Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

Perfect Pairing: Almond biscotti

Recently I was invited to participate in a cooking club.  I didn’t have to think twice, that sort of thing is totally up my alley.  It is organized by a friendly neighbor I met at a block party.  We spent all of ten minutes together at the party, but I am so glad she thought to include me on this fun activity! 

For each meeting of the cooking club the members are assigned a course and a theme.  The first ever cooking club gathering had an Italian theme, and I was assigned dessert.  I immediately started researching because my knowledge of Italian desserts taps out at tiramisu, and I didn’t want to bring that.  Too obvious, right? 

It just made sense to search through Giada’s library of desserts.  I trust her and love her style of cooking.  I came across this Limoncello Cheesecake recipe and knew it would be perfect. 

Instead of the traditional graham cracker crust this one is made with biscotti.  Brilliant!!  I used Nonni’s original biscotti and it worked really well.  I loved the almond flavor in the crust.  The cheesecake is flavored with lemon zest and limoncello.  I am now in the market for cocktail recipes using limoncello since I have a bottle hanging out in the cabinet.  Another Italian nod is using ricotta in the base. 

I pretty much followed Giada’s recipe, but I do have a few comments.  I made the dessert in an 11x7 inch baking dish rather than a 9x9.  I just thought that seemed really small.  The recipe calls for 8 oz of biscotti.  The Nonni’s comes in 5.52 oz packages, so I bought two.  After some fancy math I ended up using 13 cookies for the crust.  The recipe recommends draining the ricotta.  I did this by letting it hang out in a strainer for about 15 minutes.  It is really important to process the ricotta for a long time in the food processor to remove the grainy texture.  Final note, I used light cream cheese and it was perfect.  Every little bit helps, right?

Everyone at the dinner party loved this recipe.  I will definitely make these again, even if it is not an Italian theme.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Arugula and Parmesan Stuffed Potatoes

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Cucumber Sandwiches
 

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