Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

I think sometimes it's very obvious what fruits are on sale at the grocery store. :) This week it was both blueberries and strawberries. We'll see what gets made next.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming up with what to write on here tonight. I was lazy last night and didn't post. And now it's Monday night, Jeopardy's on, and I'm just kinda eh on everything. Post-vacation downtime? I don't know. And I still owe somewhat of a post on that. Yikes.

Since I'm not coming up with anything remotely entertaining, I'll just talk about the recipe. Originally found at Culinary in the Desert, I altered it a bit for those unfortunate folk who do not like coconut. (Those weirdos lol) The addition of the flour in the crust was different, but I don't feel that it made too much difference compared to a regular graham cracker crust.

Reviews are mixed on this one. I really liked it, and even Dave and my dad ate it. Gina did not, Leslie has never had blueberries before and didn't want to try. Marcos took home the three that didn't get eaten. *shrug* I liked 'em quite well, so that counts the most, since I am the girl with the blog. ;)



Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup sugar

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, and sugar; cut in butter using pastry blender. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Pour batter over hot crust. Scatter blueberries on top.

Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool on wire rack before refrigerating. Makes about 16 bars.

Vanilla Marble Blondies

As many people will attest, the Kitchen Aid mixer is like the Ultimate of the Kitchen Appliances. Mine answers to the name of HG (short for Holy Grail; we don't want to be uppity, after all). I discovered something this weekend, however.

HG has a sidekick. Yep. The KA Handmixer. A birthday present, the as yet unnamed buddy, proved his/her worth with this recipe. Any suggestions on a name? HG, Jr seems a little... simplistic. I think the handmixer needs its own identity. A superhero cape would be pushing it, though. HG gets that first. ;)

Anyways, this is my other weekend baked good. I can't remember how long ago I found this at the Domestic Goddess blog. And I kept putting it off and putting it off, and I could just hit myself over the head for doing that.

Oh my god. The batters by themselves were awesome, but together? What a marriage made in heaven. I really need too work through that list a bit faster. :)



Ingredients:
Blondie Base:
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Cheesecake Top:
8 oz. cream cheese, well softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment and set aside.

Over a pot of simmering water start to melt butter. Add white chocolate and stir until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until pale and thick. Reduce speed to medium and add cooled, melted white chocolate.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and stir into egg mixture, by hand. Set aside.

Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop into pan along with blondie batter, then swirl together with a knife or spatula.

Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until edges are slightly puffed and center is just set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Alright, not to toot my own horn here, but honestly, I really feel that I outdid myself on these babies.

Backstory: I asked my friends at work what they wanted for baked goods this week, since I didn't really have anything set in mind. Tasha suggested cheesecake bars, since she loved the Nutella ones. Mind you, this is the girl that says she doesn't like cheesecake (What the duck?!). I've maintained from that day that I'd bring her over to the cheesecake side. And this might be the winning step.

Shockingly enough, it's a Martha Stewart recipe. Martha and I have had our, ahem, disagreements in the past, so it's a big deal that this recipe turned out as well as it did. And I would very much like to try this with lime juice next time. Mmmm... lime. ;) The only change I made is to up the amount of lemon juice, because I really want a stronger flavor than the previous bars.



Ingredients:
8 graham crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and lemon juice, beating until combined. Pour over hot crust.

Bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Let cool completely (or overnight) before cutting into bars.

Nutella Cheesecake Bars (with a Brownie Crust)

After baking the previous recipe yesterday, I came to two unfortunate realizations:

1. I had like a quarter cup of brown sugar left.
2. There's no more vanilla.

Hmph. This does not make for a happy Kristen. So Dave's baked good was put on hold until next week. And it brings me to my "to try" folder on here.

Lemon Mascarpone Blondies... nope. Missing some key ingredients. Cinnamon Blueberry Cake... I only have strawberries. Wait, wait - ooh! Alpineberry's Nutella Cheesecake Brownies! No vanilla and no brown sugar needed - woohoo!

After the incident that shall only be referred to as Exploding Butter, I just set the cream cheese on top of the still-lit stove for a bit. Probably should've left it there longer, but time was ticking as it's prone to do, thus my cheesecake layer isn't as pretty as Alpineberry's. It's okay, though. It's still deliciously rich, with Nutella in both the brownie layer and the cheesecake layer. And, really, who's going to argue with that? :D

(Oh, and I now have more brown sugar and some vanilla to hold me over until the good vanilla gets here lol)



Ingredients:
Brownie Layer:
10 Tbsp. butter, melted and slightly cooled
¼ cup Nutella
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup natural cocoa powder

Cheesecake layer:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temp.
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish.

For brownie layer:
Combine butter, Nutella, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl, mixing well. Sift in flour and cocoa powder, and mix until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Set aside.

For cheesecake layer:
Mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and Nutella until well combined. Pour over brownie batter.

Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes, or until the cheesecake looks set. Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Raspberry-Swirled Lime Cheesecake Bars

In order to keep myself busy yesterday afternoon, and when my recipe search gave me nothing that appealed, the infamous Lime Monster appeared. (You may remember good ol' LM - the reappearance usually signals intense lime cravings that sometimes border on obsessive and tend to drive others crazy.) From there, the wheel started turning.

Lime, lime. What can I do with that key lime juice? I've got blueberries in the fridge, no raspberries, though. And some cream cheese that really should get used. Wait! Lime juice, cream cheese... raspberry preserves! Swirled through, all pretty-like! And with a chocolate crust! Because I think it'd be contrasting and pretty. :)

Thus, this recipe was born.

And did the Lime Monster approve? Yes, indeed. The raspberry is a sweetness that cuts through that delicious tartness. And while the chocolate crust wasn't as dark as I imagined, it still works. :)



Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus ¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1½ Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. key lime juice
2 eggs
1/3 cup raspberry preserves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and butter. Press onto bottom of the pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and lime juice until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Pour over crust. Drop dollops of raspberry preserves into batter, using a knife to swirl through.

Bake at 325F for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting and serving.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Cranberry Topping

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone's having a great day today. It's been such a happy, being home again. There've been some great holidays out in CA, but it was really good to be with my family again. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and her husband came over last night. Today it was just me, Dave, and my parents, and it was nice. Quiet, relaxing, and very nice. My dad and I even got to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is my favorite Christmas movie. That squirrel flying out of the tree gets me every single time. :)

The other night, while watching the repeat Iron Chef episode of Battle Cranberry, I started contemplating cranberry cheesecake. Which led to white chocolate, figuring on the sweetness to compliment the tartness of the cranberry. I wound up combining a few different recipes, including a portion of this cheesecake and the cranberry topping from an Ocean Spray pavlova. The end result? Wow. Very smooth, subtle white chocolate taste, with that sharp tartness of the cranberry topping. I loved it. Dave felt it was a bit too sweet, but my dad said he would happily help out with the remainders.



Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cheesecake:
3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
4 ounces white chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. (300F if using a darker colored pan.)

Combine crust ingredients, and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in chocolate. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325F/300F for 45-50 minutes, or until center is nearly set. After some cooling, run a knife along the outer rim to loosen cake from pan. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Cranberry Topping:
1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Zest of half a lime

Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Let boil for one minute before removing from heat. Add lime zest. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Spoon over cheesecake.




Penny (with her glowing eyes lol) and I wish you each a fabulous holiday season! :D

Blueberry Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Since moving, my work schedule hasn't been all that predictable. The first few weeks were, a nice 7a-4p, with weekends off, but of course that didn't last. This week, I have today and Thursday off. I have no idea for next week. But not having the sense of predictability is hard for me. I'm a routine kind of a gal.

Today had some semblence of normalcy that I did on my days off in CA. Went to the library (albeit by bus and not walking), got myself a chai, then came back home. Which is exactly what I would do on my first day off. So, some comfort there, at least. :)

So! The idea originated with blueberry cheesecake bars. But I never found a recipe that suited what I was imagining. Out of nowhere, while Dave was watching a baseball game, I believe, I said aloud, "Chocolate-covered blueberries! I wonder if I could make cheesecake bars using that flavor?" Dave then turned to look at me, simply saying, "What?!". You'd think after three years, he'd be used to random outbursts on food. Hmm.

Anyways, I put together a few different recipes, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure how I feel about them. I had a small piece earlier, and I have mixed feelings. Thus, no picture. LOL It's denser than the average cheesecake, and that might have something to do with it. I'm hoping that they'll be better tomorrow. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. cocoa
½ tsp. vanilla
Blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.

For crust: Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and butter. Press onto bottom of pan.

For filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add cocoa and vanilla. Pour onto crust. Place berries on top of the cheesecake, pressing down just slightly.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Peppermint Cheesecake Bars

We're really coming to the end of the line. Tomorrow's the last day. And tomorrow will also probably be the last time I bake on the west coast. (Yes, I am one of those people that thinks about every little thing being the "last" time. It's the same way before every birthday.) This one has some backstory, though.

I first met Mo probably about five years ago. We got along great almost instantly, and yeah, I had a crush on him for a while, which 90% of the time he says he had no clue of. LOL I soon discovered that he harbored a huge love of cheesecake. In fact, he even proposed to me one day over a chocolate cheesecake. Anyways, he went into the management program and we kinda lost touch. There was a fall-out, what with him lying and I held that grudge for a while. But we discussed it about a year ago, and we're back to normal. So I sent him an email saying that Dave and I were leaving and that he better get his butt into my store to see me before I leave. And I hinted that maybe there'd be cheesecake involved, just as an added bonus. In his excitement, he came in last Thursday as well, in hopes of an early piece. LOL

So these are for tomorrow, and if Mo doesn't come in, I'm so kicking his butt. And I'll make sure that he knows how much everyone enjoyed these. ;)



Ingredients:
1 cup crushed chocolate cookies
¼ cup butter, melted
2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream
1½ Tbsp. flour
½ Tbsp. peppermint extract
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix together cookie crumbs and butter until well combined and press onto the bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add sour cream, flour, and peppermint extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Pour over crust.

Bake at 325F for 40-45 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Refrigerate for at least four hours before cutting into bars. Makes about 16 bars.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Yesterday did not start off well. At all.

Around 7:30a or so, as Dave was leaving for work, I closed the door and locked it, as normal. Something told me to turn, and I'm really glad that I did. Because my stack of book boxes (all eight of them) were falling right towards me. Thankfully I had turned, because otherwise I would've been hit in the head and back, instead of just my arm. Which has a lovely multi-colored odd-shaped bruise now. Not a good way to start the day. So I went back to bed for a few hours. LOL

Thankfully the day improved. :)

I wanted to make something specifically for Henelyne and that girl loves cheesecake more than anyone else I know. So that part was the easy part. I remembered her love of Ferrero Rocher, and figured I could do a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake, and it would also use up the rest of the hazelnut extract.

After debating a few recipes, I went with this one from the Kraft Foods website, just using hazelnut instead of vanilla. It came together very easily and I'll definitely use the recipe again. No picture of the actual cheesecake, but I did make Henelyne pose outside with the piece she was eating. :)

Oh! And the hazelnut flavor was actually recognizable this time! Yay! :)



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used the Newman's Own Chocolate Cookies)
¼ cup butter, melted

2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
½ cup cocoa
2 Tbsp. flour
1½ Tbsp. hazelnut extract
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F (300F if using a darker colored springform pan).

Mix together the cookie crumbs and butter until moist. Press onto the bottom of pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sour cream, sugar, cocoa, flour, and hazelnut extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 325F for 50-55 minutes, or until center is nearly set. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

SHF : Lime Cheesecake Squares

I've been reading the Sugar High Friday blog events (started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess) since... well, even before I had a blog myself. And when I saw that Tartelette was hosting this one and the theme was citrus? Oh yeah. I had to be there and you know it was going to be lime.

What really stuck out was cheesecake. But with moving cross-country in, oh, 18 days, I didn't want to do a big cheesecake. Mini was the way to go, and, hey, how 'bout using that cakelet pan? The idea was set and a recipe was formed.

I only made six, as I didn't want to be eating them for the next week. If they lasted that long. The amount of lime juice to use was a guess, and these babies are tart. But, oh, the yum factor. This is mouth-puckeringly good. The cheesecake is light and fluffy, as all cheesecakes should aspire to be. :)



Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
¼ cup sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup lime juice
Zest of one lime

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 6 cakelet cups with foil. Be sure to leave enough of a 'handle' on each side for easy removal.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar, then press into the prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, lime juice, and zest until smooth. Fill 3/4s full.

Bake at 325F for 18-20 minutes, or until set. Let cool in pan for an hour, then remove to the fridge for at least 40 minutes before serving.

Vanilla Berry-Swirl Cheesecake Bars

For this MB event, the main ingredient was vanilla. Which leaves a HUGE amount of options. After some talk, I settled on the idea of a vanilla bean cheesecake with some kind of berry swirl.

But of course that changed.

I knew I wanted something cheesecake-y. And I wanted to finally use the vanilla beans that Dave bought for me. Then the berry flavor... I didn't want to use jam or jelly. After some searching, I decided to use the same strawberry puree that I made last week for the Lemon Berry Bars. (I'm all about the swirling lately, aren't I?) Then... "Do I really want to make a whole cheesecake?", to which I started playing around, mentally, with different shapes. Heart-shaped cookie cutter? Nah, didn't have one big enough. Eventually, I combined a few different recipes, and came up with this.

It was my first time using vanilla beans, and I was nervous. But I think I did well. Despite how in some bites, the berry flavor overtakes everything, the vanilla bean flavor is both subtle and smooth. If that makes sense. :) My only complaint is that the strawberry swirl isn't as bold of a color as I was hoping for.



Ingredients:
Strawberry Puree
2 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces
1-2 Tbsp. sugar

Crust:
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1½ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt

Filling
½ cup sugar
½ cup half & half
2 pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
3 large eggs
½ vanilla bean (or 2 tsp. vanilla)
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour

Directions:
For strawberry puree: Blend the strawberries in a food processor (for a few seconds) or mash with a fork until there are no large chunks. Cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

For crust: Beat sugar and butter until smooth. Gradually add flour, followed by the salt, until mixture is crumbly in texture. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

For filling: Beat sugar, cream cheese, and half & half until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Scrape in vanilla (or add extract), then add flour. Pour onto hot crust. Drop spoonfuls of strawberry puree over filling, then swirl through with a knife or spatula.

Bake at 350F for 20-23 minutes, or until filling is set. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Thin Mint Cheesecake

Yes, it's that glorious time of the year. The one that people near and far look forward to, pine for, dream of. It's up there with Christmas, Halloween, and birthdays. Yep, you know what I'm talking about: the Girl Scouts are selling their cookies again.

My absolute favorite is the Samoa. Even as a kid, where a lot of kids shy away from coconut, that was just the ultimate. The Thin Mint comes in at a close second. The only thing I don't like about it is that it can get stuck in your teeth.

I came across a recipe on Baking Bites a few weeks ago, involving a no-bake cheesecake with a Thin Mint crust. That looked decent enough, but I'm not a huge fan of no-bake's. So I just went with a basic cheesecake recipe and added some chopped up pieces of cookie into the batter itself, for a cookies and cream affect.

We tried some when Dave got home from work. Not bad. I would prefer a stronger minty taste, rather than just getting the majority of the mint from the crust. Or even more of a chocolate-y taste. Maybe a chocolate cheesecake with the added cookies? We'll see if I can pick up another box. All of my guinea pigs are looking forward to this one, and I hope they'll be pleased. :)



Ingredients:
1½ cups crushed Thin Mints (or you could do a bit more to cover some of the sides)
2 Tbsp. butter

3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
At least half a roll of cookies, cut up or crushed, to stir into batter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F (325F if using a darker pan)

Combine crushed cookies and butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beating until combined. Gently stir in cookie crumbles. Pour onto cooled crust.

Bake at 350F(/325F) for 40-50 minutes until center is nearly set. Let cool in pan. Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars (with Oatmeal Cookie Crust)

She's ba-ack! :)

Life is back to normal. Or at least as normal we get around here. We had a nice visit up to Oregon. We even had more snow than we did through the Grapevine down in the LA area. There were some steady flurries through the Mt. Shasta area, which was fun. And I stepped in snow for the first time in five years. (Yeah, it's no big deal to some, but it's been a while for me!) We ate some very yummy breakfast in Ashland at Morning Glory, whose decor and general feel was very inspiring. Their cranberry/walnut french toast was delicious. :)

Anyways, this totally wasn't what I planned on making today. But as I was walking back from the library, I saw the local UPS driver, and that got me thinking. (Background: Used to work in receiving, got to know John, and even though I'm not in receiving anymore, I still live on the route) Long story short, he owes me some oatmeal cookies. Which led to "Could I do a cheesecake bar with an oatmeal cookie crust?"

The Quaker Oats website was my friend today. I found both the crust recipe and a cheesecake recipe that I was able to alter to my liking. The crust isn't as moist as I'd like it to be, but other than that, it's alright. I'm very glad I went with just the half tablespoon of cinnamon extract (found it at Sur La Table) instead of a full tablespoon, otherwise it'd would've been WAAAAY too much cinnamon. Even I have my limits! ;)



Ingredients:
1½ cups oats
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, melted

3 pkg. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
½ Tbsp. cinnamon extract
¼ tsp. salt
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and baking soda. Add butter, using a pastry blender or forks to combine. Press onto bottom of pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon extract, and salt, until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Add sour cream. Pour over crust.

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, or until center is set. Let cool completely on wire rack. Cut once cool.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Since I've moved out to California, on the day after Thanksgiving, I've brought a cheesecake to work. It's a nice little treat on the second-craziest shopping day of the year (I think Christmas Eve takes the title of the craziest, what with last minute shopping and all.)

Originally, Dave and I were just doing our own little Thanksgiving dinner, since his parents moved up to Oregon. He wanted pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, and of course, I obliged. (I do so love requests.) We wound up going over to his cousin's house, where, again, a pumpkin cheesecake was mentioned.

I lucked out, though. I used my own springform pan for our cheesecake. But for the 'travelling' ones, I just make them in the disposable pie or cake pans. Of course, those are shallower and hold less filling. So with one batch, I had enough batter to make two. Thus, three cheesecakes were made in two days. :)

It's a bit different than the recipe I used last year, and I find this one to be much better. With graham cracker crusts, I always add spices to it; never measured, but it's usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Don't know what I did differently, but man, I'm in love with this crust.

And, as we started eating ours last night, I realized something... "Oh, poo, I didn't take a picture!" (I said something other than 'poo', but I do try to be ladylike on here lol)

Ingredients:
1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
15 oz. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
4 large eggs
½ cup evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. (325F if using a darker-colored pan.)

Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth; beat in pumpkin. Beat in eggs, evaporated milk, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour into crust.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until edge is set but center still moves slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan.

Vanilla Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Sauce

Last week, we acquired about ten pounds of plums. Which made me start thinking, of course, of what I could make with them. I mentioned the idea of cheesecake, and Dave said he could make a sauce to go over it. Alright, sounds like a plan.

But then he didn't feel like cutting them up, so we used a bag of frozen mixed berries that have been needing to get some use. *shrug* Still yummy, but I've still got a ton of plums!

I wanted to do a white cheesecake, but without the white chocolate. Sometimes the white chocolate is just too sweet, and I didn't want to risk not eating any of the cheesecake! As an added surprise, after pressing in the crust, I added some crushed Daim chocolates. (For those who haven't been enlightened yet, Daim is a Swedish chocolate... toffee enrobed in milk chocolate. Very yummy. Ikea sells them) :)

Oh, and I'll give proper credit: Dave took the picture. He also found the 'close up' option on the camera, for use on things less than a certain amount away. Hmm. I never knew that existed. At least that means there's hope for my photography skills! ;)



Ingredients:
Crust:
1½cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup granulated sugar

Filling:
1 vanilla bean, split, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1½ cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream

Sauce:
1 bag frozen berries (mixed or of choice)
¼ cup water
3-4 Tbsp. sugar (to taste)
1½ tsp. cornstarch, mixed with 1 Tbsp water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Crust:
Combine graham-cracker crumbs, sugar, almonds and butter in bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Wrap bottom and side of pan with heavy-duty foil. Set aside.

Filling:
Reduce oven temperature to 325F. Remove seeds from vanilla bean with tip of small paring knife or spoon; set aside. Beat cream cheese in mixer bowl on medium-high speed, 3 minutes. Scrape side of bowl with rubber spatula. Beat in vanilla seeds. Gradually beat in sugar, scraping sides of mixer bowl with rubber spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended and mixture is completely smooth. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract, if using. Pour filling into prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for about 1 hour, or until center is nearly set. Let cool on wire rack before transferring to the refrigerator.

Sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine berries, water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until most of the berries have popped. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook for an addition minute, until the syrup thickens slightly. Turn heat to a low simmer and cover for about 10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

This is my most-requested recipe. Birthdays, holidays, whatever. I've had people pay me for this one, which is just mind-boggling to me. Something I made? Worth money? Wow. No matter how many times it's happened, it still amazes me. This is also one of my published recipes, too. :D

Ingredients:
1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 pkgs (8 oz.each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1-2/3 cups (10 oz. pkg.) peanut butter chips, melted
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup swirled peanut butter/chocolate morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F.

In bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa and butter. Press mixture onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk then melted peanut butter chips until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir in small chocolate chips. Pour over crust.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven to cooling rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely; remove side of pan.

Chocolate-Caramel Cheesecake Bars

When my mom sent me Nestle's chocolate/peanut butter swirled morsels (and their chocolate/caramel counterpart), I knew I wanted to make this recipe. Wait, no, you're not reading wrong. ;) The original recipe called the chocolate/pb chips, but after being mailed cross-country, they kinda melted together. The chocolate/caramel ones didn't, thus I used them. (Oh, and I've since tried them with the pb ones, and they're even better) :D

Ingredients:
2½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Nestle's chocolate/caramel swirled morsels, divided
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F.

Combine crumbs, butter and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl. Remove 1 cup mixture and reserve for topping. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle 3/4 cup morsels over crust.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, flour and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Pour over crust and morsels in pan. Sprinkle with reserved crumb topping and remaining morsels.

Bake at 325F for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I admit, I'm a chocoholic. And a cheesecake lover. What's greater than the combination of the two? When they're in bar form!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1½ cups flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
Cheesecake Topping:
2 cups Hershey's Special Dark morsels
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup evaporated milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

For Crust:
Combine flour, brown sugar, and butter in medium bowl; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

For Cheesecake Topping:
Microwave morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in medium mixer bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in evaporated milk and melted chocolate. Pour over crust.

Bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes, or until center is set. Cool in pan to room temperature on wire rack; chill until firm.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was originally my first-ever venture into the yummy world of pumpkin cheesecakes. For a few years, it was my tradition at work to bring one in on the day after Thanksgiving. Sadly, this past year, with having to make three different cheesecakes that week, it just didn't happen. This was my original recipe.

Ingredients:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup granulated sugar

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz can) evaporated milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 container (16 oz.) sour cream, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.

FOR CRUST:
Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and granulated sugar in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

FOR CHEESECAKE:
Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Add cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; beat well. Pour into crust.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly.

FOR TOPPING:
Combine sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over surface of warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan

Chocolate Royal Cheesecake

My first venture into chocolate cheesecakes. It went well. Very well. I altered the original recipe a bit, using chocolate graham crackers instead of the wafers. And for the topping, I melted some of the Queen's Blend Jam from Ikea (a strawberry/blueberry blend) and then cut up some strawberries and raspberries. I wish I had a digital camera then!

Ingredients:
1½ cups crushed chocolate wafers
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (8 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1/3 cup mixed berries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F, if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (300F if using a dark nonstick springform pan). Mix crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until blended. Pour over crust.

Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife along edge of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Top with powdered sugar and berries just before serving.