recipe: funfetti cake batter cheesecake

i needed a lil nosh to bring to a party this weekend, and haven't baked anything and/or searched recipes in a while sadly. i had this recipe saved on foodgawker.com from Teenage Taste that seemed like the perfect lil fix. they were very easy to put together, although unfortunately did not come out as cute as the ones on TT's site - although i used less food coloring than recommended, the green i made was a tad more of a minty hue. no harm, no foul, but i personally hate overly food-colored deserts. i prepped it verbatim otherwise, adding in a bit more sprinkles and some of the mixing process. they still did taste really good which is mostly all that matters though.

ingredients list: 
- 1 & 3/4 cups vanilla cookie crumbs (Nilla wafers)
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup sprinkles
- 3-5 drops green food coloring (the original recipe has 5 drops blue, 3 drops green... i added 5 total and found that to be a touch too much)

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 9-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

stir together cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar, and melted butter. press into the bottom of the prepared pan. bake about 8-10 minutes, until crust just begins to brown.

beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. add remaining sugar and beat until smooth. add the milk, vanilla, salt, and cake mix and beat again until completely combined and smooth. stir in the sprinkles and add the eggs, gently stirring until combined. 

pour batter over the prepared crust, and bake until just set, about 40 - 45 minutes, using a water bath if preferred. allow to cool 30 minutes in the open oven, then 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving. 

recipe: oreo cheesecake bars

i needed a very quick but yum dessert for a Hannukah party i was going to - i found these on foodgawker.com and they looked deLIGHTful. the recipe i snagged was from Table for Two - it was as quick and as delish as i had hoped. they actually just tasted like a gigantic oreo, albeit with a slight cream cheese tang. 

ingredients list: 

crust:

- 23 Oreo cookies

- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

cheesecake:

- 12 oz cream cheese, room temp

- 6 tbsp. sugar

- 6 tbsp. sour cream, room temp

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

- 12 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

to make: preheat oven to 325F degrees, and line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper (making sure it overhangs a bit so that the entire thing can be easily removed later).

to make the crust, finely grind the 23 Oreos until they are smooth crumbs. add in the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is fully incorporated and resembles wet sand. pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing down crumbs into an even layer. bake crust for 10 minutes, then set aside. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium high until light and smooth. mix in the sugar until well-combined. blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt, then gently mix in the egg and egg yolk until well-incorporated. gently stir in the chopped Oreos. 

pour cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. bake for 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center. let cheesecake cool to room temperature (about 1 hour), then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. 

recipe: pumpkin ale cheesecake

so i'm a big fan of The Beeroness blog, however i have had yet to try anything from her site. her Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake with Beer Pecan Caramel Sauce suuuper caught my eye for Thanksgiving baking. mother of mother. it was a fun desert and even though i'm not huge on pumpkin pies, i def enjoyed this. 

ingredients list:
cheesecake:
- 9 standard sized graham crackers
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmet
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 & 1/4 cup pumpkin ale (i used Blue Moon Pumpkin)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour

caramel sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin ale
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/3 cup pecans

to make: prep a spring form pan with parchment/grease and set aside. in a food processor, add the graham crackers and brown sugar, and crush until it becomes all crumbs. add melted butter and process until it resembles wet sand. dump into the bottom of the prepared spring form pan, and press down until it is firmly compacted. set aside.

preheat oven to 350F degrees. in a large bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and cream cheese and mix until well combined. one at a time, add the eggs and vanilla, carefully mixing until well combined. 

in a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix until combined. add pumpkin puree mixture to sugar/cream cheese mixture and stir gently until fully combined. add the beer until combined (note: the batter will be VERY liquidy at this point). sprinkle the flour over the bowl, then stir until just combined. pour batter over the prepared crust.

bake at 350F, adding a water bath if desired,  for about 1 hour or until the center no longer jiggles when you shake the rack the cheesecake sits on (be very careful not to over bake). chill until set, about 3 hours. for best results, chill cheesecake overnight before serving. 

to make caramel sauce, add the sugar, beer, and corn syrup to a saucepan and stir over medium high heat for about 1 minute. reduce heat to low and allow to boil about 10 minutes with a temp around 230F on a candy thermometer. add the butter, pecans, and the cream, and stir until combined. allow to cool to room temperature before serving. 

recipe: chocolate chip cheesecake bars

this was holiday party baking part 2. after a 15+ hour work day yesterday, i was relieved i had picked out two quick & easy recipes for the night last night. i had found this recipe also through foodgawker.com - i loved that it takes two classic (and delish) all american deserts and gives them a twist when combined. the recipe is from Dainty Chef - i just halved the recipe, and used classic Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe for the cookie base (it's old trusty, and i wasn't in the mood to mess around).

ingredients list:
- 1 cup & 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup & 2 tbsp granulated sugar, separated
- 1/4 cup & 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 & 1/2 eggs, separated
- 1/2 (12 oz) package chocolate chips
- 1/2 package (4 oz) cream cheese, softened at room temp

to make: preheat oven to 375 degrees. grease (or line with parchment paper) a 7x11" baking dish, and set aside. combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

beat butter, 1/4 cup & 2 tbsp granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in mixer bowl. add 1 egg, beating well. gradually beat in flour mixture, then stir in chocolate chips (reserving a few extra). divide dough into two separate portions, and set aside. in separate bowl, cream the cream cheese with 1/4 cup granulated sugar until thoroughly combined. beat in the 1/2 egg and 1/4 tsp vanilla.

spread 1/2 of the cookie dough across bottom of the prepared baking dish, then spread the cheesecake mixture on top of dough. with the remaining 1/2 batch of cookie dough, flatten chunks of the dough into small discs, then place on top of the cheesecake mixture (allowing a little of the cheesecake mixture to show through). drop the extra chocolate chips on top. bake for 25-35 minutes, until top is browned and cooked through. cool completely, then store in the refrigerator until serve time.
***
so... i was so not into eating anymore sweets i didn't even try these (besides a crumb that fell off when cutting into squares). they looked good, and they got great reviews... but i did not have it in me to eat anymore. rating is open ended, but i can say for sure i would definitely make these again... fun, yum recipe.

recipe: gingersnap pumpkin cheesecake (t-day 1 of 4)

(pardon the crack... so embarrassing)

i usually make a pumpkin cheesecake for t-day from allrecipes.com, but this year the Food Republic's version, Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake caught my eye, as follows:


ingredients list:
crust:
- 1 & 1/2 cups gingersnap cookies, crushed
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped (the original recipe calls for pecans if you prefer)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 tbsp butter, melted


filling:
- 3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
- 3 large eggs, room temp
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 & 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon


to make: preheat the oven to 325 degrees. prepare spring form pan (i used parchment paper on the bottom & greased the sides). mix together the crushed gingersnaps, nuts, brown sugar, and 4 tbsp melted butter. press the mixture into the bottom of prepared spring form pan, and place into the fridge to set.


mix the cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla with an electric mixer. slowly mix in the eggs one by one by hand, stirring just enough until incorporated. set aside 1 & 1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping. 


to the remaining filling, add the pumpkin, heavy whipping cream, and spices and stir until well combined. 


pour the 'white' filling into the prepared crust, spooning it over the crust gently until it is fully covered. pour the pumpkin filling over the top, then bake for about an hour & 10 minutes (adding a waterbath if desired), until the top starts to brown and the center us juuust jiggly. 


allow to cool in the oven with the door open for about an hour before letting cool completely (1-2 hours) on top of a wire rack. finally, refrigerate for at least 5 hours, ideally overnight.
~~~
verdict: really liked it. i thought it would be very sweet, but it was pretty mild and light overall... lil pumpkin flavor, lil gingersnap & hazelnut, lil cream cheesy tang. not as dense/heavy as my last cheesecake which was good after a day of heavy eats. kyle review was also up there. only thing that sucks is that i got an equater-sized crack in it even after using the water bath, separating the springform ring from the cake post-baking, gently stirring eggs... baaah that's frustrating. presentation: fail; taste: seven *******. 

recipe: chocolate cappuccino cheesecake

needed a cheesecake to make for my dad's birthday. i've done a few before (classic ny, pumpkin, smores, & i think that's it?), but the Chocolate Cappucino Cheesecake from allrecipes was speaking to me today.

it reminds me of a tiramisu... which historically i always end up doubling the amount of coffee + booze than the recipe calls for, but since this was my first go at this recipe i made it exactly as written as far as the ingredients go.

ingredients list:
crust:
- 1.5 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (chocolate graham crackers or oreos)
- 6 tbsp cup softened butter
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

filling:
- 3 packages cream cheese, room temped
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs, room temped
- 8 1-oz squares Bakers chocolate
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp insant coffee granules dissolved in 1/4 cup water (or espresso)
- 1/4 cup Baileys or other coffee liquor
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (i used 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp rum extract)

to make: prep springform pan (parchment or greased) & preheat oven to 350 degrees. combine all crust ingredients and blend in food processor. press mixture into bottom of springform pan (i used parchement on mine since i'm going to need to easily move it into another container).

in medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, then mix in sugar. add eggs, one at a time, at a LOW speed, and mixing ONLY until juuust incorporated. this is really the hardest part of cheesecake... i like to stir until everything is perfect, but if you beat the F out of your cheesecake, the air pockets that this forms will be released when it bakes, rendering it cracked and ugly.

in a separate bowl, combine sour cream, salt, coffee, Baileys, and vanilla and mix until smooth. microwave the Bakers chocolate until melted (the instructions on the box say 30 minutes for 1, 10 additional seconds for each additional. i put them all in for 2 minutes total and it was just right). blend melted chocolate into sour cream mixture.

pour chocolate/sour cream mixture into cream cheese bowl, and stir GENTLY until all ingredients are blended. pour mixture into springform pan.

bake for 45 minutes. i used a waterbath while baking, and left it in the oven with the door cracked for about 2 hours before taking it out. i usually (no matter what i do) get a crack in my cheesecakes, but this one worked. it looks undercooked, but i'm going to fight the urge to keep it in longer because i always think that w/ cheesecake. recommended to keep in the fridge for about 24 hours before eating to let all the ingredients marinate and get friendly with eachother.

if you pop open the original recipe link, the author has a pretty BA method of making chocolate leaves. i skipped that (i usually only decorate cheesecake if i eff it up), but it's worth checking out.

rating to follow tomorrow when we test it out. holler.

update 10/3: this turned out pretty well. i'm not a big cheesecake eater, but liked it. i would have liked a stronger booze/coffee flavor (i could taste more tang from the cream cheese than i could the added flavors) so next time i would def use espresso and maybe a bit of kahlua since that has more punch for less liquid. rating: 5.5 stars *****~.