Pomegranate Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Cheerio Crust and a Giveaway

(this giveaway is now closed) Happy super bowl Sunday! Since I absolutely don't care about football (I'm tall- I've always liked basketball {players}) the Superbowl is just a good excuse for a party. It's been a fun weekend and I'm finally getting around to posting a winner for the General Mill's Chocolate Cheerio's giveaway. A trip to random.org has chosen Audra Roberts- so email me your address Audra and I'll get them right in the mail! Now here is the promised dessert featuring the cheerios. I made a crust using ground up Chocolate Cheerios. I figured they're a lot better for you than Oreos but still chocolately and delicious. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I think it worked. I also swirled in some mini chocolate chips and pomegranate molasses I made with some juice that Pom Wonderful mailed me. Pomegranate juice is seriously healthy (my dad loves him and couldn't believe I was going to cook with it instead of letting him drink it all!) Alton Brown has an awesome episode on Pomegranates and I used his recipe for the molasses which I've kept in a jar in my fridge for a while. I tried making Molasses Crinkle cookies with it but the color and the flavor didn't come through- I'm saving the rest for some yummy pork loin. Back to the cheesecake. I just swirled in those two ingredients to my basic cheesecake batter from my favorite Lemon Curd Cheesecake. Between the cereal crust, reduced fat cream cheese, and pomegranate juice this is practically health food. Haha. You could also sub in cherry pie filling or something similar. As Ina would say, "Chocolate, Cream, Sugar, Butter- how bad can that be?"

Speaking of health food, Safeway and FiberOne Yogurt (through myBlogSpark) have given me a $50 Safeway gift card to give to one of my readers so you can try their yogurt. They sent me one and a coupon to try it so I could let you know what I thought. I couldn't believe how yummy it was. I used to have a Yoplait almost every morning in college but I've since consumed most of my yogurt frozen via Golden Spoon. I think this Fiber One Yogurt has changed my mind, though. It's crazy delicious and good for you too (for real, unlike my cheesecake). So leave a comment to be entered to win the gift card. And stop by Safeway- the four packs of yogurt are 2 for $4 through Tuesday. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you and enter by Friday night, midnight AZ time. And if your store has it make sure you try the Key Lime flavor!

Pomegranate Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Cheerio Crust
by Anne Strawberry

Crust:
2 1/2 Cups Chocolate Cheerios, crushed (in a baggie with a mallet or in the food processor)
1/4 Cup Melted Butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder (I like Hershey's special dark)

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and press into four mini springform pans or one regular springform. A pie pan will also work if that's all you have. Make sure the layer is even and not too thick. Bake for 8 minutes and set aside to cool completely.

Filling:
2 packages Neufchatel (1/3 less fat) Cream Cheese, completely softened
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3 tablespoons Pomegranate Molasses (or cherry pie filling)
1/3 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Optional Garnish:
Chocolate Syrup or Sauce
Whipped Cream

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat cream cheese in stand mixer for two minutes, or until completely smooth. Add sugar and eggs and beat for one more minute. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla and divide mixture among pans. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon molasses at a time over the cheesecake, sprinkle on the chocolate chips, and use a butter knife to gently swirl it in.

Bake for 45 minutes for a full sized springform or 25-30 minutes for miniature pans (or until it looks set and doesn't jiggle too much- it may crack, but don't stress it!) Allow to cool at room temperature and then in the fridge until chilled. Serve with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.