White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Yield: 8 servings
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
1 store-bought pre-made oreo crust (save the lid) - graham cracker crust works too
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 pkg.), softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped or 1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Stir in cold water and add raspberries. Cook over medium heat whisking frequently, until mixture reaches a boil. Allow mixture to gently boil about 5 minutes whisking constantly and reducing temperature slightly if necessary to reduce splattering, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and force sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to remove seeds, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. 
4. Mix in egg and egg white. 
5. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Set mixture aside.
6. Melt white chocolate with cream in a double boiler until melted and smooth, or melt in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth.
7. Pour heaping 2/3 cup cheesecake mixture into the oreo crust and spread evenly over bottom. Drizzle or spoon with 2 Tbsp raspberry sauce. Slowly ladle remaining cheesecake mixture over the drizzled raspberry sauce, covering all the raspberry sauce (you just don't want it to show through). Swirl cheesecake with a toothpick or knife (your just swirling that inside layer of sauce for now, be careful not to let the sauce show through). Carefully jiggle the pan to even out the top. 
8. Now, fill a clean medicine syringe with raspberry sauce and begin to pipe small circles in a swirl pattern over cheesecake. Take a toothpick and beginning with the center circle, run the toothpick through the center of each heart (don't lift the toothpick out until you finish the last circle).
9. Bake cheesecake for 40 minutes, then turn oven off and leave cheesecake in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cover with saved lid and refrigerate until fully set about 6 hours. Top slices with remaining raspberry sauce and optional sweetened whipped cream (for extra indulgence =).

Recipe found at Cooking Classy

Banana Cream Pie

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Ingredients:

1 4-serving size box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding

1 c. cold water

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 cookie crusts. You can use anything–graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, shortbread, even Oreo. (I normally cook one regular 10" crust and make a small- 4" bread pan one)

Lots of bananas (about 3 large)

1 pint whipping cream, divided

1/3 c. powdered sugar

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, cold water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place in the refrigerator to chill for a few minutes. 

In another bowl, whip the 1/2 pint of the cream until soft peaks form.  Add to the pudding mixture and gently fold in.

Slice the bananas (probably 4 small bananas or 2 large bananas) and layer them on the bottom of the crusts. Be sure and save the plastic domes that come with the pie crusts–you’ll need them later!

Now divide the pudding mixture between the two pies (or just the one and little bread pan).

Whip the other 1/2 pint whipping cream, and add 1/3c powdered sugar.  Top the pies with it.

Place the clear plastic shells back on the pies and allow to chill for several hours. This is actually really important–I tried eating it right away once and the pie wasn’t banana-y at all and the moisture hadn’t absorbed into the crust, so the crust just fell apart.
And there you have it–the best AND the easiest banana cream pie you’ll ever have or need!

Chunky Monkey Variation: Blend 1/2 c creamy peanut butter into the pudding/water/sweetened condensed milk mixture (before you fold in the whipped cream). Continue as directed but place in a chocolate cookie crust. Sprinkle with honey roasted peanuts just before serving.

*Both really good.