Cheesecake Dip with Fruit Salsa and Cookie Chips

  • Serves: Makes about 50 sweet chips and 2 1/2 cups of dip
  • Baking Temp (degrees F): 325
  • Views: 6486
  • Comments: 0




This is a fun and interactive dessert. We made the cookie chips gluten-free, but you can create your own.

It’s a real kid pleaser, so it would be perfect for birthday celebrations.
The richness of the cheesecake dip is brightened by the fresh fruit salsa.
No time to bake? Feel free to use store-bought cookies instead.
We want to help prevent food waste and show you ways to use what we call misshapen or ugly produce. 
Join our Ugly Produce is Beautiful Educational Campaign, helping to bring awareness to our Nation's enormous food waste problem. This recipe shows you how to use ugly produce in beautiful and delicious ways!
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COOKIE RECIPE HELP / GLUTEN-FREE RECIPE HELP

INGREDIENTS 
For the Cookie Chips:

1 cup  freshly ground blanched almonds (just pulse them in a food processor) or almond flour; NOTE: You *may* use almond flour here, but the coarser ground almonds give the cookies a more tortilla chip look.
1 cup gluten-free Flour Blend
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

For the Cheesecake Dip:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the Fruit Salsa:
12 ounces strawberries
1/2 large mango
2 large kiwi fruits
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP I: MAKE THE COOKIE CHIPS
1. Mix ground almonds, gluten-free flour blend, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.






2. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, and beat it until it is softened.

Add the sugar in a steady stream at the side of the bowl, beat on medium speed, until it is lightened in color.

3. Then add the egg and the vanilla.
 Mix on medium-low until incorporated.


4. Stop the mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

5. Add the xanthan gum and beat, on high, until the dough starts thickening.


6. Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined.


Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat mix just until all the stray flour is incorporated.




7. Press dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour until well-chilled.
 

STEP II: ROLL AND CUT-OUT THE COOKIE DOUGH. HEAT THE OVEN AND BAKE.
Roll and cut-out the cookies:

1. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and cut it in half with a bench scraper or sharp knife.
Rewrap and return the other half to the refrigerator.

2. Roll out the dough on a gluten free flour dusted work surface, a little thicker than 1/8-inch.
SARAH SAYS: We like to use a large silpat nonstick baking mat as our work surface.

3. Trim one edge and cut dough into strips, about 2-inches wide.

4. Cut out tortilla chip shapes, using a pizza cutter or pastry wheel.
Gather up the scraps, wrap them in plastic and pop them in the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes and reroll to make more cookies.

3. Place the cookies on silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets and put them in the refrigerator for about 15 - 20 minutes to firm up.

NOTE: These cookies do not spread, so you can place them fairly close together on the sheet.

4. Repeat with the second half of the dough.

Heat the oven and bake the cookies:
1. Position an oven shelf in the lower third and another one in the upper third of the oven.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees F while you chill the cookies. 

2. After 15 - 20 minutes, remove the cookies from the refrigerator.

Bake them for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown.
NOTE: You can see how using the ground almonds, instead of the almond flour, makes the finished cookies look more like real tortilla chips.

3. Let them cool, in the pans, for about two minutes, then remove cookies with a metal spatula and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

STORAGE
The chips can stay in an airtight container for a few days or more, or frozen for a month. Thaw on the kitchen counter.

STEP III: MAKE THE CHEESECAKE DIP
1. Place the heavy cream in a bowl and beat it with a hand mixer until it reaches soft peaks.
Tap the beaters on the side of the bowl to remove as much of the whipped cream as possible.

2. In another bowl, beat the soften cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla, the lemon zest and beat lightly.
Add the honey and the lemon juice and beat until combined.






3. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture:  
Begin by stirring a small amount of whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it.
Then, add half of it to the top of the mixture, and fold it in gently. Complete the folding with the second half of the whipped cream.

Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the fruit salsa.


STORAGE
The dip can be stored for a few days, refrigerated. Stir before using.

STEP IV: MAKE THE FRUIT SALSA
1. Cut off the stem end of the strawberries and slice them, vertically, into 3/16-inch slices.
Stack the slices up, and cut them into strips.
Cut across the strawberry slices, to make a medium dice.








2. Cut off both ends of the kiwi fruit and then peel them.

3. Cut them, horizontally, into slices, then cut across the slices to create a medium dice.


4. Peel the mango, then cut the fruit away from the large central pit.

5. Cut one-half of the mango into slices, then cut those slices into a medium dice.




6. Put all of the cut fruit into a medium bowl, then gently stir to combine.


7. Add the lemon juice to the honey, and stir until combined.
Add the mixture to the fruit, and stir gently to combine.


STEP V: SERVE
1. RIGHT BEFORE SERVICE, take the reserved cream cheese mixture out of the refrigerator and stir 3/4 cup of the fruit salsa into it.


2. Place the resulting mixture into a serving bowl, and add more of the fruit salsa on top.
Garnish the bowl with a whole strawberry in the center.

Place the bowl in the center of a platter, and arrange the cookie chips around the dip bowl, then encourage your guests to dig in!

STORAGE
Store the cream cheese dip, well covered, in the refrigerator where it will keep for a few days. Stire before using.
The chips can stay in an airtight container for a few days or more, or frozen for a month. Thaw on the kitchen counter.


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