Less Complications, More Churros!

I have a tendency to make things way more complicated than they need to be. But I do consider it both a strength and a weakness that in most situations I'm able to leap to the worst possible conclusion in under five seconds. This way, I'm prepared for most curve balls, but sometimes, I have to be reminded that the best things are life are simple. The best things in life are also usually desserts, and it is nice to be able to throw together something yummy in under 10 minutes....you know, compared to my usual half-day forays into baking and decorating (did I mention the complicated thing?). Since I was having what I will refer to as "a week," and had a potluck party to get ready for, I wanted a dessert that was quick, easy, and complimentary to my stress eating. This meant it needed to be sweet and able to be inhaled in mass quantity with minimal swimsuit season damage. And so, churro cheesecake dip with dulce de leche topping was born:

It might not look like much, but what it lacks in beauty it makes up for in personality. And by personality, I mean flavor.

Look, I love cheese. At this point, my body is probably made of at least 15% Gouda. And I love cake. I'd aim to venture my cake-to-body percentage is ridiculous. So the only way either of my food vices could possibly be any better is by combining them together to form cheesecake. I should know, I'm still noshing on those cherry almond cheesecakes from last weekend. At this point, I'm going to go out on a limb and say if cheesecake were a drug, I'd probably need to go to meetings to deal with my addiction. I was totally flying blind while making this recipe, on a cheesecake high most likely, but I knew I wanted churros, and I knew I still somehow had dulce de leche leftover from Cinco de Mayo. I also knew I was so, so very tired and so, so very lazy, so an easy dip it was. Since I have a regular supply of Cool Whip Free and reduced fat cream cheese on hand, I knew I also was going to make this so, so very low in calories. The ENTIRE bowl of dip is a little over 1,000 calories, so depending on how many servings you want to divvy up (read: people will bogart the dip...it was referred to at one point as "cheesecake crack"), you're still going to be on the low end calorie wise if you're feeding a small gathering and not just yourself. I won't blame you if you don't want to share. This is hands down the best dip I've ever made, appetizer or dessert wise. And you're talking to a dip connoisseur here; Texans don't mess around with whatever tops their tortilla chips, people.

Six ingredients from cinnamon bliss!

This is not complicated by any means, but I'm still glad I wrote down how I made this churro cheesecake dip because I was totally making things up as I went along. End result: cinnamon + dulce de leche = my new drug of choice. To make this amazing goodness, gather:

• 8 ounces of 1/3 fat cream cheese at room temp
• 1 1/2 cups of Cool Whip Free
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Swerve granular
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 TBS of dulce de leche
• Optional: additional 2 TBS Cool Whip to decorate

There are minimal steps here, which is good when you've been up since 5 a.m. on a Saturday and can't remember how to tie your own shoes let alone mix things together (I can sleep when I'm dead. Or when I make it to the padded cell of my dreams). Blend the cream cheese in your stand mix until fluffy, then add in the cinnamon, Swerve, and vanilla. Blend on medium high until things are nicely mixed. Add in the Cool Whip Free and blend on low until everything has been incorporated.

A bowl full of dreams.

Dump into a serving bowl and place into the freezer for 45-60 minutes, just until things are firm. If you *don't* want to top with dulce de leche because you hate enjoying life or just don't have time to resist the urge to dive into this, you could call it a day here and eat the dip. But take the hour. Relax. Read a book. Take a nap. Read a book while taking a nap. Just remember, the name of the dip dessert game is simplicity.

And also, hella good yumminess.

 Dump three tablespoons of dulce de leche in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds:

Do not lick--will be hot.

 Stir until smooth, and then use an angled spatula or small knife to spread across the top of your firmed up churro cheesecake dip:

There's a fine line here, and it is make of sticky, sweet caramel.

 You could also call it a day here and place into the fridge to finish setting, but I prefer to garnish dip. Jazz things up a bit. Make them slightly complicated and a bit pretty (side note- this is now my new name for my autobiography).

She was a complicated woman, but she loved dessert.

I used a 1M tip to create a quick swirl of Cool Whip Free in the middle of my dessert and finished things off by placing a Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chip in the center.

I am now also obsessed with dessert pita chips. I did not know such a thing existed.

Place back in to the fridge to let set for a few hours (mine sat in the fridge for about 4 hours until we were ready to go to the party this dessert was debuting at). Plate and serve with cinnamon sugar pita chips, cinnamon graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, apple slices, etc. You really can't go wrong.

Because, churro.

To paraphrase a friend after she tried a bit: this stuff is legit. It is so creamy and sweet, but the cinnamon gives the cheesecake the perfect balance. The dulce de leche layer on top makes it absolutely irresistible. A few people had never heard of churros or dulce before at this party (because sadly, not everyone can be a Texan), but said it didn't matter because whatever it was, that dip was damn good. So the moral of the story here (aside from the magic that is Tex Mex anything) is that a simple dessert you throw together on a wing and prayer that it won't suck can sometimes turn out to be the biggest crowd pleaser you've ever made. Does this mean I'm going to start trying to make things less complicated on a regular basis? I'd like to say yes, but my Level 99 anxiety is already laughing in the back of my head, so, we'll see. In either case, I have literally one spoonful of this dessert leftover from the gathering we went to last night (I wasn't even letting a milligram of this awesome stuff go to waste), and I'm saving it in the event of an emergency (a.k.a., Monday morning). 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

Gonna need another cheesecake fix real soon, though.