Low Carb Blueberry Cheesecake

I'm not a low carber, but I have friends that are and I don't like to leave people out when I cook. While not induction friendly, the use of Splenda definitely cuts some calories and brings the net carbs to under 25 grams per serving. Not bad for a slice of cheesecake!

I'm sure there are many, many technical flaws in this, but I don't care. It's yummy and easy.

If you only use half of the blueberry swirl, it cuts the net carbs down to 14 grams per serving. You could cut it even more by using regular splenda instead of the brown sugar blend in the crust, but I think it tastes better with the brown. This IS a treat, after all!

If you want to cut more calories, you can use low fat ricotta and cream cheese, but your carbs will go up. So, pick your poison. I personally prefer the taste and texture of full fat (and real sugar, but today is not the day).

You'll need a food processor for the crust and filling and a 9-inch square pan lined in foil. I blended the blueberries with an immersion blender.

You can also add some lemon juice to the blueberries if you want to brighten up the flavor a little. To the filling, too! Just do it to taste!

Makes 9 servings.

Crust

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons flax seed

1 tablespoon splenda brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch fresh nutmeg

Pinch salt

Blueberry swirl

2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup water

2-4 tablespoons splenda, depending on taste and sweetness of the fruit

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

Pinch fresh nutmeg 

Filling

2, 8oz blocks of cream cheese

1 15oz tub of ricotta

3 whole eggs

1/3 cup Splenda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

fresh nutmeg to taste

Method

1. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with foil. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped and blended, but not a paste.
3. Spread crust onto the bottom of the pan, being careful to not have any holes.
4. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes and allow to cool. Turn oven to 350.
5. Combine all ingredients for the swirl in a small saucepan and cook until the berries are tender. Blend if desired. Allow to cool to room temp.
6. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a mixer or food processor until smooth. Pour over cooled crust and spread.
7. Pour cooled blueberry swirl over filling. With a butter knife or spatula, gently swirl the filling and blueberry swirl together. 
8. Bake for 10 minutes in a water bath*, then turn temp down to 350F and bake for another 45-75 min or until set (the middle of the cheesecake will have a slight jell-o jiggle to it).
9. Cool to room temp and chill for at least an hour.

Here are the screenshots from my recipe entries on MyFitnessPal.com. The top one is with half the blueberries.

 

* If you've never done a water bath, it's very easy. You're going to place the pan with the cheesecake inside a larger pan and fill the larger pan with an inch of water, being careful to not get any water in the cheesecake. The water bath is an important step with baked goods like cheesecake because it keeps the top from drying out and cracking. When you're done baking, just take the smaller pan out of the water and let the pan with the water cool in the oven. 

Cinnamon Rolls

The dough can also be used as a dinner roll if you don't Cinnamon Roll it! It's a mildly altered version of this recipe.

About the room temp liquids: I think warm water at 110 hurts the yeast. Room temp water is going to be between 70-80 degrees, which is more than ample to wake up those little yeasty buggers. If you're doing this in a colder environment and your water is cold, use a slightly warm water. Or just be patient- the bread will still rise, just slower. It will even deepen the flavor if that happens, so don't worry.

Makes two pans of rolls when baked in 8-inch cake pans.

I will save the 2nd tray to make a bread pudding that's so good it might be banned in New York City.

There is an obscene amount of butter here and I'm not one bit sorry.

Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

This was a fluke recipe that came about from not wanting to toss a bunch of stale cinnamon rolls. It was one of the best food saving moves ever!

You could also use store bought premade rolls or a can of rolls that you bake, but doing it yourself is worth the effort if you have the time. It really does taste better! Either way, allow them to stale up before making this as it will improve the texture of the end product.

You want this to be pretty wet going into the oven. If the bread soaks up too much liquid, add more liquid.

Pudding:
6 cups cubed stale cinnamon rolls (one half of a batch of rolls)
2 cups milk
5 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Crumble:
1 stick butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rolled oats
pinch salt
pinch fresh nutmeg
pinch allspice

Sauce:
2 cups sugar
1 egg, beaten
half stick butter
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brandy

1. combine sugar, spices and eggs in a bowl and mix until combined. Add the cubed rolls and toss to combine. Pour into baking dish.
2. With a fork or pastry cutter, combine all the ingredients for the crumble. Drop over top of unbaked pudding
3. Cook in preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes or until brown on top and bubbling.

For Sauce:

1. Melt butter in pan on low heat. Add sugar and egg. Stir to combine. Cook until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and brandy and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until alcohol is cooked off to your liking.

Awesome Peanut Butter Cookies

We love peanut butter cookies! These are everything a good cookie should be- soft, chewy and decadent.

I love adding a chunky salt to the top after rolling in sugar- it gives the cookie a whole new dimension. I prefer Gray Salt, but Kosher will work fine. But, that's up to you. If you do, reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon in the batter.

 Ingredients

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (think Crisco)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (not margarine, butter)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (must be AP, not self rising)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 regular Heath toffee bars, chopped. (two bars will be about 2.8 oz by weight)
• Granulated sugar for rolling.
• Kosher or Gray salt for topping (totally optional, but reduce the salt in the batter to 1/4 teaspoon.)

Method

Combine sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and eggs in mixer.  Scrape down bowl once or twice.  Beat until light and airy.
Wisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then with the mixer on low speed, slowly add to the wet ingredients.
Add chopped toffee bits.  Turn mixer up to medium speed.  Beat until dough forms a ball.

Cover mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350f.

Make 1" balls of dough, lightly roll in sugar and place 3" apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with fork dipped in sugar to approximately 1/2" thick. (if in doubt, leave them a little thick)

If desired, sprinkle the salt over the top of the cookies at this point. I prefer the Gray.

Bake ~11 minutes until edges are lightly brown.  The cookies should still be soft in the center. - This may vary depending on your particular oven.  Start checking them at about the 9 minute mark and adjust as necessary.
Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.
Move to wire rack to cool.

Makes about 18 cookies.