In a mixing bowl combine all the crust ingredients - the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar. Stir until thick.
Using your fingers, firmly press the crust into a 9x13 inch pan.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer for 90 seconds, until fluffy.
Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Add in 1 & 1/2 containers of cool whip, mix. Spread this mixture evenly over the crust.
Add the cherry pie filling, carefully spooning and spreading over the filling. You don’t want the pie filling to mix into the cream cheese layer. You can use 1 & ½ cans or full 2 cans.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. The more time this dessert spends in the refrigerator, the more it will firm up and improve in texture.