RECIPE: (Paleo) Chocolate Muffins

I know, paleo chocolate muffins may sound gross to some people.  But these muffins are really good.  They taste like chocolate cake from the good ole' Pilsbury box mix - chocolate and fluffy.  I'm not sure if how I make these muffins make them paleo since I replaced the Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips with Guittard Dark Chocolate Chips, but nonethless, these are pretty healthy chocolate chip muffins.  Great for breakfast or a pre/post-workout snack!

[RECIPE from PaleOMG]

RECIPE: Meyer Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake with Biscoff Crust

Cheesecake is another one of my favorite desserts to make and eat.  I was invited to dinner at a friend's new home and was in charge of bringing dessert so I tried this recipe I found on Food52.com.  I usually search for recipes on Tastespotting.com, but lately I've been trying recipes from Food52 and they've been great!  I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake that all my friends loved from Food52 so I thought I'd find another cheesecake recipe from that site.  I love the lemon used in this recipe, it makes the cheesecake taste "lighter".  As "light" as a cheesecake can be, the is a great dessert to complete any meal or eat on its own.  Plus, the Biscoff cookie crust adds a unique twist to the generic graham cracker crust found in typical cheesecake recipes.  

Note:  The original recipe called for 2 Meyer Lemons, but I bumped mine up using 4 Meyer Lemons to secure that lemon flavor.

MEYER LEMON BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH BISCOFF CRUST
Serves 10
Recipe from Food52

Biscoff crust
5oz. Biscoff cookies, crumbled
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Heat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan.

In a food processor, blitz Biscoff cookies until finely ground. Add sugar and salt and continue to process. Slowly pour in melted butter and process again.  (I had a Vita-Mixer and processed it all in it)

Press mixture into bottom and up sides of springform pan. Bake in 350 F oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let crust cool to room temperature.

Meyer lemon cheesecake filling
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese (low-fat is ok, no-fat is not)
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract  (if you don't have this, just use an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
4 Meyer lemons, zest removed and juice reserved  
1 (16 oz.) carton sour cream (low-fat is ok, no-fat is not)
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a mixing bowl, place cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sugar and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add 1/2 of the zest to the cheesecake batter, reserving the remainder. Add all of the juice and the extracts to the batter, and continue to mix. Pour batter into prepared crumb crust. Place pan on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until cake is just set in center. Remove cake from oven but do not turn off oven.

Whisk together sour cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and remaining lemon zest. Spoon mixture onto the cheesecake and spread with an offset spatula or knife. Return the cake to the oven and bake for 10 additional minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and let cool to room temperature. Store cheesecake, well-wrapped in refrigerator.