The first dessert I ever learned to make on my own was an Oreo Cheesecake. I felt so proud using my mom's spring form, crushing those little sandwich cookies into a delicious chocolate crust. I'm pretty sure the sense of accomplishment I felt after I tasted a delicious bite of my very own creation was a huge catalyst in my love for baking, which has (thankfully) matured to goodies beyond Oreo cookies. (but seriously, Oreos are delicious. Especially Parent-Trap style with peanut butter).
I've built on that first cheesecake recipe I learned to make and have come up with countless variations, but this is one of my favorites. I made these for my friend's birthday and they were a nice change-up from the usual cupcakes. Plus, they include roasted strawberries. ENOUGH SAID.
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Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
Strawberries:
1 pound of strawberries
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Cheesecake
1 1/2 sleeves of graham cracker cookies (depending on how thick you'd like your crust(
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese (I used 2 full fat and one reduced fat), softened
4 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 sour cream
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Begin by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, honey, and balsamic vinegar
Hull your strawberries and slice them into small bite size pieces and dump them into the bowl
Stir everything so that your strawberries are coated
Pour into a single layer on a cookie sheet (aluminum foil is recommended..things get sticky) and roast for about 30min or so, until everything is thick and bubbly and your strawberries are puffy and have a bit of color on them.
While that roasts, crush all of your graham crackers into a fine crumb with a food processor.
Add the vanilla and butter, and pulse until everything is combined.
Press into a baking dish--the size varies with how much of a crust to cheesecake ratio you would like. I used a 9-inch baking dish for 50/50 ratio.
In a bowl, beat together your cream cheese and sugar until smooth
Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
Finally, add the sour cream and mix again.
Pour the cheesecake into the crust
Take your strawberries out of the oven and pour them and all the juice from the tray on top of your cheesecake. Use a knife to marble them throughout your cheesecake batter.
Bake your cheesecake for about 45 min to an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. Once your cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake sitting in there for 10 minutes.
Let it cool completely before slicing into bars, and then stick in the fridge to firm up before serving.
drool.