Does your yummy dessert recipe call for softened cream cheese, and you are just now taking it out of the fridge to start your crowd pleasing baking project?  Need that treat made in a hurry and now you are freaking out?  No time to wait for it to soften on the counter due to your own lolly gagging ways and poor planning?  I’m not judging.  How do you think I figured this out?  This baking hack is the answer to your procrastination lovin’ prayers, my friend!   Stop skipping over all of the amazing recipes you COULD make just because they call for SOFTENED cream cheese and you waited until an hour before the party to get started on the dessert you promised to bring.    Due to the FACT that your cooking life is about to change – this is, in fact,  a life changing tip, trick, hack, whatever you want to call it.  It’s pretty much magic and works EVERY time.

Make sure to PIN THE IMAGE BELOW so you can find it NEXT TIME you need it.  We both know there WILL be a next time….  *sigh*

There it is.  A solid 35 degree block.  Staring back at you making you question how your plants and offspring are even still alive:

Water and the advances in car safety and brilliant teachers is how, btw.   Speaking of water, here’s how we are going to use this life giving element to solve our problem!    Unwrap your cream cheese leaving it with the opened tinfoil wrapper underneath and get a glass bowl (that’s big enough to cover however much cream cheese you need to soften) and fill it with hot water.

Microwave your bowl full of water for about 3 minutes or fill it with hot water you have boiled on the stove.

If you boiled the water on the stove and then added it to your glass bowl, wait about 2 minutes for the hot water to really heat up the glass.  If you microwaved it, the microwave heated up the glass, so go ahead and dump the water out now.  Cover your cream cheese with the hot empty glass bowl:

If you needed 2 packages – go ahead and put both in!

Wait 10 minutes to be sure it’s good and softened and then remove the glass bowl.  VOILA!  Just like magic.  You now have softened cream cheese ready for your scrumptious recipe!

Yup.  It’s a forehead smacker for sure.  I can’t even tell you how many times this has saved my bacon.  Make sure you share this tip with your friends!  Procrastinators tend to flock together.  *GROUP HUG*

You’re WELCOME!  You pretty much owe me a slice of whatever yummy thing you are making.

Don’t be stingy – Make sure you PIN THE IMAGE BELOW to enlighten the rest of the world! 

The same method (basically) works to get room temperature BUTTER too, you guys!  Check out my tutorial on that.  Which is where I got the idea to try it on cream cheese.  Cuz apparently, I lack some kind of gene I needed in order to be able to plan ahead on a consistent basis.  CLICK HERE or on the IMAGE BELOW to see the full tutorial and save it for when you need it next!

Now that you have the ability to get softened cream cheese on the quicklike – you NEED to try this EASY no bake LEMON dessert recipe!  It’s the most popular recipe on the site – and for good reason.  It’s easy, quick and absolutely delish!

With its light, refreshing lemon flavor, this easy no bake cheesecake dessert recipe is about to become your new family favorite spring and summertime treat.    This is the perfect quick crowd pleaser for Mother’s Day Brunch, Easter Dinner and all of your spring and summer dinner parties, cookouts and potlucks!    It’s all mixed up in under half an hour and only needs to chill in your fridge for two hours before you can serve up this pretty, yummy no bake pie!   CLICK HERE or on the image above for the full Printer Friendly Recipe:  No Bake Lemon Oreo Crust Lemon Cheesecake Icebox Pie Easy Dessert Recipe | Dreaming in DIY