No-Bake Avocado and Lime Cheesecake

  Do you love avocados as much as I do? I love love LOVE them. It's absolutely not uncommon for me to just cut up a couple avocados into a bowl, sprinkle with some kosher salt, and there's lunch. But I must admit, as intriguing as it has always been, I've never used avocados in a dessert.
Well, that is until now!
 I recently had a few friends over for a Mexican themed dinner, and I wanted to incorporate avocados somewhere in the menu. The usual thought would have been to make guacamole, but then I thought, hmm.. let's try something different!
 As usual, I did some googling, looking for ideas. I found several recipes for cheesecake and quickly noticed that they all seemed to be no-bake cheesecakes. Maybe the avocados don't do well with the baking? Who knows? But I went with it. It was as easy as throwing everything into a food processor and blitzing it until smooth and creamy! And OMG it's SO delicious! You can really taste the buttery avocado, and the tartness from the lime cuts through everything to make a very LIGHT and refreshing dessert. Who knew????
 So, the next time you're looking for a "slightly outside the box" kind of a dessert, give this one a try. (it's from Kraft!) And it's a total time saver because you do it ahead and let it chill until you're ready. I bet your family and friends are gonna love it!



1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 fully ripe avocados
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp zest and 2 tbs juice from 2 limes
2 cups thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

Combine graham crackers and butter. Press into bottom of a 9" spring form pan.
Process all remaining ingredients except Cool Whip in a food processor until smooth. Spoon into a mixing bowl. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour over crust. Smooth the top. Refrigerate four hours or until firm. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cheesecake just before serving. Remove rim.



Tips:
OK, I did a few things slightly differently. Instead of using graham crackers, I used vanilla wafers. Why? Because I like 'em! Also, I baked my crust for about 10 minutes at 350º because I wanted it to have more of a toasted flavor, then quickly chilled it in the freezer before filling it with the cheese mixture.
And since I didn't want to ruin the nice smooth side edge of the cheesecake, I decided to spray the inside of the springform pan ring with cooking spray. No need to run the knife around!
To decorate, I just piped some more Cool Whip on top, and then added some more fresh lime zest just before serving. 
Btw, one other thing.. this cheesecake softens to a very soft mousse when it is left out and comes to room temperature. Be sure to keep it chilled at all times!