For The Love Of Cocoa!

Let's talk some hilarity to put a chuckle in your day.  I, admittedly, have been unfortunately blessed with such foul luck (at times) that it leads to some pretty decent stories to recount.

After driving home in a blizzard to spend time with my Dad, I rushed back home (to avoid any more ridiculous weather and, quite frankly, to be warm because their house is flipping cold).  I scrambled to get a whole bunch of stuff together for baking as well as to make sure I could eat for the next week then went to hole up from the cold.

I was so terribly excited to get baking flourless brownies, thinking that I had cocoa in my pantry; I could even smell the chocolate in the air and nearly tripped on the drool on the floor(okay, that last one was a complete lie, sorry).  So, you can imagine how hard my heart hit the floor (and then some) when I discovered that I actually had not pillaged the cocoa from the pantry.  Yes, that definitely hurt.  I stood like Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide in my kitchen and wallowed for a few moments.

Gotta turn this baking need into some baked goods, I thought.

I had the will, and, since the cliché is totally true, there had to be a way!

My default?  Cookies!  I didn't have a lot of time after all of that wallowing, so I made oatmeal from the Quaker mix (just the plain version).  Personally, I really like this mix.  I like this mix plain, with chocolate chips, with raisins.  Oh, yes, I'm quite a fan.  I definitely like it, Sam I Am.  Seuss jokes aside, they are especially wicked-awesome if you have chocolate orange on hand from your Christmas holidays (I get a bunch from my family; it's a dangerously delicious tradition).

In this particular case, I decided to add in some white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  Ultimately, I used half of the bag of mix, a quarter cup of white chocolate chips and a third a cup of dried cranberries (which I chopped down into smaller pieces).

I also fashioned myself some lime cheesecake jello.  Have you guys ever tried it out?  I like it because I like that milky taste but, obviously, I can't walk around eating cheesecake a day.  I'm not one of those lucky people with a ridiculous metabolism.  There's nothing wrong with that at all; I'm a little green around the edges, you lucky people!  This recipe is nice because its not too heavy, not too sweet and still has a nice flavour.  I happen to enjoy this but I find that taste is fairly subjective so this may not appeal to everyone (forewarned is forearmed!).

I like the lime version because I'm partial to lime (though I hate the colour green).  This recipe for me makes about twelve small servings in individual cups for which I had lids.  I have, however, also made this like a real pie with a graham cracker crust.  For right now, I'll go over the actual filling part, but there's no reason you can't make a pie with your favourite graham cracker crust (homemade or otherwise).  It will totally have to hangout in the fridge for a long time to get that solidification so that it isn't like soup but actual cheesecake.

All that said, on with the recipe (and the bad photo!).




Lime Light Cheesecake

After I took this picture, I thought about having a tea party in my living room.  Spreading out the picnic blanket and sitting quite like Alice in Wonderland, sipping tea and enjoying tiny sweets.  On the left, I have a little cup of the lime cheesecake and a couple of the oatmeal cookies that I baked (right)!  Now for a miniature tea set... 

What You'll Need:

• 2/3 cup water, boiling
• 1 (85g) box of Lime-flavoured Jell-O (I use the regular one, but there's no reason you can't use the sugar-free one!)
• 1 cup Non-Fat Cottage Cheese
• 1 (250g) container of Fat-Free Cream Cheese (I used Philadelphia 95% Fat Free Cream Cheese; the container is this light blue colour which is different from the 'light' one whose package is white.)
• 2 cups Light Cool Whip, thawed (Just let it hang out in the fridge for a bit then you can freeze the bit you don't use.)
• 3 limes, zested and juiced (I say three because I really like that lime taste.  If you're not a citrus fan - happens to some people - you can definitely scale this back)

How It's Done:

1. In a large bowl, add cottage cheese and press large lumps with a spatula as best as you can.  (This is because I don't own a food processor.  If you do, lucky you, and you can just wazz up the cottage cheese until its smooth and then carry on.)
2. Add in softened cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and light.  (Again, food processor makes this a walk in the park.)
3. Mix in the lime zest and juice.  (I mix the lime zest in first then the juice.)
4. Stir boiling water into the Jell-O and stir for 2 minutes.
5. Cool 5 minutes.  (This is important because I've not waited before and it get s a little clumpy.  You can fix that by continuing to mix it with the electric beater.)
6. Slowly incorporate the lime Jell-O into the cheese mixture until incorporated.
7. Add the whipped topping and mix everything together until it is homogeneous; make sure at this point to scrape down the sides.
8. Pour the filling into the individual cups and refrigerate for 4 hours to fully set.  (If you're using a pie crust, you're going to want to pour the filling in slowly.  I used a shallow dish when I made the crust and ended up having a little extra.  That's how I got the idea to make the individual cups - I poured the extra into a few ramekins and covered with saran wrap until I wanted to eat them up.)

Makes 12 servings (or six really generous slices of pie, ftw!).


There are a ton of recipes for this on the internet, including numerous different variations.  The closest one to the mischief I got up to would be from Cooks.com (click here!).  I don’t see why you couldn’t do lemon like that version suggests.  I’m thinking I might try raspberries and stir in some raspberry preserves or something.