Raspberry Cheesecake Pots

I couldn't resist the Quebec raspberries that appeared this week at the Val-Mont.  After buying them, I wanted to make a dessert though that didn't require the oven and stumbled across a recipe for raspberry cheesecake pots.  It looked perfect and I had all of the ingredients on hand (the danger of a well-stocked kitchen!) except for the graham crackers.  I'm afraid I've become a bit ridiculous in my food buying habits because the idea of making graham crackers seemed wrong to me (of course, Smitten Kitchen does have a recipe for them).  Determined not to buy pre-made cookies, I asked a friend for suggestions on what to do instead ... and he suggested crushed Oreo cookies ... ack!  Even worse!  I was sure other people had encountered this dilemma before, so I started googling homemade oreo cookie crust recipes for pies.  I should've known better, but one of the first links to pop up was a recipe for homemade oreos from Smitten Kitchen.  After verifying that I had all of the ingredients on hand, I decided that cooking in the oven for 10 minutes or so wasn't too bad as I already had the oven on to make dinner.  The result?  Delicious.  I overbaked the cookies slightly so they'd be crispy.  The recipe for the oreos makes much more than you'll need for the cheesecake pots, so I just made 8 cookies and froze the extra dough for future uses (we'll see how that works out).


Raspberry Cheesecake Pots (adapted from goodlife eats) (adapted from Donna Hay as seen on Real Mom Kitchen)

8 oreo wafers (recipe below)
1 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
340 g fresh raspberries (reserve 4 for garnishing)
sweetened whipped cream for garnish (I forgot and was just as happy without the whipped cream ... next time!)

1. Process the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add the raspberries and process until just crushed.
2. Crumble one each chocolate wafer into four 1/2 cup-capacity dishes.
3. Divide cheesecake mixture evenly between the dishes and top with another crumbled chocolate wafer.
4. Garnish with whipped cream and raspberries if desired.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Homemade oreo wafers (from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes (I overbaked to make sure they were crispy), rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.