Monday, January 21, 2019

Blueberry Lemon No Bake Cheesecake Bites


Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Crumbs (about 12 cookies)
3 Tbsp Butter - Melted
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Pinch of Salt

Filling:
2 - 8 oz Packages of Neufchatel Cheese (can substitute cream cheese) - Room Temp
1 - 5.3 oz Greek Yogurt - Pour out excess liquid
3 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1/4 Cup Confectioners Sugar

Blueberry Topping:
18 oz. Fresh Blueberries (can be made with frozen)
6 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
Pinch of Salt
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1 Tsp Grated Ginger

In a food processor add the sandwich cookies, butter, coconut oil and salt.  Pulse until turned into crumbs, like a wet sand.

Place mini muffin wrappers in the muffin pan. Take a tsp of the cookie crumb mixture and place in each of the wrappers. (this should be enough crumbs for 48 muffins but might need a few more cookies if you come up short).  Press down to firmly pack the crumbs into the bottom of the tray and come slightly up the sides.  Place in refrigerator (or freezer) for at least 1/2 hour.

Using a stand or hand mixer, add in the cream cheese, yogurt, honey, vanilla, salt, lemon zest and confectioners sugar.  Start on low to combine everything then turn it up to whip everything until it's light and airy, about 2-3 minutes.  Taste for seasoning, you may need a bit more sugar or lemon or even salt.

Take a small ice cream scoop (the size used to make cookies, about 1") and scoop the filling into the muffin tins.  Smooth out the filling and carve a slight indentation in the center to form a small well to hold the topping.

Place the muffin tins back in the fridge to set up.

While the filling is setting up, start on the blueberry topping.  Pick through the blueberries to make sure there are no stems or bad berries.  Rinse the blueberries and then place in a pan with lemon juice, salt, lemon zest and ginger.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and the blueberries have become thick, almost like a jam.

Pour blueberries into a bowl and stir occasionally, allowing to cool completely.  When cooled, scoop about 1 tsp of the blueberry topping onto each cheesecake bite and place back into the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve garnish with lemon zest.

Enjoy!  #Cheftainment

* To make these slightly healthier, I use coconut oil in the crust and neufchatel cheese in the filling. It's essentially cream cheese but sort of healthier, you honestly can't taste the difference. I also use Greek yogurt where other recipes call for cream. Again, slightly healthier but also helps keep the filling firmed up and not as loose. As for the topping, you can use cherries, peaches, whatever you want to make it delicious.

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