Berry Blue Blueberry Cheesecake

Crappy photo of a delicious blueberry cheesecake

I love blueberries, but Stuart LOVES blueberries... and cheesecake.  So for his birthday (I may just be a tad late on this post), we decided to try our hand at a Blueberry Cheesecake!  I had made a Toffee cheesecake once before, and didn't like how it turned out, so I was apprehensive about our mission.  But MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 

Isn't graham cracker crust THE BEST?

We didn't stray much from the recipe.  Instead of measuring out 3 cups total blueberries, we used 2 packages of frozen blueberries and a handful of fresh blueberries in the sauce.  One interesting thing about this recipe is the use of sour cream for the topping, but honestly, I couldn't really notice it.  I think next time I would like to incorporate blueberries within the cheesecake.  I prefer whole blueberries as opposed to a sauce layer (that was baked).  But I guess that's just my preference. 

Anyway, adapted recipe from myrecipes.com, originally a Cooking Light recipe.

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 2/3  cup  graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
• 2/3  cup  reduced-fat vanilla wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies)
• 3  tablespoons  sugar
• 3  tablespoons  butter, melted
• Filling:
• 1 package of frozen blueberries minus roughly a cup of blueberries
• 1  tablespoon  cornstarch
• 2 1/2  (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1  cup  sugar
• 2  tablespoons  cornstarch
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 5  large eggs
• Topping:
• 1 1/2  cups  fat-free sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• Sauce:
• 1/4  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  water
• Roughly 1 cup of frozen blueberries + some fresh blueberries

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. To prepare crust, combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl. Drizzle with butter; toss with a fork until moist. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. To prepare filling, combine 2 1/2 cups blueberries and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a food processor, and process until smooth. Place puree in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup blueberry puree for sauce; set remaining 1 cup blueberry puree aside.
4. Place cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed for 3 minutes or until smooth. Combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and salt. Add sugar mixture to cheese mixture; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour batter over prepared crust. Pour 1 cup blueberry puree over batter; gently swirl with a knife. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven (do not turn oven off); place cheesecake on a wire rack.
5. To prepare topping, combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring well. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over cheesecake. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove sides of springform pan.
6. To prepare sauce, combine reserved 1/2 cup blueberry puree, 1/4 cup sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring constantly. Gently fold in 1 cup blueberries. Remove from heat, and cool. Serve sauce with cheesecake.

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The Great Pumpkin Cookie

The great pumpkin cookie is the dessert you’ve been waiting all year for.   Fresh out of the oven, the cookie’s exterior crust provides a crisp cover to a soft, moist cookie that crumbles like a cake.  Whether it’s the texture or the taste, this cookie is a delight to eat.  The mild cinnamon flavor is enhanced by a coating of sweet icing.  As usual, you can have some fun with the icing – striping cookies or dousing them with sugary goodness.  Of course, I left a few cookies plain for those who like less sugar.  I brought these to the last girl’s night, and they were a hit!

The recipe was adapted from here

 

Cookie Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

• 1 cups confectioners' sugar
• 4 teaspoons milk
• 1/2 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
2. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to the mixture, and beat until creamy.  
3. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. To make the icing: Mix confectioners' sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve desired icing consistency.  Once the cookies are cool, use a fork to ice the cookies.

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