With Valentine’s in the month of February, there’s no way I could just feature one dessert. Which is why I plan to share dessert recipes every week this whole month! I think I’ll call it, February Sweetness Month….starting with a delicious creamy, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake.
Why cheesecake and not chocolate? Look, we all know Chocolate takes the cake (get it?, ha!) when it comes to Valentine’s. As a matter of fact, just to make this article a little more interesting, 58 Million pounds of chocolate is purchased during the week of Valentine’s Day. If you love those cute oversized heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, it is said that 36 Million boxes are purchased on cupids day. That’s nuts! Well, what about those who don’t like chocolate? I think we should make them a cheesecake, but not an ordinary cheesecake – let’s bake a Dulce de Leche Cheesecake!
Dulce de Leche with Homemade Cookie Crust Recipe
Desserts & sweets have always played a critical role in the month of February. After all, its inspired by LOVE and who doesn’t love desserts? With so many amazing dessert recipes available online, I selected a few recipes that I felt were easy to make, and also included my Latina culture. Which is why I have partnered with Goya Foods this month to create weekly desserts inspired by love & culture. Plus, I LOVE Dulce de Leche and Ill take anything made with the luscious caramel flavor over chocolate anytime! Can I get an Amen!
This Dulce de Leche recipe is so easy to make and I love how it only requires 7 ingredients. There’s a delicious twist to this recipe besides the obvious dulce de leche flavor, the crust is made with Goya Maria Cookies. Oh man, when you take your first bite of the creamy, caramel cheesecake with the flavor of childhood cookie memories, you’re in LOVE. After making this cheesecake, I can’t imagine eating any other cheesecakes that don’t have dulce de leche. That’s how much I love it.
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with a Homemade Cookie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. (7 oz.) GOYA® Maria Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 can (14 oz.) GOYA® Sweetened and Condensed Milk
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp. GOYA® Vanilla Extract
- 1 bottle (14 oz.) GOYA® Dulce de Leche, divided
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325ºF.
- Place cookies in bowl of food processor. Pulse 30 seconds, or until finely ground. Then transfer cookie crumbs to bowl (there should be about 2 cups). Add butter, stirring until combined.
- Transfer cookie mixture to 8” spring form pan. Using your fingers, press cookie crumbs evenly onto bottom and sides of pan. Bake until firm and fragrant, 7 – 10 minutes; cool on a rack.
- In bowl of electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add condensed milk; beat until smooth, 1 minute. Beat in eggs, vanilla and 3 tbsp. dulce de leche until combined, 3 minutes.
- Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until golden brown and set, but still wiggly in the middle, 45 – 55 minutes. Turn off oven; partially open oven door. Let cake sit in oven until room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Transfer cake to refrigerator; cool completely, at least 4 hours.
- Remove cheesecake from pan. Place remaining dulce de leche in zip-top bag. Using scissors, snip small hole in corner of bag. Applying even pressure on “pastry bag,” make swirly designs on top of cake; slice and serve.
What is Dulce de Leche?
Never tried or used Dulce de leche before? Let me educate you a bit so you know why this caramel syrup like ingredient is loved all over the world. Dulce de leche is a confection prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a substance that derives its taste from the Maillard reaction, changing flavor and color. Literally translated, it means “Jam [made] of milk” or “sweet [made] of milk.” Its origin is a highly debated topic and it is popular in most Latin American countries, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Many use it to flavor candies or other sweet foods, such as cakes, churros, cookies (like alfajores), waffles, flan, and ice creams; it provides the “toffee” part of English Banoffee pie and is also a popular spread on pancakes and toast, while the French confiture de lait is commonly served with fromage blanc. – Wikipedia
This recipe was inspired from Goya Foods. For more delicious Goya recipes, visit their website.
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Chat with you next week when I feature my next sweet dessert. I’m so excited! If you decide to make this cheesecake, make sure you tag me on social media. Love to see your creations. #sparklinglala