Cheesecake Fruit Dip

I don’t really know where this idea came from.  I suppose it was just one of those random moments of inspiration.  I’m quite happy with this one, though, so whatever, I’ll take it.  The fabulousness really does live up to the name.  Cheesecake Fruit Dip.  Just imagine a bowl of cheesecake in which you dip fresh fruit.  And the best part is, it only requires 2 ingredients and about 3 minutes to put it together. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• ½ cup Trader Joe’s Crunchy Cookie Butter

If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s by you, you can probably get speculoos at whatever store you shop at, but they might not have a crunchy option.  Speculoos is a spread made from speculoos cookies, which are basically graham crackers.

If you don’t want to wait for your cream cheese to come to room temperature, you can give it 10 seconds in the microwave.  Then just smoosh it around until it’s nice and soft and creamy.  I like to use Neufchatel rather than regular cream cheese because it’s lower in fat and still tastes fabulous. 

Add the cookie butter.

Then just stir until it’s fully incorporated. 

Serve with whatever kind of fruit you like.  I chose strawberries and sliced apples.  You could even dip bits of chocolate in it, if you like chocolate cheesecake.  Because seriously, you'll think you just made cheesecake in like 3 minutes.  

What’s your favorite kind of cheesecake?

Let me Introduce my Friend, the Mason Jar.

As you know, quality is important to me.  Spending money unnecessarily, is not.  One of the categories to which this really applies, is spices.  There are few things better for cooking than good, fresh, quality spices.  (I love you Penzey’s)  I don’t mind, for a minute, paying a premium price for them.  Where I have the problem, is continuing to buy the bottles.  You’d be surprised just how much you’re paying for those little things.  Well, no more.  I have the perfect solution for you.  Mason jars. 

Or perhaps canning jars is the better term for them.  Whatever you call them, they are the perfect storage containers.  They come in all sorts of sizes ranging from ½ cup all the way up to a quart.  They have both regular and wide mouth of most sizes, and they also sell convenient plastic lids for them all.  Stick a label on top, and you’re good to go!  Ball has even started selling jars with shaker lids as “spice jars”.  I’m pretty sure they stole the idea from me.   

I’m talking about spices here, because that’s probably my favorite use for mason jars, (aside from canning, obviously) but don’t stop there.  They work great for storing dry pasta or beans, whole grain flours, that extra bit of smoothie that wouldn’t fit in your glass.  Really, just about anything.  They can hold things that are hot or cold, they’re, freezer, refrigerator, and dishwasher safe, and because they’re glass, they don’t hold onto any funky odors. 

This concludes another episode of Tuesday’s Tips, Tricks, and Treats.  As always, feel free to share your own tips or questions in the comments below.