No-Bake White Chocolate Cheesecake

[This recipe was originally posted in conjunction with the Meijer Ad week of 9/23/12-9/29/12]

This is a killer dessert recipe!  Not only does it taste amazing, but it comes together in a snap.  The orange zest adds fresh, unexpected flavor to the creamy white chocolate filling, and it's all topped off with the berry of your choice and a drizzle of more white chocolate.  

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 1/4 C crushed vanilla wafers
1/2 C (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
8 oz white chocolate chips, melted (about 2/3 of the bag)
5 Tbsp milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp grated orange peel
2/3 C powdered sugar
16 oz whipped topping, thawed
Topping:
3 C sliced strawberries OR 2 half-pints of raspberries
4 oz (or whatever is left in the bag) white chocolate chips
2 tsp shortening

Directions:

Melt 8 oz white chocolate chips (see tips below).  Mix with milk and allow to cool.  Meanwhile, mix together vanilla wafer crumbs and butter/margarine.  Press into bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.  Beat together cream cheese, orange peel, powdered sugar, and cooled white chocolate.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread over crust.  Melt together the remaining white chocolate chips and shortening (see tips below).  Allow to cool while you arrange the berries on top of the filling.  Drizzle with white chocolate/shortening mixture.  Refrigerate until serving.

Options and Tips:

• White chocolate burns easily, so melt it carefully in the microwave:  place the white chocolate chips in a glass bowl (with shortening if indicated).  Microwave at 50% power for 45 seconds.  Stir well.  Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds.  Stir again.  If chips are not melted by now, microwave 15 more seconds at 50% power.  Even if the chips appear to not be melted, stirring for 30 seconds or so can melt them the rest of the way.  When in doubt, stir longer as opposed to microwaving again!
• "Professional"-looking drizzle is easier than you think!  Your chocolate mixture should be fairly thin (which is why shortening is added).  Use a spoon to scoop up a some melted chocolate.  Use your wrist to make a flicking motion so that the melted chocolate flies off the sides of the spoon.  Don't tip the spoon over to "dump" the melted chocolate...keep it level, as if you were trying not to spill it. 

This recipe comes from Kelly Looyenga.  I made slight adjustments to the instructions.

This recipe is linked up at the Holiday Recipe Link-up Party over at Domestic Fashionista.