Cool as a Cherry Cheesecake

Well, it's that time of the year again in Florida. The time when I step outside each morning to walk my dogs and my glasses instantly fog up from humidity only for me to wipe them off and realize it wasn't my glasses--that's just how thick the air is outside. I know it's going to be a particularly trying day when I open my blinds to discover even my windows are thick with moisture, you know, like they're crying about how humid it is. I don't enjoy living where there's only two seasons: summer lite and summer oppression. I have tried so hard, but I'm not mentally or physically prepared to suffer through another Florida summer. Since shipping myself off to Alaska isn't possible, instead I'm back to eating through the pain. I decided a handheld dessert would be most beneficial since my husband, the normal eater, finds the portion sizes perfect, and I, the one eating through the pain, of which there is so, so much of, can have a dessert for each hand. In those temporary moments of desserty bliss, I forget all about the UV index, lack of breeze (this is the flippin' coast, seriously?), and small fortune spent on sunscreen. That, my dear friend, is the power of a damn good cheesecake:

The cherry on top of an otherwise miserable season!

These cherry almond cheesecake cups...where do I even begin? The amazingly rich, creamy almond cheesecake? The buttery vanilla crust? The sweet pieces of Maraschino cherries swimming throughout? The cherry whipped topping? I suppose I could start with any of them, but the end result is still the same: a perfect, delicious cheesecake served up in just the right amount with absolutely no need for a fork. I told you last week, I eat like a bear because I may or may not be one. But seriously, you don't need a fork for these little beauties. You'll eat them faster than you could find utensils anyway. But go forth and eat with reckless abandon because one cheesecake is only 208 calories! I channeled my rage-filled abhorrence of summer toward clever calorie cutting because it's pretty much necessary that I live in a bikini for the next six months or risk spontaneous combustion every time I crack open the front door. I may feel miserable, but I certainly don't have to look it! Ahh, vanity.

And yet, there's cookies involved.

I always felt like Nilla Wafers never got a fair shake. In a world where there's over 75 types of Oreo's alone, these plain vanilla cookies never stood a chance. Maybe I relate on some level because I, too, happen to be a plain vanilla wafer of a person: bland in appearance, but steadfast and reliable! And much like the Nilla Wafer cheesecake crust, I'm also a surprisingly good addition to most ensembles. To make the crust, gather:

• 32 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers, crushed (this makes 1 cup of crushed wafers)
• 3 TBS of butter or butter spread, melted (I used spread)
• 2 TBS of Swerve granular

I love any opportunity that allows me to use my food processor. Feel the power!

Once you've crushed all of your Nilla Wafers in a food processor, add in the melted butter and the sugar, and blend until the mixture is wet. Preheat your oven to 325 and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. 

A strong foundation is necessary for all that cheesecakey goodness.

 Use a tablespoon, and scoop one tablespoon of crust mix into each cupcake liner. Then use something small, like a shot glass (pictured one photo above) to smooth your crust down into the cupcake liners. Bake these for 5-7 minutes, or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack while you make your filling. At this point, you also need to lower the oven temp to 300, or risk burning your beautiful, cherry-filled cheesecakes and letting summer win in all it's overheated evilness...summer, the Taylor Swift of seasons. Innocent and sunny in appearance, but totally loves it when you're miserable.

I ate a lot of cherries that day.

Literally the hardest part about making these cheesecakes was chopping the Maraschino cherries. Those delicious little jerks are slippery and somehow ended up flying off the plate and into my mouth on accident on several occasions. To make the cheesecake filling, you'll need:

• 12 ounces of 1/3 fat cream cheese at room temp
• 1/2 cup Swerve granular
• 3 TBS All Purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of light sour cream (I might try 1/4 cup next time and add 4 more ounces of cream cheese instead just because I felt like the sour cream covered up the flavor of the almond extract just a little bit too much)
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract (alternatively, if you want to keep a 1/2 cup of sour cream, try adding 2 tsp of almond extract so the flavor shines through. I'm obsessed with almond extract flavoring)
• 2 eggs
• 34 Maraschino cherries, chopped (this makes about 3/4 cup)

 Blend the cream cheese, flour, and Swerve in your stand mixer on medium until well blended, scraping the bowl after a minute or so. Then add in the sour cream and almond extract and mix on medium for a minute. Scrape the bowl again before adding in the eggs. Blend on medium until everything is silky smooth in appearance. Fold in the chopped cherries by hand.

I was prepared to drink this with a straw.

Take your tablespoon from earlier and plop two heaping tablespoons into each cupcake liner with your baked crust. Cups should be filled almost completely to the top! Bake for 18 minutes at 300. Once 18 minutes are up, turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecakes inside with the door completely closed for 10 more minutes. Finally, crack open the oven door and let your cheesecakes rest inside for another 15 minutes. The cheesecakes will cook a bit more this way without burning or sinking. I know, this seems like a random yet oddly specific process to follow, but the original recipe did not steer me wrong here. Take the muffin tin out of the oven and place on a cooling rack in your fridge to completely chill for 3 hours.

Worth the wait!

They're honestly really pretty cheesecakes without any topping, but the potential to add more cherries to something is not an idea I've ever been able to turn down. Just ask my husband about how irrationally angry I get when I order a Cherry Vanilla Coke Zero from Sonic, and they don't put a Maraschino cherry in it. It's got "cherry" in the title--I have no time for these egregious errors, Sonic! What you lack in Maraschino cherries, you do make up for in the greatest mozzarella sticks of all time, but c'mon. Sorry, things have gone completely off the rails here, but I really like Maraschino cherries.

And their juice!

To finish off these cherry-filled cups of deliciousness, take 2 cups of Cool Whip Free and plop into a medium bowl. Drain 2 tablespoons of Maraschino cherry juice from the jar and mix in with the Cool Whip Free gently. Place into the fridge for an hour or freezer for 15 minutes to let the Cool Whip Free firm back up before decorating your cheesecakes.

The perfect swirl.

 I loaded up my Cool Whip mixture in a piping bag with a 1M tip and just did a simple swirl on each cheesecake. Remember, cheesecakes should be TOTALLY cool before you decorate them. If there's one thing I enjoy (because I'm a terrible person), it is looking at other people's dessert fails where 98% of the time, they just needed to let things cool fully before frosting. As a baker, this is a simple concept I often forget other people don't even realize. So here I am, spreading the word. Fighting the good fight. Trying to keep your cake fails off the internet because I care. And because pretty desserts make me happy. This goes back to that vanity issue, clearly.

Definitely don't forget to add a cherry on top. Cherries in and on the cheesecake!

I did resist the urge to add sprinkles, so give me some credit.

 Once frosted and topped with a cherry, set back into the fridge until you're ready to serve. This would be an excellent dessert for a cookout or just for your general sense of sanity during extremely hot, humid summer months. There's a ton of cherry flavor in these cheesecakes, and it is extremely refreshing and definitely seasonally appropriate. I often forget there's more than just citrus when it comes to summer dessert flavor, and these cheery cherry cheesecakes (I adore alliteration) are going to be on my mind for ages to come. The crust is a nice, simple vanilla complement to the creamy richness of the cheesecake. Seriously, a tad bit more almond extract and this might very well have been the greatest cheesecake creation of all time. But the cherry whipped topping and actual cherry on top finish off the flavor for absolute perfection. I may (definitely) or may not save tiny little individual bites of the cheesecake that have Maraschino cherry chunks in them for last. Savor the flavor, people. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

Yeah, look at that cherry chunk action.