Mixed Berry Cheesecake Dip

I have to apologize for the long absence.  It's been a rough few weeks at work and I havein't had a lot of time to even eat, let alone cook anything new!  I did manage to find a little free time and I made this excellent dip for a holiday party.  It also gave me a chance to use my Kitchen Aid mixer, which works wonderfully, by the way.  This dish was simple and took virtually no effort, but looked beautiful and delicious when it was finished.  I served it with graham crackers and ginger snaps and it turned out to be a fun dessert!

Source:  Pink Parsley, adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
2-3 cups mixed berries (diced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
1/3 cup red jelly (strawberry, raspberry, currant, etc)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add the sour cream, lemon zest, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat until well incorporated, then add more heavy cream if the consistency is too thick. Pour into a 9-inch pie plate and use a spatula to spread and smooth the top.

Place the jam in a medium bowl, and heat in the microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Fold in the berries, and spoon over the cheesecake filling. Chill until ready to serve, and serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I love bringing in desserts to my job, whether it be for someone's birthday or just because I feel like baking.  It's also a good thing because then I don't have to eat those delicious, yet fattening desserts by myself.  I recently bought a new stand mixer so I thought I'd try making a delicious cheesecake with plenty of chocolate.  This cheesecake couldn't have turned out any better.  It was so rich and creamy and perfect.  The girls at work raved about it as soon as they had the first bite.  Since the cake turned out so well, I am definitely motivated to try making more cheesecakes in the near future.

Source:  Annie's Eats, originally from Ghirardelli

Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
6 tbsp. butter, melted
24 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
¾ cup powdered sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

For the crust, crumble the sandwich cookies into a food processor or blender. Grind into fine crumbs. In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter. Mix well with a fork. Spoon the mixture into a 10-inch springform pan. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, pat the mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Freeze prepared crust 15-30 minutes while preparing cheesecake filling.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°. Blend cream cheese and sugar 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Turn mixer down to lowest speed; add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Scrape sides of bowl. Add whipping cream and vanilla; beat on medium-high for 3 minutes. Pour ¾ of the cream cheese filling into crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter, then pour remaining cream cheese filling over chips.

Bake cheesecake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325°. Turn off oven; leave cake in oven with door closed for 1 ½ hours. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

I was going to a birthday party the other night and I wanted to bring a fun dessert to share. I found this recipe a few weeks ago and I was excited to try it. I had a blast making this recipe. It was simple to make and delicious and it was a hit at the party. People asked me how I hallowed out the strawberries and it was very easy. I saw a recommendation online to use a potato peeler, but I didn't have one so I used a small knife and a very small measuring spoon to scoop out the insides.

Source: The Novice Chef

Ingredients:

2 crates of fresh strawberries
1 box Jello No Bake Cheesecake
Crushed graham crackers
Milk Chocolate chips

Directions:

Wash the strawberries and cut off the tops. Hollow out the strawberries.

Mix the cheesecake according to the directions on the box. Use a decorating bag and a large tip to fill each strawberry until it is slightly overfilled. Place the crushed graham crackers in a bowl and dip the tops of the strawberries into the graham crackers.

Heat up the milk chocolate chips in 10 second intervals until melted thoroughly. Spoon the melted chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut off a very small tip. Squeeze the bag as if it were a decorating bag and drizzle the chocolate on top of the strawberries as desired.