Natually Colored Raspberry, Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake Peeps

Today I’ve combined two of my loves, cheesecake and Peeps, into one festive Easter Dessert. These Naturally Colored Raspberry, Blueberry, and Lemon Cheesecake Peeps will be served as dessert to my family at our Easter dinner. This post is brought to you by Wilton.

When my box filled with new Easter products arrived from Wilton this spring, I was most excited about the Peeps pans, molds, cutters, and decorations. Ya know I love my Peeps.

My favorite product is the Peeps silicone mold which has 12 perfectly sized Peeps cavities that can be used to make cakes, candies, cookies, and in this case, cheesecakes.

Each cavity is exactly the same size as a marshmallow Peep, so you can create treats using actual Peeps, or you can fill the molds with batter or dough and make whatever your heart desires.

My heart usually desires cheesecake.

I used a super simple 4 ingredient cheesecake recipe then added fruit puree or juice to not only flavor my cheesecakes but to also turn them into the iconic pink, purple and yellow colors of a marshmallow Peep.

I do realize that more recently Peeps are made in almost every color under the rainbow. Have you tried the Green Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, or Orange Delight Peeps yet? There are lots of new flavor and color combinations, any of which could be used to make your own Cheesecake Peeps.

Naturally Colored Raspberry, Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake Peeps

Ingredients: (makes 12 Peeps plus one small cheesecake)

Basic Cheesecake-
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Natural Coloring/Flavoring-*
pink – 1 1/2 tablespoon raspberry puree (from 3/4 cup frozen raspberries)
purple – 1 1/2 tablespoons blueberry puree (from 3/4 cup frozen blueberries)
yellow – 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 egg yolk

Decorations-
36 mini chocolate chips

*If you prefer plain cheesecake over fruity flavored cheesecake, you can simply use food coloring instead of the fruit puree to color your Peeps. You can find natural food colors online or in health food stores.

Supplies:

1 Wilton Peeps Silicone Mold
non-stick baking spray

Instructions:

Fruit puree-

Heat frozen raspberries or blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the raspberries frequently. They will begin to break down and you can help that by smashing them. Pour the fruit through a fine-mesh sieve, to remove all the seeds (or blueberry skins.)

Pour the strained fruit juice back into the saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir constantly until the juice thickens enough to coat the spatula or spoon and to leave a trail in the pan. You want this puree nice and thick, almost jelly-like.

Cheesecake Recipe-

Fill a 9×13 baking dish 1/2 way with water. Set dish on bottom rack in oven. Arrange another rack in the middle of the oven.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Beat cream cheese on medium speed using an electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Divide the cheesecake batter equally among three bowls.

Grease the Peeps cavities in your Wilton Peeps silicone mold using non-stick spray. Squirt some spray into each cavity, then use your finger to rub it into all the grooves. Try not to spray the top of the mold. If you do, then that bakes into the mold a bit and will leave a residue on the mold.

Stir raspberry puree into one bowl of batter and blueberry puree into another. In the final bowl add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk.

Fill four Peeps cavities in the silicone mold with each color of cheesecake batter.

You will have a small amount of batter leftover. I swirled all three flavors together and put the batter in a very small ramekin.

Bake the cheesecake Peeps for 14 minutes. The cheesecakes should look set but still moist on top.

The extra little cheesecake might need a few more minutes to bake through.

Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the freezer for at least 4 hours. You can simply refrigerate your small cheesecake and enjoy a snack in a few hours.

Once the Peeps are frozen, remove the mold and turn it upside down. I set mine over a silicone mat, so the cheesecakes wouldn’t stick. You can set them directly on your serving platter or individual dessert dishes if you prefer.

Press two mini chocolate chips into each cheesecake Peep to make eyes. Add another chip for the nose.

Keep your cheesecake Peeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.

They are much easier to move when frozen and thaw very quickly, so I highly recommend keeping them frozen until 30 minutes before serving. Plate them and allow them to thaw at room temperature before serving.

As part of Wilton’s Sweet Treat Team, I am compensated and given free products to use in order to create fun food to share with you here on Hungry Happenings.

Print

Naturally Colored Raspberry, Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake Peeps

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

14 mins

Total Time

34 mins

 

Sweet little cheesecake Peeps flavored and colored using fruit purees.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easter dessert, peeps, peeps cheesecake

Servings: 12

Author: Beth Jackson Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoon raspberry puree
• 1 1/2 tablespoons blueberry puree
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 egg yolk
• 36 mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Fill a 9x13 baking dish 1/2 way with water.
2. Set dish on bottom rack in oven.
3. Arrange other rack in the middle of the oven.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Beat cream cheese on medium speed using an electric mixer until smooth.
6. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
7. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
8. Divide the cheesecake batter equally among three bowls.
9. Stir raspberry puree into one bowl of batter and blueberry puree into another.
10. In the final bowl add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk.
11. Fill four Peeps cavities in the silicone mold with each color of cheesecake batter.
12. Bake the cheesecake Peeps for 14 minutes.
13. Remove and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
14. Remove and un-mold cheesecakes.
15. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
16. Add chocolate chip eyes and nose to each Peep.

Items used to make this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)

More Easter Cheesecake Recipes
from Hungry Happenings 

Cheesecake Easter Eggs 

Orange Cheesecake Carrots
 
Daisy Cheesecake

If you recreate these Naturally Colored Raspberry, Blueberry, and Lemon Cheesecake Peeps be sure to link to this tutorial if you share it on your blog and send pictures to beth@hungryhappenings.com, so I can show them in my Readers’ Gallery.

If this Easter Recipe interests you, then you should go and check out all these other delicious ideas.