It's so sweet to be done!

Olga is coming to town tonight visiting me for the weekend since she can't make it for for my graduation and Jeff's birthday is on Sunday.  Now that I'm done interning and I don't have any finals, I had time to make little sweet somethings to mark the occasions.

My best batch of Strawberry Ginger ice cream yet! Made with honey instead of sugar.

And Mini Cherry Cheesecakes. Yes, they are baked in a jar and highly portable which will be handy this weekend.

You can get these 4 oz. wide mouth jars from major grocery stores (wide mouth is important, the opening doesn't taper with the sides). My mom used to make these in foil cupcake papers with cherry and blueberry pie filling. My favorite part is the Nilla Wafer crust.

Mini Cheesecakes:

350 degrees, 15-30 mins

Nilla Wafers (and 2 tablespoon melted butter for jar option)

(2) 8 oz.packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 eggs

Can of pie filling (or you can make your own by combining 1 pint of berries to 1 cup of sugar and a couple tablespoons of water boiling until sugar is melted)

For the crust, if you use the foil liners, just drop a whole wafer into the cup. If you use the jars, crush the wafers in a ziplock bag (about 20 for 12 jars) and mix in the melted butter, press into the bottom of the jars with your fingers. Mix the rest of the ingredients until light and fluffy.  Fill cream cheese mixture into ziplock bag, cut tip and pipe into the cups or jars.

Bake for 15 mins for foil liners, or 30 mins for jars uncovered. For either, let the top get a bit golden. The mixture should not stick to a toothpick when inserted into the center of the cake. Add fruit mixture to the top once the cake is done baking.  For the jars, add lid and tighten while hot to seal the lids. (Use an oven mitt, the jars will be hot)