Lemon Blueberry Mini Cheesecakes

With the weather cooling down, I have been on a baking kick after my summer hiatus from the oven. I recently hosted a friends dinner and wanted to make a dessert that could be prepared the day prior, but still be just as good the following day. I also wanted to try something new. After looking through tons of recipes, I decided a mini cheesecake would be a great choice I already had blueberries at home so this recipe became my pick. I am so happy I gave this a try! It's delicious and even on day 3 the cheesecakes are delicious.

Pin It Now!

Cream Cheese Frosting

When it comes to frosting, cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites. This is a really quick and easy recipe for a great cream cheese frosting that pipes easily and holds it shape. Use this on chocolate cake, carrot cake, or any other cake you enjoy. This is very hard to mess up, so it's a great go-to frosting recipe when you want something homemade.

Pin It Now!

No-Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake

Last summer my neighbor introduced me to this cheesecake. She had been experimenting with it for a while and brought one over to a barbecue. I love the original recipe as it is, but the only remnant is the original snippet from a magazine along with her notes. Though the origin of this recipe is unknown, this cheesecake is amazing! Not only can you avoid turning you kitchen into a sauna this summer while making desserts, but your taste buds will be very grateful.

Pin It Now!

Bow Tie Cookies with Apricot Jam

It's been a while since I've added a new post, but this past month has been crazy. I've moved back to the US and have been unpacking and repacking for my move to San Francisco. Luckily, there's been some time to try out new recipes even with all the commotion. When I got to my parent's house, I knew I wanted to bake something for my dad. He's the kind of guy who loves having a pastry or cookie with his morning coffee. But he doesn't like things to be overly sweet and dislikes anything with frosting or icing.

I was browsing recipes at Fine Cooking when I came across this cookie recipe and knew it would be perfect. The cookie itself is not too sweet and is the perfect coffee or tea cookie. The flavor is simple yet the cookies are extremely addictive. We managed to finish the entire batch within 4 days (there were only 3 of us at home at the time). You can use any jam you want for these. I made half of the cookies with apricot jam and half with strawberry rhubarb jam and both were delicious. The apricot ones were a little more tart since the jam isn't as sweet. You can fill them with whatever flavor you like, but choose a firm jam. A thin, runny jam will seep out of the cookies more so than a thicker one (this was the case with my apricot jam cookie). Best of all, the original recipe claims you can freeze these cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 month, so if you don't plan on going on a cookie binge you can save them. But seeing as how these cookies seem to magically disappear, that might not be necessary.

Pin It Now!

Mini Blackberry Caramel Cheesecakes

I love cheesecake, but for some reason I rarely make it. I was flipping through Alice Medrich's cookbook when I stumbled upon this recipe. I kept turning back to the recipe, so I knew I had to give it a try. It is definitely time consuming, but the end result is delicious. I tried versions of this recipe with and without the caramel sauce, but it is worth the extra effort to make the sauce. I also didn't have ramekins when I made these and used a muffin tin. It works OK, but it's a bit tricky removing the individual cheesecakes when they're all on the same tray. It works, you just need patience. If you do not need as many mini cheesecakes, the recipe can easily be halved.

This dessert would be an impressive addition to any small gathering (a ladies lunch, a family dinner, etc...). Just remember to prepare them the day before. These cheesecakes require a lot of time to set in the fridge. Also, when you're turning them onto your serving dish or individual plates, make sure you flip them over where you want them placed for serving. They are delicate, so I don't suggest moving them around too much. Even with all these finicky little details, I love the end result. If you have time and was to make a beautiful, mouth-watering dessert, these mini cheesecakes are the way to go.

Pin It Now!

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

With berries coming into season, most summer parties will have some sort of berry dessert option. This past Memorial Day, after making way too many main courses and side dishes, I decided that for dessert there would be fresh fruit and these cheesecake bars. I also cheated and put out a few cute cookies from the bakery. I soon learned that there is no need for bakery items when you make these bars. They were a hit, even with the people who were "too full" to eat any more.

I cut my bars into 12 pieces, but you could have carefully cut these into smaller bite sized bars if you have the patience to carefully slice through the final product. I am not know for my delicate slicing skills, so I kept it a bit bigger. In the original recipe, they are cut into 10 rectangular bars, so you can really do whatever you like. I love that you get the satisfaction of eating cheesecake form the texture and flavor of these bars, but you don't end up eating as much as you would with a New York cheesecake. Which also means you don't end up as ridiculously stuffed. I had 2 squares left over and ate them 2 days later and they still tasted great, even though they were cold form the fridge.

Pin It Now!