Dairy Free Dessert Cups

Dairy Free Dessert Cups are a close resemblance to cheesecake, but without any cheese or what we call pretend cheese items.  The cherry pie filling sits on top of firm vanilla pudding, which sits on top of a cookie.  Each person gets their very own serving so there’s no fighting over who has the biggest piece and best of all… they’re free of dairy, egg, nuts, and can be made gluten and wheat free by using a safe cookie bottom.

On most of the pudding boxes it states not to use soy milk because the pudding won’t set, but that isn’t accurate!  If you decrease the amount of soy milk used, the recipe works just fine.  So many people ask “Can you use soy milk to make pudding?” and the answer is YES!

I’ve used soy milk to make chocolate pudding pie, banana cream pie and éclair tarts with amazing results.  There were no doubts that it’d work just fine with this recipe too.  Just think of all of the different flavor combinations you could make, which makes this recipe so fantastic! Swap out the bottom cookie for any flavor, swap out the pudding flavor and pie filling flavor too!  I plan on making chocolate strawberry with a sugar cookie bottom next, which may end up being my favorite flavor combo!

Dairy Free Dessert Cups

Ingredients:

• 12 safe chocolate sandwich cookies (use gluten free, if needed)
• 1 (3.4oz) package of heat and serve vanilla pudding
• 1 cup of soy milk
• 1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

1. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Add one sandwich cookie to each liner.
2. Using a small saucepan, cook the heat and serve pudding using only ONE cup of soy milk, not the two that the box asks for, making sure to stir frequently.
3. Spoon the vanilla pudding onto each cookie.  Place the muffin tin into the refrigerator for at least four hours to allow the pudding to set.
4. Spoon the cherry pie filling on top of the vanilla pudding.  Keep the Dairy Free Dessert Cups in the refrigerator inside the muffin tin until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Elizabeth DiBurro