Plain Store-Bought Cream Cheese Is A Blank Canvas For Delectable Dips

Tangy, rich, and lightly sweet, cream cheese is the perfect topping for bagels or base for a yummy frosting for morning cinnamon rolls. While these may be some of the more common ways to use cream cheese, there's another use for it that you might be overlooking — as a creamy base for dips. And, while you could just smear it on top of the toasted bread in a bruschetta recipe (which is delish), you can get even more creative by crafting flavorful dips with a variety of other ingredients.

Cream cheese, although it has a distinctive tangy flavor, doesn't have an overpowering taste. Plus, it's taste is neutral enough that you can use it to make both sweet and savory dips, depending on your preferences. It's up to you to dictate the flavor by what ingredients and spices you choose to stir into it.

To use cream cheese as a base, remember that it's quite a thick ingredient. As such, you may need to use a liquid ingredient to smooth it out and make it dippable, and an acid such as lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or even pickle brine to cut the rich dairy.

If you want to make savory cream cheese dips, you'll need to add some milk, sour cream, mayo, or yogurt to loosen up the consistency. Also be sure to soften your cream cheese before starting — let it sit out until it's room temperature. From there, after mixing in a food processor, blender, or with a hand mixer, you should have a silky dip that's ready to serve as a blank canvas. To start, adding a bit of salt can enhance the savory flavor of the dip.

You'll want to add herbs, spices and aromatics to start to bring your dip to life. Fresh herbs, such as chopped chives, dill, or parsley can work well to bring out an earthy, light feel. Incorporating caramelized onions, roasted garlic, raw minced garlic, or even briny olives amps up the flavor, while crushed red pepper flakes can turn up the heat. Smoked paprika, cumin, or even pre-mixed taco seasoning for a Tex-Mex dip work well. If you like cheesy flavors, you could mix in crumbled feta, shredded pepper jack or parmesan cheese.

If you're going the sweet route, the first place to start is actually with the thinning agent you use to help alter the consistency of the cream cheese. While you can still use yogurt without any qualms, to give the dip a creamier dessert flavor, you can also use heavy whipping cream. The sweet milkiness of this ingredient helps to soften the tangy flavors of the cream cheese.

Next, it's time to think about flavors. If you like the tangy taste of the cream cheese, you could simply add sugar add some lemon juice . This can be great for pairing with fruits, for instance. Or, if you're after something sweeter, you can stir in a bit of powdered sugar and chocolate chips, which can be a fun dip for piling on graham crackers. Or you could play with fall flavors and make a pumpkin cream cheese dip with pumpkin puree and pie spices.

As you choose what to add to your dip, think about what you'll be pairing it with and how those flavors will complement each other. Whether you go for sweet or savory tastes, cream cheese serves as the perfect backdrop for a quick, customizable dip.