A Sweet Memorial Day Treat

My brother is an EMT and recently he had to go on a pretty scary unofficial call when my grandma got sick and passed out in his arms. Since he's very good at what he does, he just got to work and took care of the matter at hand, so she got proper care in time and is doing well today. But, this gave me a whole new respect for how brave some people really have to be in their everyday jobs when it comes to the responsibility of protecting & serving people of our country. I know for sure that I am not capable of contributing to society in this way, so thankfully I have a few other gifts to share. Thank God for our men and women of the military, public servants and their strong families. This fresh and easy dessert would be a great way to show appreciation for the heroes in your lives this holiday weekend.

My version of the Red, White and Blueberry Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes I saw on Pinterest from wwww.Skinnytaste.com.

This fresh little dessert is perfect for summer celebrations.

See the little Nilla cookie as the crust.

Happy Memorial Day! Thank God for all the people who serve our country at home & abroad.

Red, White and Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
 Recipe adapted from: Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 98 • Fat: 4.3 g • Protein: 3.6 g • Carb: 10.5 g • Fiber: 0.3 g • Sugar: 7.6 g
Sodium: 29.5 mg
(Not including whipped cream topping.)

Cheesecakes:

• 12 reduced fat vanilla wafers or graham crackers trimmed down to fit in baking cups
• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 oz fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 8 oz strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
• 8 oz blueberries

Whipped Cream Topping:

• 8 oz heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup confection sugar
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°.

Line cupcake tin with liners. Place a vanilla wafer or small graham cracker  at the bottom of each liner.

Gently beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth using an electric mixer. Gradually beat in fat free yogurt, egg whites, and flour. Do not over beat. Pour into cupcake liners filling half way.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool to room temperature then chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

For topping, place stainless steel bowl & mixer attachments in the freezer for about 10 minutes while you clean and cut fruit. Take the heavy cream and use the cold bowl to whip the cream with a whisk in standing or handheld mixer. Just as it starts to get thick, slowly add the sugar and vanilla extract until cream gets stiff. Take care not to over-beat the cream as it quickly goes from smooth to curdy. Like mine, even if it doesn't turn out smooth it should still taste pretty good. Place whipped cream in a plastic piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Arrange berries on freshly applied whipped cream using the design I used or get creative with your own. You could also use any other fruit to top these cheesecakes like peaches, cherries or bananas. They would actually be pretty good anytime of the year. 

Cookies and Cream Spurs Cupcakes

Every year my husband Jimmy and I look forward to watching the Spurs playoff games, only the past few years have not been too easy on us Spurs fans. I'll admit I don't remember a whole lot about my college days, but I clearly remember the excitement of the Spurs playoff game series when they won the championship back in 2005. Their last championship title was in 2007, which feels like a very long time ago, so I am convinced that this is their year to reclaim that title. Jimmy and my Dad are going to experience a playoff game for the first time together this Sunday, so I decided to celebrate with these lovely little black and white delights! Oreo desserts have been all over Pinterest lately, so I finally had an excuse to try my hand at them. They were fun and pretty easy to make. I struggled a bit with the frosting as it was a little too sweet for me. I forgot to taste it as I added in the sugar, so don't make the same mistake as me when you whip up your batch! They were still very tasty, and I will definitely make them again. If you are a fan of Oreos, which hardly seems like a question, you should give this recipe a try!

Oreo halves go cream up in the liners like this.

After baking, your cupcakes should look something like this.

Cheers to my hubby and Dad for getting to go to this game!

My first bite of sweet bliss!

Made these cute flags with coffee straws that I trimmed down a little. Just printed out some logos, cut them out in different flag shapes and glued them on the straws with a glue stick.

Go Spurs Go!! Future 2012 Playoff Champs! :)

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

Batter:

• 24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped or quartered

Frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 3½  cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• Oreo cookie halves and crumbs for topping

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
  
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
• To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  
• Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.
  
  Recipe adapted from Annies-eats