No Bake Cookie Butter Cheesecake

Kicking off the new year with a bang: A no-bake cinnamon rich cheesecake made from cookie butter (a.k.a. Speculoos/Biscoff) spread 

Everyone went Nut(ella)s over my Nutella Cheesecake ^[1]. They said it was too rich. They said it caused diabetes. But they made it anyway. And hey, I don’t blame them- it’s a great dessert. Probably because an entire jar of Nutella plus one and a half packages of Oreos were consumed in the process, but I’m not the one complaining.

I decided to switch things up a bit and use a cookie butter spread, mimicking the idea of a no-bake cheesecake. Given that it is currently -15 C in Warsaw, any warmth in the form of thick blankets and wintery spices such as cinnamon is much appreciated, making it the perfect time of year to create this recipe.

Cookie butter is infused with ginger and cinnamon, spices that are no doubt, inhaled during this time of year, but also spices that yield a gingersnap cookie. This Belgian dessert spread is almost like a gingersnap cookie paste, so to speak. It doesn’t get better than that. For those who have not tried it yet, do. Belgians know their stuff.

Like the Nutella cheesecake, this cookie butter cheesecake is calorie-rich and health-poor. But every so often- for special occasions and such, it is fine to indulge. Cookie butter is thicker and might I add, richer than Nutella in terms of consistency. I therefore, decided to replace part of the cream cheese quantity with yogurt. The result was better than I had intended: lighter, tangier and way creamier than if I had used 100% cream cheese.

While you may replace the yogurt with cream cheese, I don’t recommend it, as yogurt lends a beautiful flavor and texture. It’s also on the healthier side, should we even attempt to ask ourselves the nutritional content of this dish.

Because yogurt is less dense as cream cheese, I added a small amount of gelatin to set the dish better. As a result, each slice was firm yet still creamy and rich. You may choose to leave it out, but then I fear you’ll be left with more of a thick pudding than a cheesecake- which is still equally as majestic if you think about it.

I was inspired to add the gelatin and yogurt from one of my favorite French blogs, Côté Maison ^[2], and I loved the way Lucie garnished the cheesecake as well. The rest has been adapted from my Nutella Cheesecake recipe ^[3].

The base of this cheesecake is made with lotus gingersnap cookies, the same brand of cookies as the creators of cookie butter. Though I like the added spiciness, you can opt to use regular digestive biscuits should you wish to. Begin 2016 with a bang and try this easy-to-make yet utterly satisfying dessert.

Time to make this cookie butter cheesecake recipe, also known as a no-bake biscoff cheesecake!

No Bake Cookie Butter Cheesecake

Kicking off the new year with a bang: A no-bake cinnamon rich cheesecake made from cookie butter (a.k.a. Speculoos/Biscoff) spread.

Yield: 8 people

Prep: 30 minutes minutes

Print Recipe ^[4] Pin Recipe ^[5] Rate Recipe ^[6]

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups 200 g crushed cookies such as gingersnaps (like Lotus or the ones from Ikea)
• 1/4 cup 55 g unsalted butter
• 2-3 tbsp cookie butter

For the filling:

• 1 cup 250 g cookie butter, divided
• 80 g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 8-9 oz 250 g yogurt (Greek, vanilla or plain)
• 8-9 oz 250 g cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp gelatin powder
• 1 tbsp water
• 6-8 chocolate truffle balls/crushed up gingersnap cookies to garnish

Instructions

To make the crust:

• In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and blitz till the mixture resembles damp sand.
• You can alternatively crush the cookies in a ziploc bag, then melt the butter and cookie butter together in the microwave (in 15 second increments) or over a double boiler and mix it with the cookies.
• Press the mixture on the bottom of an 8 inch springform pan. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more butter (1 t tbsp or so)- make sure to melt it first.
• Press the mixture about 1 inch up the sides of the pan and set a side.

To make the filling:

• Place 1/2 of the cookie butter in a microwave safe bowl along with the white chocolate.
• Microwave the two, stirring after every 20-30 seconds until smooth, about 1 and 1/2 to 2 minutes total. You can alternatively melt the two over a double boiler.
• Stir in the rest of the cookie butter and the cinnamon.
• Add the cream cheese and yogurt and whip till the mixture is smooth and creamy, resembling a chocolate mousse.
• In a small bowl, stir together the gelatin and water. Place the mixture in the microwave for 15-30 seconds or until the gelatin has dissolved completely.
• Immediately add about 1/4 cup of the cheesecake mixture, a little at a time, to the gelatin, stirring until smooth. It is important to do this immediately as the gelatin will start to set.The mixture should be thin and liquidy.
• Pour the gelatin mixture into the rest of the cheesecake filling and stir till glossy and thick.
• Spread the cheesecake filling atop the crust and garnish with the chocolate balls or crushed up cookies (I only used the chocolates).
• Cover the dish with cling-wrap and chill for 6 hours or overnight. The longer you wait, the better the texture.
• Run a knife through the edge of the pan before removing the springform mold.
• Serve chilled.

Notes

Adapted from Côté Maison ^[2] and from my Nutella Cheesecake ^[1]

Course: Dessert

Keyword: butter, Chocolate, cookies, Dessert

• Dulce de Leche cheesecake ^[7]
• Mocha cheesecake ^[8]
• No-bake mango cheesecake ^[9]