Tall and Creamy Cheesecake - TWD

Oh, simply divine! I love cheesecake and could eat it for every meal. Anne of Anne Strawberry chose this fine dessert for her pick. She baked hers with a peppermint bark twist and it looks fantastic. I was so excited and decided to make it for a Christmas Eve party that we went to. You can find the recipe HERE or on pages 235-237 in this gem of a cookbook.

This recipe involved an incredible amount of cream cheese, 4 blocks to be exact. I also used a combination of heavy cream and sour cream. When I was putting the recipe together I accidently dropped one of the eggs into the batter. Yeah....eggshell and all. Don't know how this happened, I just accidently dropped it in there. My KA mixer was running at the time. I got nervous and jumped to shut it off to get the egg shells out. Well, I accidently kicked up the speed and the egg shells got crunched into even smaller pieces. CRAP! I was not going to start over again and waste all of this cream cheese. I picked out what I could find and hoped for the best.

I put a small amount of fresh raspberries into the crust before I dumped in the filling. I was nervous about the water bath and had visions of the water leaking into the cheesecake. I was quite neurotic about the aluminum foil and must have checked that I double wrapped the pan several times. Luckily it turned out great and no water seaped in. I did have trouble finding a pan big enough to fit the springform pan and water covering the bottom half. Next time I make this (which I will), I am going to buy a huge re-usuable roaster pan for the bath.

The cheesecake was so flippin' good. I served it the same day after it had been chilling in the refrigerator for just a little over 4 hours. It was good, however, the next day was much, much better. The next time I plan to serve it to others I will bake it a day ahead. I hope to make it with key limes soon. My oldest son even liked it and couldn't get enough. I was kind of surprised and thought that this was kind of a "grown up dessert". Not really for 5 year olds. We were both sad when it was gone.

If you haven't made this cheesecake, it is so worth baking. Trust me...you will not be disappointed! I can't wait to see what the others did with it as there are so many variations that you could tinker with.

NOTE: As for the eggshell fiasco...it appears that only 2 people found some. The Hubster being one of them. He said that he couldn't tell if it was an eggshell or a raspberry seed. HURRAY!!

Triple Chocolate Cookies - CEiMB

Chalked full of chocolately goodness......

I am getting this one posted just in the knick of time. These super chocolately cookies were chosen by Gabi from The Feast Within. You can find the recipe HERE that she posted on her blog. Her cookies look great. There appeared to be numerous ways that others went about and made them. Check out what some of the others did. Our talented host Gabi added baking powder and soda to get them to rise a bit.

I followed Jennifer's lead and substituted applesauce for the oil. I liked how hers looked like mini cakes. These cookies were very easy to put together. The only time consuming part was chopping the milk and dark chocolate, which didn't take long at all. The recipe said that it made 24 cookies. Mine only made 20. I also only added in approximately 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. I am not a nut fan in cookies but wanted to use up some pecans that I had. The cookies are very chocolately and go good with a big glass of milk. I don't know if I would make them again though.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns - TWD

The TWD group made these buns back in May. It was chosen by Madame Chow. She has the recipe posted HERE if you want to try it. I decided to make these up because I had the dough frozen in the freezer since I made the Brioche Raisin Snails a few weeks ago.

My dad was in town for a late Christmas dinner so I decided to make these sticky buns up for breakfast. They were quite delish. I even liked the toasty pecans when they came out of the oven. I usually am not a nut fan in the slightest so I was quite surprised. The sticky part was probably the best tasting part of the rolls though. My dad must have thought so too. I think that he ate 3 of them!!

My "catch up" TWD recipe list is getting smaller.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I found this recipe at Growing up Mo. The Hubster has been completely turned off by some of the recipes that I have serving up as of late (more specifically, "Ellie vegetarian dishes"). Since I found a delicious chicken pot pie recipe from this blog awhile back (that he always raves about), I thought that this could be a winner. I thought right. He loved it, inhaled it and wants me to make it again soon. I must say that I liked it too. It had a little bit of spice to it which was great.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Source: Pillsbury Casseroles and Slow Cooker Meals, volume 16 number 6

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cut-up cooked chicken (I used approximately 1 lb. shredded chicken)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1 can 19oz mild enchilada sauce
1 can 11oz whole kernel corn, drained
1 can 16 oz chili beans, undrained
2 cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (I used cheddar cheese)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix chicken, sugar, salsa, enchilada sauce, corn, and beans.
2. In ungreased 2 quart glass dish, place tortilla chips. Top with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with onions, tomato and cheese.
3. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. If desired, arrange additional tortilla chips around edge of dish.

Fudge

I made fudge (peanut butter and traditional) to give away as Christmas gifts this year. The traditional one I make every year. However, this year I found a recipe for peanut butter fudge and wanted to give it a try. I am glad that I did. Quite yummy!

Killer Crack Peanut Butter Fudge

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup JIF peanut butter
1- 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, stirring until melted.. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; beat until well blended.Spread in a buttered 9 x 13 x 2 - inch pan. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate. Cut into squares when firm.

Fudge

3 6 oz. bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I never use nuts)

Melt chocolate chips and condensed milk. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour in 8 inch square pan lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Cut into squares. Keep covered in an air tight container.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Real Butterscotch Pudding - TWD

This was yummy! I love butterscotch everything. Even though I am not really a pudding eater, I knew that this was going to be good.

The recipe was chosen by Donna. She does such an awesome job with her blog and has some great recipes. She also chose a very easy, delicious recipe. You can find the recipe HERE. She made her pudding into a fancy cream pie.


This recipe is certainly not low fat, by any means. It calls for whole milk, heavy cream and eggs. I also was lucky enough to find a tiny bottle of JB scotch. I had no idea that scotch is basically a whiskey?! Huh...who knew?




The pudding was quite simple to put together. After reading the P&Q I was a little concerned that it was going to be a messy affair. I used my food processor and didn't seem to have any problems.

The finished product was very good. My oldest son really liked it too. I topped ours with Dream Whip.

The next several recipe picks for Tuesdays with Dorie were just posted today. I can't wait for that Berry Surprise Cake.

Double Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Also known as: Chocolate Crinkles! When I made the Chocolate Crinkles from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook last week, they sort of resembled another recipe that I have. But, I like this recipe much better. I put Hershey Kisses in the center and the kisses that I picked up had hot chocolate in the center. They are very good. They taste like brownie bites with a kiss in the middle. YUM!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Cocoa4 eggs2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 1/3 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoon salt
60 Hershey Kisses
Powdered SugarDIRECTIONS:In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil. Add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cocoa mixture.

Cover and chill for 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1” balls with Hershey Kiss in the middle. Roll balls in powdered sugar. Coat hands with powdered sugar to avoid sticking. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Magic in the Middles

I have been making a ton of cookies lately. Mostly for a cookie exchange and giving away as gifts. When I saw these cookies on Recipe Girl I thought they looked delicious. Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?

Magic in the Middles

DOUGH:

1½ cups (6¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (1½ ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (3½ ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dipping)
½ cup (4 ounces) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (4 ounces or 1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup (2 3/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

FILLING:

¾ cup (7 1/8 ounces) smooth peanut butter
¾ cup (3 ounces) powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2) Prepare dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, beat together sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine, then stir in dry ingredients, blending well.
3) Prepare filling: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. With floured hands, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.
4) Shape cookies: Break off about 1 Tbsp. of the dough, make an indentation in the center with your finger, and press one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation. Bring the dough up and over the filling, pressing it closed; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
5) Dip the top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass and use it to flatten each cookie to about ½-inch-thick.
6) Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, until they're set. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack.

Yield: About 26 cookies

Cooking Tips
*These cookies freeze well. They would travel well too.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup - CEiMB

Mary Ann chose the recipe this week. You have to check out her photos. They are amazing and make the only good one I got of my soup look completely pathetic. She is very talented and I love looking at her blog. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 78 in Ellie's cookbook.

I can't say that I have ever ate a butternut squash. The soup smelled amazingly good while it was cooking. I learned that I will NEVER put anything hot in a blender again to puree. The top blew off the second batch while it was blending and I had squash everywhere. I should have taken a picture of how it ended up in the speaker holes of my kitchen radio/CD player. The Hubster was not impressed. I even tried holding the top on the blender after the first fiasco and that did not help. Again.Squash.Everywhere!

I thought that the soup was good. A tad sweet. I should have only added half of the honey. I don't think that I will be making it again though. The Hubster was very displeased with it and has not been impressed with my Ellie dishes lately. Obviously, he is a HUGE carnivore and needs his meat.

Buttery Jam Cookies - TWD

This cookie recipe was chosen by Heather from Randomosity and the Girl. You can find the recipe HERE or on page 80 in Dorie's cookbook.

I thought that this was a good recipe. I used Smuckers Strawberry Jam. The strawberry and ginger spice combination was really good. The cookies had a nice flavor and were soft. From their appearance I thought that they were going to be crumbly, but that was not the case. These cookies are not the prettiest things though. I wish that I would have flattened them out a bit before baking. They literally stayed in the exact same shape that I dropped them on the cookie sheet before baking.

My husband and kids really enjoyed them as well. I would make these again and experiment with other jam flavors. Thanks for the great pick Heather! Check out what the other TWD'rs had to say.

Chocolate Crackles

Well...I don't think that Martha would be impressed! That is for sure. I decided to participate in a mini bake-along involving this recipe. The recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. It appears that the cookies made by others (Nichi, Judy & Susan) turned out somewhat taller and the powdered sugar did not disappear. Mine were flat, flat, flat. And the powdered sugar just vanished when they were baking.

Chocolate Crackles

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used a milk chocolate Hershey candy bar)
1 ¼ c. all purpose flour
½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ c. butter, room temperature
1 ½ c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 c. whole milk (I used 2% milk)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over the top of a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide each piece into sixteen 1” balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners sugar to coat. Space 2” apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake until surfaces crack, about 14 minutes rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks.

Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

I have no idea why my cookies turned out like this. Maybe I added too much baking powder. I will admit that I didn't measure that part out very good. I don't think that substituting milk chocolate for bittersweet would have affected it that much either (I really don't like bittersweet chocolate). The cookies taste great though. They are crispy and chewy at the same time. Just not very pretty.

I am probably not going to be making this recipe again. The dough was hard to shape into balls and ended up completely melting in my hands. I also have no idea why Martha suggests to divide the dough into quarters to then shape 16 cookies out of each quarter. I didn't get anywhere near 16 cookies out of each of these quarters either. Maybe 10?? I have a much better recipe for chocolate crackles, or something similar, and will post that recipe later this week.

Thanks Megan for sharing the recipe and letting me participate!

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

I found this recipe and knew I had to try it! I love cinnamon rolls and these little cookies looked so cute. I found the recipe at The Recipe Girl. The cookies are G 'double O' D...GOOD. Very addicting and especially tasty while warm. I was surprised that the recipe used powdered sugar instead of regular sugar. The cookies are a cross between kind of chewy and cakelike. The cinnamon taste is incredible and the frosting is to die for! I really like these cookies and will be making them again. The recipe also suggested not putting the frosting on the cookie but instead serving it in a bowl to dunk the cookies in. That might be a neat idea too!

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

VANILLA COOKIE DOUGH

½ cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups (6¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

MIDDLE:

1 large egg white
1 Tbs water
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon

ICING:

½ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs heavy whipping cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon

1. Prepare dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Add the flour, stirring to make a cohesive dough. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

2. Roll the dough: Transfer chilled dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment or waxed paper. Roll it into a 9x12-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and water until foamy. Brush onto rolled out dough. In another small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it evenly over the dough. Starting with a long edge, carefully roll the dough into a log, sealing the edge (if dough sticks to parchment, gently use a metal spatula to guide it off of the paper). Wrap in plastic wrap or parchment, and freeze until firm.

3. Bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two cookie sheets. Remove the dough from the freezer and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, gently cut it into ½-inch slices. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

4. Ice the cookies: Sift or strain the powdered sugar into a medium-sized bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk the cream into the sugar to make a smooth icing. Drizzle or spread icing onto cookies (or serve alongside in a bowl for dipping).

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Did You Know?

BANANAS! Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
CHEESE! Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold! Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.


For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.


Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.


Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza... Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Eggs. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.


Expanding Frosting..When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread...To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away...Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for- get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.


Broken Glass? Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
No More Mosquitoes... Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.



Flexible vacuum? To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling... Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.


Measuring Cups...Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelopes... If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.


Conditioner...Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies! To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!


Get Rid of Ants...Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!