zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin until fine crumbs form, or pulse them in a food processor until evenly ground.
- Make Crust Mixture: In a large bowl, combine the crushed cookies with melted butter and tablespoon of sugar. Stir until the crumbs begin to stick together, forming a crumbly, moist mixture.
- Prepare Crust Base: Grease an 8-inch springform pan thoroughly. Press the crust mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan to create an even base. Place the crust in the freezer and chill for at least 30 minutes to set firmly.
- Make Cheesecake Filling: While the crust chills, beat together the softened cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and pink food coloring in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth, creamy, and well combined with no lumps.
- Assemble and Chill: Spread the cheesecake filling evenly over the hardened crust in the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow the cheesecake to set properly.
- Decorate and Serve: Once set, remove the cheesecake from the pan. Sprinkle rainbow sprinkles generously over the top and press one circus animal cookie into each slice before serving for a festive touch.
Notes
- Make sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature to avoid lumps in the filling.
- Use a springform pan for easy removal of the cheesecake.
- For best results, chill the dessert overnight for full flavor and texture development.
- If you don’t have pink food coloring, you can substitute with any favorite color or omit for a neutral color.
- The crust can be frozen beforehand and assembled later for convenience.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: circus animal cheesecake, no bake cheesecake, fun dessert, cookie crust cheesecake, colorful cheesecake
