Sugar Cookie Cups with Cheesecake Filling and Fresh Fruit

Did you ever make a dessert that was too pretty that you actually felt guilty when you took your first bite of it?

Yeah, me neither! *wink* BUT… this dessert does come close to almost feeling guilty.
…almost

I had made these a while ago for a get together we were going to and I wanted to show up with something non-chocolate as that always seems the ‘norm’ thing to take.  When making desserts someone always brings chocolate.  Now don’t get me wrong, chocolate anything is amazing but there are a few oddballs out there (but we love them anyway) that just don’t like chocolate.  I feel bad for them when they peruse the dessert table and all they can eat are the stupid pastel mints (you know those wedding mints).  Actually I kinda like those things but not as a dessert.

Since I had a ton of fresh fruit on hand I wanted to go with a fruit themed dessert (plus I wanted to impress and make the non-chocolate fans love me too).  LOL  I mean I have to make everyone happy; everyone deserves a smile, right?

Now this dessert was seriously super simple. I think the hardest part was pressing the dough into the mini brioche tins I had. Now if you don’t have them (though you really should as they are SUPER adorable and I love making individual desserts in them, you can use a cupcake pan. They work just as well.

As you can see the end result of these cookies (in my opinion) are breathtaking! So simplistic if you think about it.  A basic sugar cookie, fresh fruit and a okay yes, the cheesecake filling may be a step up but it’s no-bake which means it’s the easier cheesecake to make.  Ya know I take it back, I think I figured out just now what the hardest part of the recipe is (aside from not wanting to share but having to).  Cutting up the fruit for me was the worst part. I HATE peeling kiwis.  I’ve yet to find a simple way to peel them without  peeling too much on one side or what not.  They  need to be like an apple where you can eat the peel and all.

Now if you don’t have a cupcake pan or the mini brioche tins you can even make this in a tart pan or a cheesecake pan/regular round pan.  My first choice would be use any of those with a removable bottom (springform) as it’ll make your life so much easier to remove this. BUT don’t despair and feel that you have to go out and buy one.  Simply place a large sheet of parchment paper in the pan and be sure that it sticks up 1-2″ above the top of the pan.  This will be what you use to pull the cookie out of pan without having to dig in there with a spatula or knife risking breaking it.

As you can see by the barrage of pictures I was in heaven doing the photo shoot.  Now here’s a food photographers tip here.  When you want your food like this to really shine and give it that extra pop.  Melt some apricot jam or preserves in a pan  (you can add a teeny bit of water or Grand Marnier/other liqueur) to help thin it out.  Then using a pastry brush gently brush some on.

I mean just look how those berries glisten.  This MAKES you want to dive into the screen and take a bite.  Please don’t – I don’t want you to have a bump on your head.

Back to making these.  I placed the dough into prepared brioche tins and pressed the dough up evenly along the bottom and sides. They will rise up during baking.  While they baked I prepped the fruit… peeling and slicing, while grumbling at the stupid kiwi.  Seriously is there a trick to peeling these little suckers?

Now the fun part of these (aside from eating them) was as soon as you pull these cookies out of the oven you need to help sink the center – you want that cup look. I have an old wooden pastry tart press that I use but you could use your thumb or even a small spoon. You just want to push down the middle (as it’ll rise during baking).  You don’t have to smush it but push it down so it falls and you get a nice cavity/well inside the cookie that you can fill up with yummy cheesecake!

These aren’t time consuming; the longest part is just waiting for the cookies to cool.  After that it’s just piping in the cheesecake filling and topping with the fruit… and then waiting to be “allowed” to eat them.

Okay confess.. when you make desserts like these do you SNEAK ONE (or a few) for yourself while you’re making them? Or do you make them, try one and even though you really made 24 of them, you only showed up with 12 – leaving a dozen at home for you?

Yeah me neither *wink wink wink*  LOL

Once they were prepped I popped them in the fridge keep them cold (and plus they have to be refrigerated before serving) I went and got all dolled up. When I was all done and plated these to take to the get together Mr. Fantabulous came out to the kitchen and spied these.  I actually got a “Wow honey those are beautiful!  Are those for me?” LOL  I so love that man folks!  Apparently everything I make is for him and ONLY for him.

So precious…

So I had to let him down easy and tell him no that they were for the party to which I got the sad puppy face (yes he sulked) until I opened up the fridge and showed him the 8 that I left behind for us. No wait, there is no “us” when it comes to stuff like this.  It’s for him so I knew if I wanted one I HAD to have one at the party else I was out of luck! Needless to say that frown turned upside down and my baby was happy.

Sigh… so spoiled!

When we showed up this tray was the center of attention.  IMMEDIATELY folks were gathering around it (yeah me!!!) asking me what it was, what’s in it, how to make it and can they have the tray themselves.  LOL  That is such an awesome feeling I tell you!  I was just beaming.

When it came time to uncover the desserts these were the first to go.  FORTUNATELY I got one and seriously I told Mr. Fantabulous I was gonna knife fight him over another one that was left at home.  Well someone heard me comment about having more at home and they said “GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND GO HOME TO GET THE REST!  NOWWWWWWWWW!” hahaha Yeah I’m thinking these Sugar Cookie Cups with Cheesecake Filling and Fresh Fruit were a huge success!

So with the summer holidays upon us this is perfect for a Patriotic Dessert. You can mix up the fruits to match the occasion.

Sugar Cookie Cups with Cheesecake Filling and Fresh Fruit

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

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Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Cups

• 3/4 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Cheesecake Filling

• 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 8 oz mascarpone
• 2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 sm package instant cheesecake pudding mix
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Fruit

• seedless grapes
• sliced strawberries
• sliced kiwi
• blackberries
• 1/3–1/2 cup apricot jam
• 1 Tbl water (optional)

Instructions

1. Spray individual Mini Brioche Tins with non-stick cooking spray. If you don’t have them use a Cupcake Pan .
2. Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the middle.
3. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together for 5-7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Yes you need to do this for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
5. Turn off the mixer and add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cornstarch.
6. Turn the mixer on low to incorporate and then to medium.
7. Mix until smooth. Dough will be thick.
8. Scoop up about 2 Tbl of dough and roll into a ball.
9. With either a mini tart press or your fingers, press the cookie dough in bottom of the cup and about 1/2 way up the sides of each cup. Be sure to have the dough uniform in thickness. Error on the side of thicker versus thinner.
10. Bake 10-12 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. If the centers aren’t cupped enough to add filling, use the end of a wooden spoon or the bottom of a tablespoon to press the center down a bit.
12. Remove the cookies from the pans to cooling rack to finish cooling. I found the easiest was when using the tins was to just turn them over and tap them into the palm of my hand. They popped right out.
13. Once the cookies have cooled, make the cheesecake filling.
14. Place the cream cheese and mascarpone in a bowl and blend until creamy with a hand mixer
15. Add in the sugar and pudding mix and whip until combined.
16. Add in the cream until desired consistency.
17. Pipe or scoop cheesecake filling into cookie cups.
18. Top with assorted fresh fruit.
19. Place the apricot jam (plus water if using) in a pan and heat just until melted and smooth.
20. Brush on the fruit with a pastry brush.
21. Store in refrigerator.

Notes

Mini Brioche Tins

Cupcake Pan

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