Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Today was a gorgeous day here in San Francisco. I took a few hours and went to the beach to relax a bit, it was so nice! I have never seen so many people out on the beach, but then again these clear sunny days with temperatures over 70ºF are rare. This morning I made these chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars since I had no dessert in the apartment. They are made with homemade graham cracker crust, chocolate cream cheese filling (I used LIGHT cream cheese), raspberry purée swirled on the top and finally topped with dark chocolate shavings and fresh raspberries. Yummmmm Two weeks until finals…maybe these cheesecake bars with give me a study boost this week!

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total

1 hour 5 mins

Type: Dessert

Serves: 9

Ingredients

Crust

12 graham crackers
3 tbsp granulated sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted

Filling

16 oz light cream cheese
3 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Topping

¾ cup frozen raspberries
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 dark chocolate bar

Instructions

Melt chocolate chips in a little dipper crockpot (if do not have, microwave a little at a time right before adding to filling later on).
Grind graham crackers in a food processor into fine crumbs.
Combine with melted butter and sugar in an 8×8 square glass baking dish, and press with fingers to form crust.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, purée raspberries and cornstarch in food processor or blender.
Pour into a small saucepan, add water and bring to a boil.
Stir in sugar and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Preheat oven to 300 °F.
In a mixing bowl or standalone mixer with whisk attachment, beat cream cheese until fluffy.
Beat in vanilla and lemon juice until well blended.
Beat in eggs, sugar, and cocoa and melted chocolate.
Take crust out of refrigerator, and pour cream cheese mixture over it.
Drop raspberry sauce by teaspoonfuls over the top, evenly.
Cut through the top with a butterknife to swirl the raspberry sauce into the cream cheese.
Carefully place the cheesecake into the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 45 minutes at 300 °F.
Remove from oven when center is almost set, and cool for 1 hour.
Refrigerate for at least 5 hours before cutting and serving (best results: refrigerate overnight!).
Using a peeler make dark chocolate shavings from the candy bar.
Top bars with shavings and fresh raspberries.

Makes 9 bars

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Get your own little dipper (perfect for melting chocolate without burning it!):

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Chocolate Reese’s Pieces Cookies

Mar 3 by Kristianne

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday, and because I live 6 hours away and can’t celebrate with her this weekend, I decided to mail her some of these chocolate Reese’s Pieces cookies! I LOVE Reese’s Pieces, I could eat a whole box at once. Once again, I can’t resist that chocolate and peanut butter combination Hope you like them Mom, have a great birthday <3 XoXo

Chocolate Reese’s Pieces Cookies

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total

30 mins

Type: Dessert

Serves: 18

Ingredients

½ cup butter (1 stick)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup milk
1 package of Reese’s Pieces (about ¾ cup)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer or standalone mixer.
Add egg and vanilla and beat until well blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating on low until well blended.
Stir in Reese’s Pieces by hand with a spoon.
Chill cookie dough in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Drop onto cookie sheet using a cookie scooper or teaspoon.
Bake 10 minutes or until slightly firm on the outside.
Let cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Makes 18 cookies

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Organic Apple Crisp

Feb 29 by Kristianne

Who doesn’t love the smell of apple crisp baking in the oven? Whenever I buy too much fruit I try to think of ways to use it before it goes bad. I bought way too many apples this week, so I used some up in the delicious, organic apple crisp dessert. I always try to cut down the sugar as much as I can, especially because I use Gala apples which are already sweet. If you use tart apples like the green ones you may want to keep the amount of sugar the same or increase it a little.

Tonight I went on a run and when I came home I was too lazy to cook dinner for myself so I made a gourmet Trader Joe’s frozen pizza for dinner…I know…Now you know I must be tired since I almost never turn down cooking on any given day. Three more weeks until spring break and no more worrying about school for a bit. What’s your favorite fruit dessert?? XoXo

Organic Apple Crisp

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total

45 mins

Type: Dessert

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 large gala apples
⅓ cup butter
½ cup flour
½ cup quick oats
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp slice almonds

Instructions

Wash and peel apples, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Blend sugar, flour, butter, and spices together with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly.
Mix in oats until well blended. Set aside.
Thinly slice apples and layer in an 8×8 glass baking dish.
Top with crumbly crust mixture, and sprinkle sliced almonds over the top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
Let cool 5 minutes before serving warm.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Make your life easier with an apple peeler!

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Lemon Pepper Swai

Feb 27 by Kristianne

Today has been a very lazy Sunday! I have assignments piled up on my desk that I have yet to get to (its already 4:30pm) and I slept in until past 11am this morning (haven’t done that in FOREVER!). Remember last week when I said I wanted to try and make something special every Sunday? This is what I made: pan fried lemon pepper Swai fish. I never get tired of it and it comes out crispy and delicious every time. My favorite side dishes are these roasted garlic rosemary potatoes and creamed spinach. This fish recipe is really fast too-once you have defrosted the frozen Swai, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare them for your gourmet Sunday lunch or dinner.

4.8 from 4 reviews

Lemon Pepper Swai

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total

13 mins

Type: Main

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter
2 frozen Swai fillets, defrosted
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Instructions

Wash fish fillets and pat dry with a paper towel. It is important that most of the water is patted out.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet (preferably nonstick!) over medium-high heat.
In the meantime, brush flour over both sides of the fish on a plate.
Season one side of each filet with lemon pepper and quickly flip them lemon pepper side down onto the skillet. Work quickly to ensure the butter does not burn, but stays hot enough.
Season the top of the filets with lemon pepper and sprinkle lemon juice over them.
Fry each side about 4 minutes on high heat.
Fish will be opaque when done, and easily flaked with the spatula. The sides should both look golden and crispy.

Makes 2 fillets

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Mom’s Famous Salsa Recipe

Feb 26 by Kristianne

To this day I have not tasted a salsa recipe better than my mom’s. It beats any restaurant salsa by far. Try it and I am 100% confident you will love it! It makes a great appetizer, or try topping your favorite Mexican recipe with it. I recommend these chicken enchiladas, yum! The best part is that you can adjust how “hot” you like it by using more or less serrano pepper. This salsa recipe is very fast and easy, and comes out great every single time. Thanks for sharing your secret recipe mom

Mom’s Famous Salsa Recipe

Prep time

10 mins

Total

10 mins

Type: Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 cup fresh cilantro
½ serrano pepper, seeded
5 green onions
2 14 oz cans S&W stewed mexican tomatoes
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Pepper

Instructions

Wash all fresh ingredients.
Chop the green onions and add only the white parts to a blender.
Add ½ serrano pepper, tomatoes, minced garlic, vinegar, olive oil, pepper to taste and cilantro.
Pulse the blender a few times until you achieve desired texture (for smoother salsa, purée it for 10 seconds).
Serve with warm tortilla chips.