Making Yogurt Part II

After ruining more than my fair share of yogurt using the jar method, I bought a yogurt maker and yogurt cheese maker. Now, with the yogurt maker I still have to heat the 4 cups milk to 180F and cool it down to 116F. After adding in my culture, I then fill up the machine, set the timer and go about my business. The machine makes a continual beeping noise when it's done, so I never forget it.


Whenever I want to make yogurt cheese I grab a couple containers from the fridge and get out my yogurt cheese maker.

I dump in the yogurt and let it sit in the fridge over night. By morning the curds resemble cream cheese in texture and the bottom of the container holds the whey, which you can use in your baking. I use the yogurt cheese most often as a substitute for cream cheese. Sweeten it with sugar or add some garlic and chives and use it as a spread. Here's one of our favorite ways to use it.

We crack open a crescent roll container and form 4 rectangles with the dough. Mix the yogurt cheese with a bit of sugar and spread onto rectangles. I then take a handfull of blueberries out of the freezer, run them under some hot water to thaw a bit and sprinkle over the cheese. Then you fold all four corners toward the center in package fashion.

Bake in 375F oven for 16 mins and viola!

You have "cream cheese doughnuts!" We use blueberries because we have so many on hand from our picking forays last summer, but I would imagine this would be great with any type of fruit or berry. Now, I need to learn how to make my own cresent roll dough from scratch and we're all set!