I don’t know about you, but whenever I buy an ingredient for a recipe, it seems like I always have some leftover and have no idea how to use it: sweetened condensed milk from no-churn ice cream, heavy whipping cream from panna cotta, ricotta cheese from lasagna. Quarantine has pushed me out of my comfort zone in the kitchen. This includes experimenting with ingredients I don't typically use. 

I noticed that National Blueberry Cheesecake Day was coming up on May 26th. Being a fan of blueberry cheesecake and a girl who had extra cottage cheese left over, I had an idea.

What if I made a cheesecake with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese?

I love making mini versions of desserts, so I opted to make Mini Blueberry Cottage Cheesecakes. I know, it sounds gross, but trust me, you won’t be able to tell the difference. Cottage cheese is not as tangy as cream cheese, so I added Greek yogurt to supply the punch you expect when eating cheesecake. I referenced a couple of recipes, combining techniques and ingredients. Some of the recipes I looked at were from Sonia’s of Evil Twin Kitchen and Fit Mitten Kitchen.

I wrote up a recipe and crossed my fingers. Here's what I came up with: 

Ingredients

For the crust:

- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

For the Cheesecake:

- 1 cup cottage cheese

- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

- 1 egg

- 3 tbsp granulated sugar

- 1 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/2 tsp lemon juice

For the Blueberry Jam:

- 1 cup frozen blueberries

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar

- 2 tbsp water

- 1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine all crust ingredients and press into baking cups.

Emily Noel

3. Blend cheesecake ingredients in food processor.

4. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the baking cups and bake for 18-20 minutes.

5. In the meantime, bring the jam ingredients in small saucepan on medium high heat to a boil. Simmer on low to reach desired consistency.

6. Once, the cheesecake is cool, top with blueberry jam and enjoy.

Emily Noel

Results

Emily Noel

Overall this recipe was a success! The base was creamy and tangy, just like a classic cheesecake. I truly couldn’t tell the difference. My sister brought the cheesecakes to her unit of the hospital where she works as a nurse, unaware that there was no cream cheese to be found. She came home with stories of her coworkers raving about the cheesecakes. She was shocked when I told her she brought in cheesecakes without cream cheese.

The one element that I would change would be to add more sugar to the cheesecake. I have a major sweet tooth, so adding more sugar might not be for everybody. If you prefer more sweetness, consider increasing the sugar to 5 tbsp of sugar. This will make your cheesecake not only sweeter, but also more moist.

If you have any left over cottage cheese lying around, consider whipping up these Mini Blueberry Cottage Cheesecakes.