Creamy Blueberry Dessert

Fixing and eating this dessert was a nice way to bring some summertime into this cold winter. I love the creamy filling, the crunchy nut-filled crust and the delicious blueberry topping. I made quite a few changes to this recipe, but the most significant one was making a homemade blueberry topping instead of using canned pie filling. Do whatever works for you!

To make the homemade topping, combine the blueberries, water, sugar



and cornstarch



in a medium saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon so all the cornstarch dissolves, and cook over medium heat until the sauce comes to a boil.



Cook and stir for another minute so that the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and add the almond extract. Let the topping cool completely. You can pop it in the fridge if you need to accelerate the process.

To make the crust, chop the almonds, then toast them. I did this in a skillet on the stove topover medium heat - just make sure you're shaking them or stirring them often so they don't burn.



Combine the nuts, flour and melted butter



then press into a 9x13 baking dish.



The crust will be a little sparse, so you'll have to work it a little to make sure it covers the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

For the filling, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a saucepan.



Let sit for a minute, then heat over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar



until smooth. Beat in the gelatin mixture



until blended, then fold in the whipped topping. Pour the filling over the crust.



Now spoon the blueberry topping (it must be cool!) over the filling.



Doesn't that look good?



Don't dig in yet, though, this needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours or until the filling firms up and the topping gels. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Find more great recipes at Sweets this Week, Recipe Swap Thursday, Cooking Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Friday Food, Food on Fridays, What's Cookin' in the Kitchen, Fun with Food Friday and Sweets for a Saturday.

Creamy Blueberry Dessert

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese (low fat is fine)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 - 8 oz. carton whipped topping (lite is fine)
Topping:
3 cups blueberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. almond extract

For topping, combine blueberries, water, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and cook and stir over medium high heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Cook and stir for another minute until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract.

For crust, combine the flour, almonds and butter in a small bowl. Press onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

For filling, sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Heat over low heat until gelatin is dissolved.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add gelatin mixture and beat until blended. Fold in whipped topping. Pour over crust. Spoon blueberry topping over filling.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Serves 16-20.