Lindsey's Cheesecake Pops

You know how some families have these secret recipes that get passed down from generation to generation? Well, my family doesn't have anything like that. If anything comes close in my family, it is my mom's cheesecake recipe. Except that she shares it with everyone, so its not really a secret. But it is one of the best cheesecakes I have ever had...but maybe I am biased.

The problem is, there aren't a lot of places you can just bring a WHOLE cheesecake. Maybe to a nice dinner party or a holiday get-together. But B and I don't frequent a lot of those kinds of parties. So, I decided to alter my mom's cheesecake recipe to be a little less formal and a little more portable. That's where the pops come in. Take the delicious cheesecake, roll into bite-size balls, stick a stick in 'em (if you wish), dip in chocolate, and roll in cookie crumbs. Sounds good, huh?

For this recipe, I basically cut my mom's in half, because a whole cheesecake would make a ton of pops - around 60 to 70, depending on how big or small you make them. But, if you have a big party to go to, then the whole recipe would work perfectly: double all the ingredient, except the cream cheese, only use 5 packages.

Lindsey's Cheesecake Pops
Ingredients
Cheesecake
- 3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar (if replacing with Stevia, use 3/4 cup)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 6 oz. cup of Greek yogurt (or 1/2 cup)

Chocolate Shell
- 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips (any type of chocolate would work)
- 1 tsp. of coconut oil'

Cookie Crumbs
- 1 to 2 cups of Graham cracker crumbs

Directions
1.  In the bowl of your stand mixer with whisk attachment (or use a hand held mixer), combine cream cheese and sugar. Add each egg one at a time, mixing them in before adding the next egg. Once all eggs are mixed in, add vanilla and yogurt. Whisk until smooth and completely combined.

2. Pour into a cake pan or other baking dish (I used a ceramic baking dish because my spring form pan would have been too big and since I am not baking it with a crust, it would leak through). Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower to 250 and bake for 45 to 60 minutes until a knife comes out clean. Let the cheesecake cool completely (ideally overnight).

3. One the cheesecake has cooled completely, used a spoon or melon baller to spoon out about a table spoon of cheesecake and use your hands to roll into a ball. Place the formed ball on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once you have formed all the cheesecake balls, you can decide whether or not you want to put them on little sticks or keep them in balls. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden.

4. In the meantime, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Add in the coconut oil and stir to combine. 

5. On a plate, spread out the cookie crumbs in a thick layer.

6. Take the cheesecake pops out of the freezer and one by one, dip them in the melted chocolate, then immediately into the cookie crumbs. Place back onto the wax paper lined cookie sheet. Once all the cheesecake pops have been dipped, put back into the freezer to harden for about 15 minutes.

If you plan to serve immediately, then you can leave them out. But if you plan to save them for a later date, keep them stored in an air tight container in the freezer until about 10 minutes before you are ready to serve.