Berry Patch Smoothie

One thing that I miss about living California (and Florida) is the fresh fruit. It seems like no matter what time of year it is, there's always something delicious in season! Here in Utah we grow lots of vegetables, especially during the summer and early fall, which is wonderful, but it's often difficult to find fresh berries! So when I'm scooting past the fruit in the grocery store and I see decent looking strawberries, raspberries or blueberries, I always grab them! I love eating them straight out of the container, using them in muffins or tossing them into smoothies. Yesterday morning I chose the later.

Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes

It's almost been a week since my last post! Somehow I've managed to get a bit off track. I blame it on the holiday and the fact that I've been a bit under the weather. Today I'm writing this from the comfort of my bed. I refuse to get out of it any sooner than I have to... which means I've got about another hour or so before I have to drag myself out and get ready for work. Sigh. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I'm slightly obsessed with my mini cheesecake pan. Admitting it is the first step, right? I would use it on a weekly basis if I could! So when Stephen asked me to make him a chocolate raspberry cheesecake, I knew exactly what to do. I scaled down a full-size cheesecake recipe and added a few extra ingredients. They became moist little bites of creamy goodness with beautiful swirls of raspberry sauce in them. Oh, and since I didn't want to be wasteful, I sunk a whole raspberry into the center of each- a nice little surprise!

Mini Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecakes
Ingredients
1 package (8 oz) Original Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature

1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. sugar

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
2 tsp. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. vanilla bean paste

12 raspberries, rinsed and dried

For the raspberry swirl:

1/4 c. water

2 tbsp. sugar

1 c. raspberries

For the crust:
14 Oreo cookie halves (or 7 cookies with the filling removed)
1½ tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. sugar
Pinch of salt

For the chocolate whipped cream:
1 c. heavy cream
4 tsp. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

Chocolate shavings for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a mini cheesecake pan with baking spray. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind all ingredients for crust, except for the melted butter. The mixture should resemble slightly coarse crumbs. Remove mixture and pour melted butter over. Mix until crumbs are wet. Press into the bottom of each hole. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.

3. To prepare the raspberry swirl, combine all ingredients in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Reduce raspberries until they form a thick syrup. Remove and pour through a mesh sieve. Discard any seeds. Set the sauce aside.
4. To prepare the filling, beat together cream cheese, sugar and cocoa until smooth. Add vanilla, heavy cream and egg. Mix until just combined.
5. Pour filling over each crust, dividing evenly. Add a dollop of raspberry sauce to each and swirl using a toothpick. Place a raspberry in the center of each, making sure it is covered by the batter. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing cheesecakes (yes your cheesecakes will sink a little, this is normal).
6. Remove cheesecakes from pan using the bottom of a wooden spoon. Using a butter knife, remove metal bottoms and place cheesecakes in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
7. While cheesecakes are cooling, prepare whipped cream by fitting a chilled mixing bowl into your stand mixer. Add heavy cream, sugar, salt, and cocoa. Using the whisk attachment beat on high for 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks begin to form. Return to refrigerator until cheesecakes are ready to be served.
8. To assemble top with a swirl of whipped cream and a pinch of chocolate shavings. Enjoy!
Adapted from Driscolls Decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake | Makes 12 mini cheesecakes using the Chicago Metallic Mini Cheesecake Pan

Raspberry Squares

Can you believe that it wasn't until I met Stephen that I started to like raspberries? For some reason the seeds and the tartness never really appealed to me. But now I've come to really love anything with raspberries in it, though I'm still not a fan of those pesky seeds. Anyway, I went to Target the other day in search of some nice fresh fruit and they had a ton of raspberries! I picked up a carton and knew that Stephen would eat some and the rest I could make something with. I remembered how good those blueberry-lemon crumb bars were, so I decided to make a slightly different version with raspberries. They turned out beautifully! Sweet, crunchy and delicious.

Raspberry Squares

Ingredients

1¼ c. all-purpose flour
⅓ c. granulated sugar + 1 tbsp.
¼ tsp. salt
10 tbsp. (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
⅓ c. old-fashioned rolled oats
4 tbsp. pecans, chopped
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. corn starch
¼ c. raspberry jam
1½ c. (12 oz.) fresh raspberries, washed
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice + 1 tsp. zest

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 X 8" baking pan with a foil or parchment.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender cut in the 10 tbsp. of butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Reserve half of the mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle half of the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown (15-17 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the reserved flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and mix until small clumps begin to form. Set aside.

5. In a small bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the jam, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together.
6. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the warm crust, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Place in oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown (24 to 26 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
7. Remove from oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Stephen + Natalie | Makes approximately 9 bars