Strawberry cheesecake popsicles

 

 

Last night I skyped with my sister. We had a bad connection and we couldn't hear each other, so after trying to connect over and over we just resorted to making silly faces at each other, laughing with no sound and then hung up. That made me feel closer to her than a thousand words. There are not many people in the world you can do that with after the age of 7.  

 

When my new favorite workout song came on during my run early this morning, I felt elated and pushed a little harder, my legs burning, feet thumping to the quick beat of the tune.

 

My daughter woke up earlier than usual this morning and sat in the bathroom watching me put on make up. When I finished using the blush brush, she smelled it and said: "oooh, that smells soooooo good. It smells.... (pause to think), it smells just like you Mommy!"

 

After I hugged F good bye before I rushed off to work and he to the airport to catch a flight, I felt closer to him than I sometimes even feel when we are in the same room.

 

These are little things that make a day, a life, special. Especially today, especially when I think of families in Oklahoma. I am so fortunate. I send thoughts and prayers to them.

 

Make these creamy, slightly tangy popsicles and share with your family on a warm summer's day.

 

Adapted from here.

 

Ingredients (makes about 8, depending on mold size)

8 ounces/225gr cream cheese (I used a 200gr tub)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
about 6-8 strawberries
4-6 standard sized graham crackers or Digestives
1 tbs melted butter
 

In a food processor add the cream cheese, powdered sugar  and milk, process until well combined and then add the strawberries. Pulse to combine.

 

Pour mixture into popsicle molds, leaving about 1 inch of the top empty for the crust and tap the molds to remove air bubbles.

 

Melt the butter. In a food processor add the graham crackers/Digestives and pulse until they are fine crumbs and add the melted butter while it is running. The mixture should be the texture of wet sand.

 

Divide the crumbs evenly between the popsicles and press down to compact. Insert the popsicle sticks and freeze.

 

The crumbs will loosen while eating, so I suggest eating over a plate and dipping the popsicle in the crumbs as you go along. Soooo good!

 

A few notes: this is more of a guideline than a recipe. You can use more or less strawberries and sub frozen ones for fresh ones. You can use any kind of milk or sugar, although you may have to play around with quantities. Also, if your strawberries are sweet and ripe, you will probably need less sugar. I used a little less. We don't get graham crackers over here, but Digestives work fine.

 

Oreo cheesecake cookies

Saturday night was Derby night in Milan. The city's two soccer teams, Milan and Inter, were playing against each other and the tension in the air was palpable. My husband was visibly nervous and I admit I was pretty happy to be getting out of the house to go to a university reunion.

I thought I had organized things reasonably well: the kids were changed and pretty much ready for bed, their dinner was ready and just needed to be heated. My husband, however, was running around the kitchen like a beheaded chicken, desperate to get them to sleep before the game started. As I was walking out the door, he asked me the same question (along the lines of "where are the spoons?", something he can usually  find blindfolded) for the fourth time in a row. I know that glazed-over look. His mind wasn't functioning, his thoughts and heart were with his blood brothers, his other family, the red and black-clad players of his team. When I told him to relax, that the game was only starting in an hour and a half (I promise I would never leave him with the kids up just a few minutes before a game) he looked at me, incredulous. Forgive me all of you sports fans. How could I not know they were about to start broadcasting from the stadium live? How do the soccer widows of the world not understand that their men need to sit and concentrate for a while before the game?

                         

Our 21 year old nephew was at our house too, visiting on a University break from London. Minor detail: he roots for the other team, Inter (black and blue). Uncle and nephew are very close, in case you are wondering how my husband can watch the derby with the enemy. Good wife that I am, I had baked these cookies for them to munch on after pizza and beer. Black and white, the colors of Juventus. Neutral territory for that evening.

The night ended very well for Milan supporters: they won 3-0, a pretty amazing result. When I heard the outcome of the game, I immediately wrote my hubby a text message and raised my (oops! almost empty) glass to him. Too bad that in all the excitement, he forgot about the cookies. Surprised? I wasn't.

These cookies were pretty much what they promised to be: rich, sweet and...well, a pretty perfect replica of Oreo cheesecake. So if you are partial to Oreo cheesecake, you will love these.

I like cheese cake and Oreo cookies as much as the next girl and grew up opening my Oreos and licking out the filling pretty much like everone else. To be more specific, I usually twisted open the cookie, ate the 'boring' side first and then enjoyed the yummy side with the sugary white filling on it last. How did/do you eat yours?

Er, sorry. Back to my point. As much as I like cheesecake and remembering afternoons at my Nana's eating Oreos, I do not like things that are overly sweet or loaded. So why, you must be wondering, did I make these? First of all, Oreo cookies are still pretty new around here, so it was exciting to just be able to go out, buy them and make something so American it had the words cheesecake and Oreos in its name. Secondly, I was intrigued by the picture of the cookies. They looked very good and pretty cool. I mean, how do you get that wacky crumb effect?

Well, now I know, even if my cookies did not turn out as three dimensional as the Brown Eyed Baker's did (but that is the story of my life).* I would definitely cut down the sugar the next time I bake them, but now I have a good recipe for a birthday party or a playdate. They are the perfect, fun cookie to make for/with kids. Me? I think I will stick to cookies that don't have other cookies as an ingredient.

Last but not least, there are no eggs in this recipe so these are the perfect cookies to make for friends/family with egg allergies.