Free up your oven during the holiday baking rush with a crowd-friendly recipe for No-Bake Orange Cranberry Cheesecake Parfaits.
When it comes to planning your Thanksgiving menu, do you stick with the tried-and-tested favorites every year, or do you add new dishes to your recipe repertoire?
My family has an agreed-upon strategy for the big feast: Stick to the usual favorites for all things savory and get creative when it comes to all things sweet!
This year, we’ll have our family-favorite appetizer, crescent roll veggie bars (23 years running!), plus other assorted snacks before the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Then it’s time to welcome this year’s newest dessert addition: No-Bake Orange Cranberry Cheesecake Parfaits.
With the stovetop and oven on overdrive, this recipe frees up valuable real estate and can even be prepped an entire day before the big feast. It features the most lusciously creamy orange juice-flavored cheesecake filling, which stars my not-so-secret ingredient: Florida’s Natural® Brand Orange Juice.
This Thanksgiving marks my fifth year as a proud member of the Florida’s Natural Brunch Club, and I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a fast, fresh and seriously crowd-pleasing dessert.
In addition to the tangy cheesecake filling, these individual parfaits feature a layer of crushed gingersnap cookies and edible fruit jewels on top in the form of sugared cranberries.
Fresh cranberries go for a quick soak in orange juice before being rolled in sugar. The result is a dynamic duo of sweet and tart flavors wrapped into a cranberry cheesecake combo that’s impossible to beat. Each cranberry is bursting with orange juice flavor and pairs perfectly with the richness of the cheesecake filling.
I’m thrilled to be enjoying Thanksgiving at home this year before we head to Florida for Christmas with my husband’s family. We’ll be taking the boys for their first trip to Disney World, which just-so-happens to be a short drive from the Florida’s Natural Grove House!
What better way to follow up a meeting with Mickey than with a tour through the orange groves?
I can’t wait to finally experience the groves in person (and with my little ones in tote, nonetheless) and to hopefully meet many of the growers who hand-pick all of the oranges to craft Florida’s Natural Orange Juice. I love that they never import oranges and that the juice has been crafted by five generations of Florida families. Five!
Are you ready to put that orange juice to work and up your holiday dessert game? Tune in to the video below!
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Ingredients
For the sugared cranberries:
- 1/2 cup Florida’s Natural Orange Juice
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
For the parfaits:
- 2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup Florida’s Natural Orange Juice
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookies, plus more for
topping - Whipped cream, for topping
Instructions
Make sugared cranberries:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place a wire rack on top.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together the orange juice and ¼ cup sugar. Cook the mixture, whisking occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cranberries and stir until well-coated. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cranberries to the wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Add the remaining ¼ cup sugar to a shallow bowl. Add the cranberries to the sugar in batches, rolling to coat them on all sides. Return the cranberries to the wire rack while you make the parfaits.
Make the parfaits:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the orange juice, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Transfer the cheesecake mixture to a piping bag or sealable plastic bag and snip off the tip.
- When ready to serve, divide the crushed gingersnap cookies among serving glasses. Pipe a layer of the cheesecake mixture on top then add the sugared cranberries.
- Top off each parfait with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed gingersnaps and serve.
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Nutrition
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Florida’s Natural for an exclusive endorsement of not-from-concentrate Florida’s Natural® Orange Juice. This blog post is sponsored by Florida’s Natural. All opinions are my own.
These are so flavorful and the cheesecake is perfectly creamy. Definitely saving this recipe for the future!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Kat!
Thanks so much!
Hi where is the recipe for this?
Hi Vee – If you hit refresh on your page, you’ll see the recipe :)
These look fantastic! Unfortunately, I didn’t see your recipe listing the quantities of the ingredients. Did I miss it?
Hi Jill! Thanks so much! If you hit refresh on your page, you’ll see the recipe :)