If Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Prickly Pears . . .

I've lived in Texas for 21 years and, as of this weekend, 11 of those years have been in west Texas. In those 21 years, I cannot tell you how many prickly pear cacti I've seen. Only within the last few years did I learn that both the fruit and the cactus pad are edible (for humans). And earlier this week, I got to help pick and process fresh prickly pear fruit for the first time in my life!

Some of my friends own a good chunk of land that is bursting with prickly pears. They've harvested and processed several batches, and this week invited me to come along and pick with them.

It was so much fun! For this gal who is much better at driving to the grocery store than growing or hunting her own food, there was something so invigorating about harvesting produce from the earth's bounty. I felt industrious and accomplished. And the juice I brought home seems all the more special because it was mine and my friends' hands who picked, chopped, boiled, mashed, and strained the fruit that produced it.

So today I bring you a prickly pear photo story / instructions for making your own prickly pear juice. At the bottom, I'll provide some ideas for ways to use prickly pear juice.

1. Gather up your tools. For harvesting, you'll need bucket(s) and long-handled tongs. Sturdy rubber gloves will also come in handy (no pun intended). For processing, you'll need a rake (like you use to rake leaves), at least two large pots, cutting board and knife, a colander, a potato masher, a ladle, a funnel with a strainer (or a funnel plus a small fine strainer), and jars to hold and store the juice.

2. Use the tongs to pick the fruit. Look for fruit that is darker in color--deep purpley red more so than bright pink.

3. Fill up as many buckets as your heart desires. Each gallon of fruit will yield roughly a gallon of juice.

4. I didn't get a picture of this step. To remove the small hair-like prickles from the fruit, dump them in batches onto your lawn. Use a rake to rake over them, jumble them up, etc. The idea is to knock most of the prickles off the fruit in the process. Some people recommend removing the prickles by burning them off with propane, but that sounds quite complicated. Also, just know that you're probably not going to get ALL of the prickles off. So wearing gloves in the next steps will result in fewer prickles going into your hands. Return the fruit to a bucket, trying to minimize the amount of grass and dirt that wind up mixed in with the fruit.

5. Rinse off the fruit, and cut it in half long-ways. Isn't it purty?

6. Fill up a pot with the halved fruit, then add enough water to just cover the fruit.

7. Bring to a boil over high heat, then boil for 10 minutes.

8. Toward the end of the 10 minutes of boiling, use a potato masher to mash up the fruit

9. Place a colander over a second large pot, and pour the fruit/water/juice into the colander. (As you can see, we used a large bucket since all of our pots were full of fruit.)

10. Use the potato masher to press the fruit well, squeezing out as much juicy goodness as possible. Discard the solids. You'll end up with some seeds in your juice; that's okay because we're about to strain them out.

11. Use a ladle and funnel (and fine strainer) to transfer juice into jars while straining out the seeds. If you plan to use the juice right away, feel free to fill each jar to the brim. However, if you plan to can or freeze the juice, be sure to leave about an inch at the top of the jar to allow for expansion.

So! Now for some ideas on what to do with the 3-1/2 gallons of prickly pear juice currently hanging out in my fridge and freezer.

• Frozen treats like sorbet and popsicles
• Today for breakfast I made Lemon-Orange Pancakes with Prickly Pear Syrup (recipe coming soon!).
• Various prickly pear-infused beverages, whether spiked or not. I've tasted prickly pear lemonade, and am told the juice is also excellent in iced tea, margaritas, and mimosas.
• Smoothies--paired with fruits like orange and banana
• Jelly
• Glazed roasted pheasant from this site (could easily be made with chicken or Cornish game hens)
• Salad dressing
• I found a wealth of prickly pear juice recipes on Yummly. Two of the recipes there that most intrigue me are the Prickly Pear Lemon Bars and the Coconut Tarts with Prickly Pear Sauce.

How about you? Got any favorite prickly pear recipes you'd be willing to share?

Breakfast Quinoa with Spinach and Egg

When it snows in west Texas, the world shuts down. We don't have fancy things like snow plows and tire chains (is that even what they're called?) and people who know how to drive in snow and ice. So an inch or two of snow is enough to close schools and businesses, giving us all the blessed gift of an unexpected day off to burrow under the covers and stay in our jammies all day.

I'm making the best of my day off, which will probably still entail some work and will certainly include some homework . . . but first it included a quick, easy, and wholesome breakfast of egg, quinoa, and spinach. The flavors were simple but hit the spot. I left my egg yolk runny, which added a nice creaminess to the dish. The recipe I was following called for hummus on top; I didn't have any on hand, but it sounded like a good idea so I kept it in the recipe below.

Breakfast Quinoa with Spinach and Egg
Adapted from Naturally Ella
Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 shallot or 1 clove garlic, minced
2 handfuls baby spinach
2 Tbsp. feta cheese crumbles
1-2 eggs
2-3 Tbsp. hummus (optional)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or butter
Optional garnish(es): chives or green onions

Directions
Heat a small pot over medium heat and pour in the dry quinoa. Toast it for a couple minutes, stirring often. Then add water and salt, and cook according to package directions.*

While the quinoa cooks, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until tender and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the spinach, and cover the skillet. Let sit for a few minutes until spinach is wilted. Stir in the cooked quinoa and feta, then transfer to your serving plate.

In the same skillet, cook egg(s) however you like them. Slide egg on top of quinoa mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Top with hummus and garnishes, if using.

*Note: I buy pre-rinsed quinoa, which makes this toasting step possible. However, if you have non-pre-rinsed quinoa, skip the toasting, rinse the quinoa, and cook according to package directions.

Cranberry Crostini with Goat Cheese and Brie

As we approach Christmas day, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite recipes I've made in a while. Though I made these crostini for Thanksgiving, the sauce smelled just like Christmas! I thought it was the perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving and look forward to putting up Christmas decorations the next day.

These crostini are wonderfully simple to make, but look and taste fancy. I think the blend of spices was pretty much perfect. No single flavor took over the dish, but instead created a symphony of sweet, spiced, tart, rich, creamy, and crunchy.

I made some of mine with goat cheese and some with Brie, and I can't decide which I liked better. If doing small, two-bite bread slices from a skinny baguette, you're probably good either way. If doing larger slices from a fatter loaf, Brie might be a bit rich.

This recipe is very portable and easy to make ahead. Toast the bread slices and, once they're cool, store in a large zip bag until ready to serve. The cranberry sauce can be made days in advance and stored in the fridge. Just warm it up a bit in the microwave right before serving. I traveled with all my components separate, and let people assemble their own crostini. That way each person could choose which cheese(s) they wanted, the bread didn't get soggy from sitting too long, and any leftovers were easy to take home.

Speaking of leftovers, they do well on crackers, leftover turkey, leftover dinner rolls, and pretty much anything else you can think of. One of my friends says the cranberry sauce is good on pancakes, and I may or may not have made french toast topped with leftover cheeses and cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Crostini with Goat Cheese and(or) Brie

Adapted slightly from Cookie and Kate
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients
1 baguette or small loaf of artisan whole grain bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Olive oil
Salt
12-oz. bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice (or equal parts cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg)
Zest of 1/2 an orange
10 oz. (total) goat cheese, Brie, ricotta, or cream cheese, or some combination thereof - at room temperature

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil, and arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet or two. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Toast the bread in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden on both sides, turning them halfway. Set aside to cool, and turn off the oven.

Rinse the cranberries and throw out any bad ones; set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together the honey, water, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Bring to a gentle boil over medium to medium-high heat, whisking often. Add the cranberries and cook, stirring frequently, until cranberries have popped and the sauce is the consistency you like. The longer you cook it, the more saucy and less chunky it will get. Beware that the cranberries may try to attack you while they're popping. Remove from heat and stir in the orange zest.

To assemble the crostini, spread each slice of bread with cheese, then top with cranberry sauce.

Crab and Veggie Pasta with Healthy Alfredo Sauce

Maria Von Trapp may prefer raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, and those are all fine and good. But if I were to write a song about my favorite things, Alfredo sauce would be in it. It's hard to beat that rich, buttery, garlicky, creamy goodness.

However, since I've been trying to eat healthfully (most of the time), Alfredo sauce and I haven't gotten to hang out quite so often. Because when you're trying to cut down on calories and fat, it's hard to justify eating a plate full of pasta swimming in heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. I once tried a healthified Alfredo made with Greek yogurt and found it to be gross (and it didn't taste remotely like real Alfredo). So I resigned myself to the reality that things like Alfredo sauce just cannot be made healthy and still be good--that it should be reserved for special occasions and splurges, where you eat the full-calorie version but very infrequently.

And then this Alfredo sauce happened.

Believe it or not, it's made with cauliflower. And believe it or not, it's actually good. Now, it doesn't taste like it has a stick of butter or a quart of heavy cream in it . . . because it doesn't. But it does have this great, velvety texture and rich, creamy taste. Cauliflower, I didn't know you were capable of such greatness.

I used this cauliflower-based Alfredo sauce in a recipe that has become a standby with two of my friends from way back when. Quite often when we're together and can't decide what to cook, we land on this dish which we've always just called Crab Pasta. We use imitation crab meat (classy, I know) and have used varying combinations of mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, onion, and black olives.

I hope you enjoy!

Crab and Veggie Pasta with Healthy Alfredo Sauce
Sauce from Pinch of Yum

Yield: 4 servings

For the Sauce
1-1/2 small heads cauliflower, chopped*
3-4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch black pepper
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

All the Rest
1/2 lb. whole wheat fettuccine, spaghetti, or angel hair pasta (uncooked)
Olive oil
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

4 oz. mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. dried tarragon

8 oz. lump-style imitation crab (or the real deal)

Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil and add the cauliflower. Cook on medium-high heat until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes. The longer you cook it, the smoother the sauce will be. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, saute the 3 cloves garlic in butter until tender and fragrant. Transfer the cauliflower and about 1 cup of the cooking broth to a blender or food processor. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and puree until very smooth, about 3-5 minutes depending on your machine. Once the mixture is moving, stream the 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil in. If needed, add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick. When the sauce reaches desired consistency, transfer to a medium saucepan. Add cream; cover and keep warm until ready to serve, stirring occasionally.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain but do not rinse. (Note: the creator of the Alfredo sauce recipe recommends keeping 1/2 cup of the pasta water and adding it to the Alfredo sauce. I didn't do this, as my sauce seemed a fine consistency.) 

Get the skillet you used for the garlic earlier. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add the asparagus and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes, until veggies are almost tender and asparagus has brightened. Add tarragon, remaining 2 cloves garlic, and crab meat. Continue to cook until garlic is fragrant and crab is warmed through. 

While the vegetables cook, combine the pasta and Alfredo sauce, stirring well. To serve, place pasta on a plate, and top with vegetable and crab mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

• The Pinch of Yum blogger lives in the Philippines where the heads of cauliflower are apparently much smaller. Using 1-1/2 heads of cauliflower from my North American grocery store yielded quite a bit more sauce than I needed--enough to generously sauce the pasta plus save some extra sauce for a future use. So you could probably use just 1 head of cauliflower and be fine.
• I will probably use more garlic next time because, really, when have you ever eaten something and thought, "This has too much garlic"?
• If it's not quite Alfredoy enough for you, you might consider mixing traditional Alfredo sauce with this Alfredo sauce. Maybe 1 part traditional to 2-3 parts cauliflower-based.

Nutrition Information (from My Fitness Pal)

Note: For nutrition facts purposes, I figured the amount of sauce I made would be 6 servings rather than 4, and adjusted other amounts to match. So if you make the recipe above as written, then proceed to eat 1/6 of the sauce and 1/4 of the pasta, crab, and veggies, these nutrition stats should be accurate.

Savory Bread Pudding

This dish was lovely, light, creamy, and brunchy. I felt like I should be sitting out on a sunny veranda eating this with a glass of juice and a side of fruit, perhaps with an ocean or lake on the horizon. The flavor was very light and mild. One reviewer said it was bland, so that's why I added a bit of Rocky Mountain Seasoning. You could add virtually any herb that strikes your fancy, or perhaps a bit of garlic and/or Parmesan.

The original recipe called for goat cheese, which I don't always care for, so I used queso fresco instead. I imagine Feta would also be good in this.

Savory Bread Pudding

Printer friendly version
Adapted from Cooking Light
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 lb. white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used half of an Italian loaf)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) crumbled queso fresco cheese
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. Rocky Mountain Seasoning (optional)
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1/8 cup sliced green onions

Directions
Spray an 8 x 8-inch pan with cooking spray, and arrange bread in it.

Combine half of the queso fresco, milk, cottage cheese, pepper, Rocky Mountain Seasoning, egg, and egg whites in a bowl, whisking well. Pour mixture evenly over bread; press bread down into the liquid, if needed. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup queso fresco over the top. Let stand for approximately 30 minutes. (Alternatively, you could cover and refrigerate over night, then remove from fridge about 30 minutes before baking.)

Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until set and golden. Sprinkle with green onions before serving.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 
261 calories; 6.1 g. fat; 65 mg. cholesterol; 629.9 mg. sodium; 34.7 g. carbohydrate; 1.4 g. fiber; 17.4 g. protein; 2.6 g. sugar

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole with Buttered Rum Sauce

This is my new favorite breakfast. It’s cozy. It’s sweet and spiced. It’s got crunchy pieces and gooey pieces. It’s perfect for a 46-degree Saturday morning when you’re still trying to make it another month before firing up the furnace.

For the French toast casserole part, I pretty much followed a halved version of a recipe on Buns in My Oven. Though honey oat bread is my favorite French toast base, so I used that instead of French bread. I also decided to cube my bread instead of slicing it and doing two layers in the pan. Mostly because I didn’t start the bread soon enough the night before and wanted desperately to go to bed. So cutting the fresh hot bread into cubes was how I could make it cool more quickly so I could assemble the casserole. I’m pretty happy with my decision, though I suppose maybe this should be called bread pudding since the bread is cubed. (?) In fact, if you need a good dessert idea, call this bread pudding and—voila!—you’ll have a dessert instead of a breakfast.

For the sauce, I combined elements of Paula Deen’s praline topping recipe as seen on Buns in My Oven, with elements of the buttered rum sauce from this Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread recipe that a friend shared with me (yes, I will be making that recipe soon).

Part way through baking, I was worried that the cubes on top would turn into croutons and be unpleasant. But the texture was great! Pouring the buttered rum sauce on top part way through baking helped moisten the top layer. Parts of the top layer were definitely more crispy (though not quite crouton consistently, thankfully), which provided a nice contrast to the gooeier layer below.

This casserole reheated really well, though the texture was not quite as nice and varied when reheated.

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole with Buttered Rum Sauce

Adapted from Buns in My Oven

Yield: 4 servings (one 11 x 7 dish)

Ingredients

About 8 oz. bread, cubed (I used honey oat bread)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

3/4 cup milk

2-1/2 eggs (2 eggs + 1 egg white)

3/8 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ginger

Pinch of cloves

For the sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 Tbsp. rum (or substitute vanilla extract; or substitute 1/4-1/2 tsp. rum extract)

Directions

The night before: Spray an 11 x 7 inch glass pan and arrange bread cubes in the bottom. Whisk together remaining ingredients (through cloves). I find that the whisk attachment on my immersion blender is great for whisking eggs and leaving no globs behind. Pour over the bread cubes; cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

The morning of: Remove casserole from fridge. Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40-60 minutes, until casserole is browned and heated through. Mine took 40 minutes, but the recipe I was following said 50-60 minutes.

For the buttered rum sauce: About 20-30 minutes into the casserole’s bake time, put butter into a microwave-safe dish. Microwave in 20-second intervals until melted. Stir in brown sugar and stir until mostly dissolved. It may require a couple more 20-second trips to the microwave. Stir in pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum/vanilla/extract. Remove casserole from oven and drizzle with sauce. Return to the oven for the remainder of the baking time.

When it’s finished baking, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in. You can eat it as-is, or add a drizzle of honey or syrup and/or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Ideas for next time

• For extra rich and gooey, I might make twice as much buttered rum sauce—half of it for pouring on top of the casserole for the last 10-20 minutes of baking time, and half saved to drizzle on right before eating. Especially if serving as a dessert rather than as breakfast. 
• I wonder what this would be like with light coconut milk instead of regular milk. And/or coconut oil instead of butter in the sauce.

Chicken Peach Quesa-pitas

This recipe was my favorite way to use up Honey and Lavender Crock Pot Chicken. I suspected that the flavors in which I cooked the chicken would pair well with the flavors in this quesadilla recipe. And, if I may say so myself, I was right. If using honey lavender chicken, I'd go with Monterey Jack cheese; if using regular chicken, I think the pepper Jack would be better.

You could certainly use tortillas, as the original recipe calls for. I simply had pitas on hand, so that's what I used.

I almost skipped the honey-lime sour cream element, and I'm really glad I didn't. The sour cream added a additional layer of flavor which was quite good. You could probably substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream.

Chicken Peach Quesa-pitas

Adapted slightly from Cooking Light

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

1/2 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. lime juice

1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 whole wheat pitas, cut in half

Approx. 1/2 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese

1/2 cup cooked, cubed chicken         

1 peach, thinly sliced

2-4 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Combine honey, lime juice, and sour cream, stirring well with a whisk or fork. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Preheat a George Foreman grill. Spray the both sides of the pita pockets with olive oil cooking spray.

Fill each pita pocket half with 1/4 of the remaining ingredients—cheese, chicken, peaches, cilantro, and more cheese. Grill each pocket half in the George Foreman for 3-5 minutes, until pita is toasted and cheese is melted. Serve with the honey-lime sour cream.

Results

Fresh and summery. Quick and easy to throw together. Doesn't heat up the house. Delicious!

Tzatziki and chicken and gyros - oh my!

While grocery shopping several days ago, I spotted some containers of tzatziki and immediately became fixated on finding ways to eat it so I could justify buying a container. Of course, you can simply dip things like cucumbers, pita bread, carrots, etc., in it, but I wanted something a little more exciting. So after some “ways to eat tzatziki” Google searches, I found this recipe for chicken gyros and tzatziki. Bingo!

As is my style, I made some modifications, though the main thing I changed is that I used store-bought tzatziki rather than homemade. When you live by yourself and cook for one, there are some things that are just more cost-effective to buy prepared. I also slightly decreased the amount of chicken.

Because I am actively trying to lose weight, I wanted to keep this meal very low-calorie. If calories weren’t such a big deal, I probably would have gone with regular whole pitas and put in a little bit more filling, possibly assembling the gyros taco style rather than pocket style.

Chicken Gyros

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large (12 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast (with rib meat)
4 whole wheat pita salad pockets (I found them in the pita section of HEB)
Fresh cucumbers, peeled and finely chopped
Fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
Fresh red onion, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup prepared tzatziki sauce

Directions:
Combine first 7 ingredients in a glass bowl. Cut the chicken breast into 4 evenly-sized strips and add to the marinade, making sure the chicken is nicely coated in marinade goodness. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Cook the chicken whatever way floats your boat. I cooked mine in the George Foreman for about 2-1/2 minutes, and they came out deliciously juicy. Let the cooked chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then slice fairly thinly.

Wrap the pitas in a slightly damp paper towel and microwave for about 15 seconds. Scoop 1/4 of the chicken into each pita salad pocket. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion (I used about 1/8 of a cucumber for one gyro, and about 1/8 of a Roma tomato). Finish off each gyro with 1 Tbsp. of tzatziki, and enjoy! You may need to mix things around in the pocket with a fork to get the tzatziki integrated with the rest of the ingredients.

Yield: 4 gyros

Calories: Approximately 256 per gyro

Verdict: Absolutely delicious! I am excited about eating the other 3 servings that are waiting in my fridge, and I will definitely make this recipe again.

Changes to make next time: As far as taste goes, I wouldn’t change a thing. But for the sake of buying one fewer ingredient, I may use tzatziki, rather than plain yogurt, in the marinade.

These veggies look slightly like wax, but I assure you they are real!

Cookie dough cheesecake

Several weeks ago, my friend Lauren and I took a day trip to Dallas, and one of our treats for the day was a trip to the Cheesecake Factory. We ate many wonderful things there, but the one thing we felt inspired to attempt to duplicate was cookie dough cheesecake. Now, some people might go online and look for cookie dough cheesecake recipes. This thought did not occur to me. Instead, I looked for eggless cookie dough recipes and for no-bake cheesecake recipes. I suppose it was a more exciting challenge to hunt for multiple recipes and combine them, than to just look for one.

Anyway, I made it for a dinner last night, and the result did not really taste like what we had at the Cheesecake Factory, but it was still very good. (Honestly, I would consider it a success if mine turned out half as good as the Cheesecake Factory's!)

You may notice there are no chocolate chips in this
dough. That's because one of the friends who would
be eating it cannot have chocolate.

CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

COOKIE DOUGH:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Tbsp. water
Pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

CHEESECAKE:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup frozen Cool Whip, thawed (I used lite)

For crust, combine the three ingredients and press into a 9-inch springform pan.

For the cookie dough, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the vanilla, water, and salt. Add the flour and mix until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Using your hands, scoop out some dough, flatten it, and place it gently into the springform pan, being careful not to mess up the graham cracker crust. Once you’ve transferred all the dough into the pan, carefully press the seams together, again being careful not to mess up the crust.

For the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip. Pour cheesecake filling into springform pan on top of the cookie dough layer, and smooth.

Cover and chill at least 2 hours. (Mine ended up chilling for about 24 hours and was fine.)

Next time, I plan to use chocolate graham crackers for the crust, and mix the chocolate chips into the cookie dough. Also, this particular cheesecake recipe was more fluffy/light, and I wish it had been heavier/creamier. So I may try a different recipe for the cheesecake layer. Or, perhaps I might even search for cookie dough cheesecake recipes and see what they suggest.

Tah-dah! As you can see, I sprinkled the mini chocolate chips on
top for those of us who could eat chocolate.

And, in the interest of not plagiarizing, here are the no-bake cheesecake and 

cookie dough recipes that I pirated.

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