Cheesecake, yes I said Cheesecake

Since I made the decision to eat Paleo and namely, to cut out dairy, I have been dying to make one of the 5 billion vegan cheesecake recipes "recommended for me" on Yummly and Pinterest. The hold up? Equal parts too many nuts in the pantry to add cashews to the mix and fear that I would eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner every day. Well, while in Italy I was on a pistachio kick so I figured while I was ordering pistachios, I might as well order cashews. I've mentioned this before, but if you have Amazon Prime, buy your nuts in bulk on Amazon, always, unless you just like spending your paycheck on 8 oz containers of nuts at the grocery store. If you don't have Amazon Prime, get it and order your nuts in bulk on Amazon, always.

I started off with this recipe because of the simplicity and flexibility of the recipe and also attempt at portion control by making them in muffin tins. These are too good for one-level portion control. "Better than real cheesecake" was a real-life comment made about them. I had to bury them at the bottom of my freezer so I would have to work for it to indulge; and by indulge I mean binge; and by portion control, I mean they are gone. Per usual, I couldn't strictly follow directions and didn't make any of the suggested flavors. As I mentioned, I am on a pistachio kick and I happened to have raspberries in my fridge that needed to be eaten up - the result? Raspberry-Pistachio "Cheesecakes."

**Confession - if I think I am coming up with a questionable flavor combination, I always google the combo to see if enough recipes with good ratings come up just to verify that I am not making something horrendous.**

Raspberry-Pistachio "Cheesecake" adapted from Minimalist Baker
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• 1 cup pitted dates
• If dates are dry, soak them for 10 minutes in water first then drain
• 1 cup raw walnuts (other nuts will work too)
• Filling:
• 1.5 cups raw cashews, quick soaked
• Quick soaked means pour boiling water over the cashews and let sit for an hour then drain
• 1 large lemon, juiced 
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp full fat coconut milk 
• Use as much of the "cream" not the water as possible; you can also buy and use coconut cream
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey 
• 2 tbsp pistachio butter
• I made my pistachio butter by toasting and processing pistachio kernels as for any other nut butter. NOTE, however, that I had to add coconut oil to my pistachios to get a smooth butter to form. 
• 1/2 c fresh or frozen raspberries
• Optional: crushed pistachio kernels

Instructions:

1. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil. Cut strips of parchment paper and lay them across each slot, leaving "tabs" on the outside (for easier removal). 
2. Process dates and walnuts in food processor until it starts to form a dough-like ball. 
3. Divide date-walnut mixture among the muffin slots and press it firmly into the bottom of each slot to form a crust. Use a piece of parchment paper to keep it from sticking to my hands.
4. Put muffin tin in freezer while preparing the filling to allow the crust to harden a bit. 
5. Add all filling ingredients EXCEPT raspberries to a blender and process until smooth. 
6. Remove muffin tin from freezer and pour mixture equally into each slot. **I prefer to use a ladle and spatula for this part because every time I try to pour from my blender it gets everywhere. 
7. Using a fork or other utensil smush up your raspberries in a bowl. Then use a spoon to swirl your smushed raspberries into the top of each filled slot. Top with crushed pistachio kernels.
8. Cover with plastic wrap and place back in freezer for at least 4 hours. 
9. To enjoy, use tabs to pull each cheesecake out of the slot and prepare to have your mind blown.