So-Called Snickers Cheesecakes

I have two sisters by birth and a third by the Catholic church.  RaeLeigh was born nine months before me.  Both her parents were work associates of both of my parents.  In addition they were friends--Catholic friends at that.  So it follows that my parents are her Godparents and RaeLeigh, an only child, got the three of us as her sisters.  And we added her to our elaborate Barbie dramas and to the staff when playing "Office."

She and I were very close as kiddos, grew apart as we matured, and have rediscovered each other's awesomeness as adults.  And we've fallen into a pattern of getting together every couple of months for some of what I call our "kooky, health baking," even though I don't think we've actually baked anything.  We tend toward freezer desserts.  RaeLeigh finds a recipe online and we converge at her apartment for a session of gab as we mix and measure in the kitchen.

Our creations are the sort with designations like, "No Gluten/ Dairy/ Eggs/ Soy/ Refined Sugar, etc."  Dang are they tasty though.  Who needs sugar when you've got a third of a cup of maple syrup?!  Dates and walnuts make an astonishingly yummy crust.  Seriously.  It is amazing stuff.  I was surprised.

Kooky, health baking is awesome.  One caveat on that:  Don't be fooled by that "date caramel" bit.  That is just date puree--I don't care what she calls it.  That is not caramel at all.  I'd skip it and just swirl in a bit more of that melted chocolate.  Or, use some real caramel sauce!  Or go with the kooky date sauce, if that floats your boat.  😉

To expedite the freezing processes and otherwise make our lives easier we made mini-cheesecakes in cupcake tins.  That worked swell.

It has been too long since I've had a Snickers to really gauge these so-called Snickers Cheesecakes in that regard.  They were scrumptious though.  I can say that unequivocally.  The coconut cream makes for a smooth, rich mouthfeel.  The chocolate and peanuts merge in that heavenly pairing that is chocolate-peanut.  It is sweet, but with just a hint of salt to make all the flavors sing.  All in all, a decadent little treat.

Find the whole recipe here at the Minimalist Baker.