cream cheese

PayDay Pie

July 25, 2014

Hey today is my payday!

Woohoo! Time to pay some bills! Ugh.

Well, it’s your payday as well. I created a PayDay Pie just for you.

Price really likes PayDay bars. I do not. There is no chocolate. So I insist they are a waste of a candy bar. He can eat all the PayDay bars he wants out of Autumn’s Halloween bag when she is still of the age that we get first pass at the goodies. I’ll take the Snickers Thank.You.Very.Much.

So here is a simple pie that you can whip up while trying to pack for a long weekend. Take cans out of the slow cooker – pack bathing suits & sunblock & a hat Autumn will refuse to wear – process the cookies to make the crust – did I pack socks already? – pulse the melted butter into the crumbs – ah, yes, I did pack socks -create the crust and put it into the fridge- wipe down the counters and load the dishwasher – whip together the caramel and cream cheese – pack up the dogs stuff – fill the pie.

While the caramel is super easy to make just be aware you can still burn it. Well, at least over cook it. Just be aware of how your slow cooker runs and you should be set. If your slow cooker is on the low side then cook the caramel for 8-10 hrs. Or if it runs hotter, like mine, then stick closer to the 6-8 hrs.

The cream cheese helps cut some of the sweetness from the caramel, and makes it extra dreamy & creamy. If you want add some vanilla extract. I just believe it can never hurt.

Just like it can never hurt to have a big glass of wine while sitting under a tree. I’ll totally be doing that this weekend while we visit Price’s mom in Maine. And of course trying to keep a hat on Autumn’s head since she hates them. HATES.

But you won’t hate this pie. Nope, not one bit.

PayDay Pie

Makes a 9″ pie

Ingredients

2 14.5 ounce cans of condensed milk
8 oz Nutterbutter cookies ( 1/2 a package)
4 Tablespoons of butter
8 oz cream cheese
salted peanuts

Process

Place 2 cans of condensed milk into a slow cooker. Fill the slow-cooker with water to completely cover the cans and have plenty of water above the cans. Turn on high, cover, and cook for 6-8 hours.
Remove the cans from the water and let cool until you can handle the cans.
While the cans are cooling, place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor. Process the cookies until they are crumbs. Add the melted butter and quickly pulse until the butter is evenly incorporated.
Pour the cookie crumbs into the bottom of a pie plate. Gently press into the bottom and up the sides to form the crust. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Open the cans and pour the caramel into a bowl, add the cream cheese. Beat until completely blended.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Sprinkle the peanuts on top of the filling. Chill for at least 2 hours to set up.

Process for creating the pie filling was adapted from Beantown Baker

No-Bake Snickers Pie

July 11, 2014

No-Bake Snickers Pie – A rich creamy peanut butter pie with Snickers candy bar dessert and caramel topping. Perfect for warm Summer nights!

We’re going camping tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Yeah, we might be a bit crazy to tackle that with a dog and a 7 month old but we are up for the challenge. Plus we are approaching it cautiously by only going 1 night and going to Pillsbury State Park, a campsite that we have already been to so we know exactly what to expect there.

One of the things that I am really looking forward to is being able to walk all around the camp grounds with Autumn and get to show her the lake, streams, and a waterfall too. We did a hike there last year when I was 6 months pregnant so it will be fun to do it now with Autumn. Hoping to be much faster this time!

While we’re roughing it this weekend, you should be cutting yourself a slice of this pie. You can easily whip it up while not turning your oven on in this summer heat! Isn’t that just the best thing ever? Pie and you don’t even need to get your kitchen hot!!

Plus, it’s LOADED up with pieces of Snickers. SNICKERS!!!

When I was at summer sleep away camp we could buy treats in the afternoon at the general store. ~~Occasionally~~ Every day I would get a Snickers bar to take out to the four square court. As I waited in line I’d eat my melting Snickers and right before it was my turn I’d shove that wrapper into my shorts pocket before I ~~dominated~~ played the game.

Since then I’ve loved Snickers. I can’t keep them in the house because they call to me from the refrigerator. Which is exactly why after Price and I each enjoyed a slice of this pie I emailed our dog walker telling her that there was a pie in our freezer for her to take. I had to hit send on that email quickly before I thought twice and considered eating it all myself. I hope her family enjoys it just as much as we did. And I hope you do too!

No Bake Snickers Pie

Make 1 9″ Pie Ingredients

For the crust

8 ounces chocolate cookies (I used a ‘dutch chocolate cookie‘)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted plus a little extra for greasing the pie plate

For the filling

8 ounces light cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 Cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 Cup caramel sauce

For the ganache topping

6 ounces milk chocolate, broken into small pieces (a mixture of milk and semi-sweet is fine as well)
1/4- 1/3 cup heavy cream
12 Fun Size Snickers bars, chopped up
Caramel Sauce

Process

Butter the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Set aside.
In a food processor, finely process the cookies until you produce a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingers, press this mixture into the pie plate and up the sides. Place in the fridge to harden.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream until it forms firm peaks. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.
Using mixing bowl you had perviously whipped the cream in, beat the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla extract until it becomes smooth and creamy.
Scoop out dollops of the peanut butter mixture onto the bowl with the whipped cream. Gently fold together until there are no more streaks, but be careful not to over mix deflating the filling.
Remove the pie plate from the fridge and pour a thin, even layer of the caramel over the crust. Scoop the filling onto the caramel and evenly smooth out the top. Return to the freezer .
In the bowl of a double boiler, add the broken pieces of chocolate and heat over low heat until almost melted through. Add 1/4 Cup of the cream and continue to heat until the mixture to fuly melted and smooth. (If the chocolate ‘breaks’ then add a bit more cream until it is smooth again.)
Remove the pie from the freezer and pour the ganache over the top. Smooth the surface with an offset spatula. Spinkle the chopped up pieces of Snickers bars on top, then gently press into the warm ganache. Drizzle the caramel sauce on top and return to the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Prior to serving, place the pie into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to make cutting and serving easier.

Insprired from Not Quiet Nigella

Swirly Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

April 22, 2014

My family is a walking, talking/immobile, babbling petri dish. We are a bunch of sicks. I have a stuffy, runny nose, Autumn has a juicy cough, and Price, poor Price, has the worst of it with a mix of everything from a sore throat to cough to a possible case of pink eye.

Oh and the dog won’t stop throwing up. But not because he is sick, because he is dumb and eats Autumn’s socks that he steals off her feet or steals out of the laundry bag. In fact, on Saturday morning he threw up a sock of hers, but before I could clean it up he ATE IT AGAIN. So infurating. And then he threw it up yesterday (Monday!) afternoon. Thankfully, I got it before he did again.

Ya, still reading? Good…

Besides all the germy stuff going on, my mom came up from Florida for a long weekend visit. She was last up in January so to her Autumn was huge and ready for college. They cuddled up and snuggled up while Price and I got to go out on a date on Saturday night. A SOLO DATE! We’ve been doing really well going out with the 3 of us but having this chance to go out alone was so good. SOOOO GOOD. 10x.

We went out for dinner for hibachi in our old stomping grounds in Brookline. After an amazing stuff-yourself-silly-dinner we strolled around a bit getting a scoop of ice cream to share and then doing some shopping at Brookline Booksmith. By then my buzz from my 1 lychee martini had worn off and we headed home (Price drove anyway, chill…). On our way home we stopped by the Yawkey Train Station project Price had worked on at his old job. Always fun to see completed work getting used by the public. And then we were home snuggling Autumn before bed.

Hey mom, sorry in advanced for your upcoming cold…

Anywho… Swirly Cheesecake Bars.

Cheesecake. Chocolate. A yummy crumbly pecan crust.

I fell in love with this crust. I think I need to use it with everything. I guess I just love pecans. And butter. It’s thick and crumbly and such a good base to these creamy cheesecake bars.

You can prepare the baking pan by greasing it but I’d also suggest placing two long pieces of overhanging parchment paper in the pan. This makes it really easy to remove the whole thing later to cut out the squares vs cutting them and then trying to remove them from the pan.

These bars are so good. Not super sweet which is really nice. It uses bittersweet chocolate so they still are a bit tart from the cream cheese and the chocolate, which I tend to like with some cheeescakes. If you don’t like it being too tart then just swap out the bittersweet chocolate for some semisweet chocolate and you’ll love these bars.

The top swirl is just for decoration. So be sure to swirl it up really pretty. Please don’t judge my lack of swirl skills. I need to work on them. Hey, maybe add some food coloring to jazz it up. And then send me a pretty picture. K, thanks.

Swirly Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Makes 16 bars

Ingredients

2 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar or chocolate chips
1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
24 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Process

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Or place overhanging pieces of parchment in the pan.
Combine the flour, pecans, butter, and brown sugar to make the crust. Press the mixture onto the pan. Bake 15 to 16 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool while preparing batter.
Break the chocolate into small pieces (or use chocolate chips). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Remove 1 cup batter and set aside.
Add the melted chocolate to the batter in the large mixing bowl and combine. Spoon the chocolate batter over the cooled crust. Dallop the reserved plain batter over the chocolate batter. Using the blade of a butter knife, swirl the plain batter to create a marbled effect.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cover and transfer the pan to the refrigerator to chill in the refrigerator approximately 3 hours. Dip a knife in warm water to warm up, waire off and then cut out the 16 squares. Whenever the knife gets dirty clean it off by dipping it into warm water again. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Sourced from Ghirardelli

Supreme Pizza Pot Pie

April 18, 2014

This is like deep dish pizza.

But cheesier. But meatier. But veggier. It’s a crazy kind of pizza. Get crazy with me!

Before we get into the pizza pot pie can we talk about the Scandal Season Finale for a quick second?

I mean, I can’t even. This whole show has had me on the edge of my seat since the very start. And this season oh.my. But this episode!! Poor Jerry. Poor Finn. And Olivia and Jake! The election! HARRISON!! UGH!!!!

Okay, back to the pizza because I can’t keep thinking about Scandal. Although I really will.

This Supreme Pizza Pot Pie made my day. (Well, until I gave Autumn some tomato and she went nutso for it. First real food (besides a 1/2+6 dime sized piece of banana I mashed onto a teether for her to try)!!!!!!! I was so excited she loved the tomato pieces I gave her. And was less excited about the dogs frantic high-pitched whine begging for the tomato I left on her high chair while I gave her a bath in the sink.)

I swear this will make your day too. It’s so quick to assemble and it is gloriously delicious. Change up your typical Friday night pizza take out by grabbing the ingredients for this and you’ll impress your family. Yep.

This is sooo cheesy. It’s kinda like a deep dish pizza but instead of a chunky sauce it has a crazy cheesy sauce that is studded with warm juicy tomatoes. But, brace yourself (!), it’s really rich so just 1 slice will do. But if you manage to enjoy 2 slice I won’t judge. I’ll cheer you on!

So supreme pizzas have olives on them. But, here’s the thing, I hate them and don’t use them in cooking, unless I kinda have to and can actually pick them out. So this doesn’t have olives in there, but feel free to use olives if you like them.

Next time I am going to do an all veggie version with some garlicy spinach and lots of mushrooms. And then I’ll make a Hawaiian version. OMG this is trouble.

Supreme Pizza Pot Pie

Makes 1 9″ pie, 8 servings

Ingredients

1 box of 9″ pie crusts
2 cups shredded mozzarella
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder*
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano*
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley*
1/4 teaspoon dried basil*
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 green pepper
1 yellow onion
1 pound Sweet Italian Sausage, removed from casing
2 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes
4 ounce can of slice mushrooms
2.25 ounce can of sliced black olives
pepperoni, approximately 15 slices

*If you prefer, use 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning instead of these individual ingredients

Process

Preheat the oven to 350.
Place 1 of the pie crusts into the bottle of the 9″ spring-form pan. Do not stretch it up the sides but gently press it on the side to keep it in place.
Dice the pepper and onion, and halve the tomatoes. Set aside.
Combine the cream cheese, mozzarella, 1 egg, and the spices into a bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together to combine.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. Once the sausage is browned add in the pepper and onion.
Add the tomatoes and mushrooms to the cheese mixture. Then add the sausage mixture and fold into the cheese mixture until completely combined
Pour the filling into the bottom crust of the pizza. Place the other crust on top of the filling. Fold over the extra crust and crimp the edges.
Beat 1 egg and brush over the top crust. Place the pepperoni on top of the crust and top off with more egg wash on top of the pepperoni.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before removing the sides of the spring-form pan and slicing.

Inspired by Oh Bite It!

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

January 24, 2014

This No Bake Peanut Butter Pie has a chocolate cookie crust with a lusciously creamy peanut butter filling on a chocolate crust. It’s irresistible.

It is just too cold lately. I’m calling it quits and I am just going to stay in my PJ’s eating this awesome No Bake Peanut Butter Pie. Pass me a spoon. And an extra pair of cozy socks.

…

Maple Walnut Whoopie Pies

September 21, 2013

You should totally make these for your dog walker when you leave your dog with her and her adorable family for 4 1/2 days and the idea is totally crushing you. Sure, you really need the vacation before you are cut off from flying and before a cute wiggly baby comes crashing into your heart. But the fact that he has NEVER been without either of you for even a day is freaking you out… A LOT.

So that is what I did. I made these the morning of our flight so that our super amazing dog walker and her family would have something to enjoy while our pup ‘terrorized’ her life. Hello, middle of the night pee walks!!! In fact I got up so early (crazy lady) that the dog didn’t even want to get up when I checked on him. So I got to make these in peace while he slept another hour. Again, I’m nuts!

Oh, you aren’t pregnant and crazy about leaving your dog? Then just make these for this weekend’s NASCAR race in New Hampshire since you can’t not have maple goodies while in New England. So you’re not a NASCAR fan and don’t follow along with my Sprint Cup Snacks? Then make these just because you deserve them.

You totally do.

These are light, spongy maple cookies that are studded with walnuts that sandwich a fluffy cream cheese frosting. Once you take a bite you will be transported right to the middle of the woods in New England with maple taps all around you. Kinda like a Klondike Bar experience. Kinda.

Maple Walnut Whoopie Pies

Makes 13-15 small whoopie pies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
2 large eggs
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese
4 cups sifted glazing sugar OR confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper.
For the cookies: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and maple flavoring.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Scrap the bowl down between the addition of each egg.
Add in the dry ingredients until the mixture is evenly moistened.
Scrape the bowl again, then mix in the walnuts.
Scoop by the tablespoonful to make 26-30 (even # amount!) cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ of space between each cookie.
Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched, and the edges are a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack before filling.
For the filling: Place the cream cheese and half of the confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat at slow speed until the mixture is smooth.
Add the remaining sugar and the flavoring, and mix until the filling is a spreadable consistency.
Place a tablespoon of filling on the flat face a cookie then top off with another cookie, flat face towards the filling.

Slightly adapted from King Arthur

Pumpkin Roll- SRC

August 26, 2013

It’s that time again… Secret Recipe Club time!!

I’ve really loved being part of Secret Recipe Club. It has been such a great past 2 years (well almost). It has put me in touch with so many great bloggers and given me the chance to try new recipes. I try to pick a new to me recipe or a new to me technique so I’m learning something new in the process.

In this month’s case, I had Colie’s Kitchen. yay! Another Nicole!!!!! She juggles a busy schedule, exactly like me, but still manages to make so many good sounding recipes. It’s also fun to search through the recipe index and get so insprired. And Colie has been posting and posting for ages!!! So many options to pick from, well for Price to pick from since I always give him first pass at picking out recipes.

Colie had a pumpkin roll recipe that must have jumped out to price since pretty much as soon as I had giving him the recipe index link he hands back the computer so I can make that. He also picked another pumpkin recipe so he must be ready for some fall time recipes. It worked out for me since I’d never made a ‘roll’ recipe before so I’d be learning a new technique.

Some things I learned while making this pumpkin roll…

you need A LOT of powdered sugar on the towel to prevent it from sticking to the towel. I did put a lot on since that tip was provided as well, but it really is a lot. You basically can’t put too much on. Well, you could but basically you need more than you think of putting on the towel
Do not to too much frosting on! I was thinking that this recipe didn’t had a lot of frosting and there is a reason! It would really mess things up if you put too much on as it would overflow out of it and/or cause the roll to split in the process of rolling as it would be too full.

I’m so glad that I had Colie’s blog this month! I got to try a great new recipe and learn how to make a roll in the process. So much fun!

Give the Pumpkin Roll recipe a try and I swear you’ll be a fan of this sweet fall treat!

Pumpkin Roll

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients

For the Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on a towel)

For the Filling

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Process

For the Cake:

Preheat your oven to 375° F.
Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Then line with wax paper, and grease and flour that.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in small bowl.
Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Add in the pumpkin.
Gently stir in the flour mixture.
Evenly spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.)
Immediately loosen and turn cake onto a thin, cotton kitchen towel that has been generously been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off the wax paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with the edge that is 10″ wide. Cool on wire rack.

For the Filling

Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until smooth.

To Assemble

Carefully unroll the cake. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over cake.
Reroll the cake and then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Sourced from Colie’s Kitchen

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Banana Bundt Cake- SRC

April 29, 2013

Another Monday. Another exhaustive start to the week.

Pricer and I kicked some garden butt this weekend. He worked in back attacking weeds and digging out the million rocks and chunks of broken concrete in the ground there. (Major thanks to the contractors, who instead of having the chunks of the driveway they dug into hauled away, just threw all of it into the garden. THANKS d-bags.) I worked in front digging up part of the lawn to plant some flowers and some seeds for 5 varieties of flowers, including moon flowers and canterbury bells. Plus some container work transplanting some little trees into bigger pots and prepping for some summer veggies and herbs.

Man, I wish I had a slice of this bad boy for breakfast today. It would totally jump start my week!

Moist banana cake topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting. It would totally work for dessert or breakfast. Right?!?!

I just made this cake last week but I’ve already planned on making it again soon. I bought more bananas for them to chill out and get nice and soft so they can be whipped up into this stunning cake.

Banana Bundt Cake_05

This month’s Secret Recipe Club recipe is from K&K Test Kitchen. Mother and daughter duo, Kim and Kelesy, started the blog in 2010 as a creative outlet to be able to document and share cooking adventures with family and friends. Since they they have made some fantastic recipes that had me really interested when i was browsing their blog.

It’s funny tho. As I scrolled through the recipe index I saw their Banana Bundt Cake and immediatly knew that tthe recipe that I would make. Still I browsed aorund and saw some great recipes that I wrote down just to give a try one day. Like this Sun-dried Tomato, Corn, and Bacon Pasta sounds awesome. And I think I’ll have to make this Strawberry Peach Sangria one day for Thirsty Thursday.

Stop by K&K Test Kitchen to check out this Banana Bundt Cake recipe along with many other scrumptious recipes!

Banana Bundt Cake

Makes 8-12 servings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 package vanilla instant pudding
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup greek yogurt

Process

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a large Bundt Pan by generously buttering and then lightly dusting the sides with flour.
Whisk the flours, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt together.
Beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients, all the greek yogurt, and then the rest of the flour mixture.
Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to de-bubble the batter and smooth the top.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes, if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent.
Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding on the rack to cool to room temp.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Process

Beat cream cheese and the powdered sugar until smooth.
Add the milk and vanilla extract, beat again until it is thoroughly mixed and spreadable. Add more cream if you want a thinner icing.
Spread onto the cooled cake.

Adapted from: K & K Test Kitchen

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Mango Mini Cheesecakes

March 11, 2013

Mango Chobani + Mini Cheesecakes + Girl Scout Cookies = Mango Bombs!

So this year the Girl Scouts came out with a new cookie called Mango Cremes with nutrifusion. I ordered a box to try them out. The first thing I thought of when I opened them up was that they smelled like suntan lotion. No, I’m not saying a chemical smell! I’m saying the fruity, tropical smell that I can’t get enough of. Pure spring and summer.

Besides just eating Girl Scout Cookies I love to use them in different recipes. Most recently I made a Samoa Cookie Cocktail that I garnished with a Samoa Cookie. So I got to thinking about how I could use these cookies and I decided on using the cookies as the bottom of mini cheesecakes, just like my Mini Creamsicle Cheesecakes with Creamsicle Oreo Cookie Crusts.

I basically used the same filling recipe for my Mini Cheesecakes with an Oreo Crust, with just substituting regular yogurt for the Mango Low-Fat Chobani Greek Yogurt. This made the mango flavor shine throughout the entire cheesecake. I used the Mango Creme Cookies on the bottom of the cheesecakes, but if you don’t have them then use Golden Oreos.

I decided to invert the cheesecakes and put them in a new wrapper so that everyone could see the cute cookie bottom. You can leave them right side up and sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. Or you can take out of the wrapper and serve with a fruity sauce on top.

The thing I love most about these little cheesecakes is how easy they are to make and how yummy they are! Give them a try!!

Mango Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 packages (12 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup mango Greek yogurt, such as Chobani’s low fat Mango yogurt
12 Mango Creme Girl Scout Cookies or Golden Oreos

Process

Preheat the oven to 325.
Line a 12-muffin pan with aluminum liners and place a whole cookie of the bottom of each of the cupcake liner.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, salt, and vanilla; beat well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. Stir in the mango yogurt.
Evenly divide the filling into the baked Oreo crusts, about a 1/4 cup of filling. The filling should should come almost to the top of the liner. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops of cheesecakes are puffed and only slightly jiggly in the very center. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least a couple hours, preferably overnight, until serving.

Monday Munchies: Katz’s Bagel Bakery- Chelsea, MA

October 15, 2012

As part of my Monday Munchies series, I will feature a different eatery for a review on the first and third Monday of every month. Hope you enjoy!

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While Price and I were in the process of our house this spring, we saw a special on Chronicle about Chelsea, which added to our excitement about the city that we would be moving into. It gave us a lot of information about the history of the tiny city just outside of Boston as well as some great places to go to in Chelsea to see or eat. One place in particular was Katz’s Bagel Bakery. Who doesn’t love a great bagel? (Carbophobes- just stop reading…)

Katz’s Bagel Bakery (pronouced Kate’s) has been open in the same location since 1938 and has been run by 3 generations of Katz men; Harry to Richard and now Jimmy and Jeremy. They make bagels the authentic way by boiling them, letting them dry in a dryer, and then baking them. This process is applied to all of their varieties of bagels. The time, care. and quality ingredients they put into their bagels, and other bakery products, really shows.

So whenever we are in town we go to Katz’s bagels for breakfast on the weekends. I love bagels but I love really good bagels. Bagels from Katz a crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. When split open you see a perfectly worked dough that has lovely air pockets giving it an all around great texture.

Katz’s is home to Pizza Bagels. Harry Katz came up with the idea in the 70’s to close a bagel and flatten that out a bit and use at as the dough. This makes their ‘pizza dough’ thick, chewy and the perfect base for a cheesy individual pizza. I did the biggest blogger faux pas and didn’t take a picture of my bagel pizza. I heated it up and it was so amazing looking I just dived in. once I was staring a an empty plate… oh crap! picture!! So here’s the deal, trust me when I say their pizza bagels are awesome and just go to get one.

No matter if you go for bagels, pizza bagels, bagel wrapped hot dogs, muffins, or eclairs (Friday & Saturday) you will have a great product, for a great deal. In this particular visit, I walked out of there with a bagel, cream cheese, pizza bagel, and a very large bag of bagel chips for just $8.

Check out Katz’s on a Chronicle segment.

Katz’s Bagels

139 Park Street

Chelsea, MA 02150

617.884.9738

Closed Mondays

Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles- SRC

August 27, 2012

When I got my assignment for my Secret Recipe Club post this month I did a little dance and clap!! I got from Laura from A Heathly Jalapeno. We are both from Connecticut, root for NY based football teams (me- Giants, Laura- Jets), and have great guys in our life. She recently got engaged & had her bridal shower so I wish her luck on her wedding and lots of happiness in her marriage. Laura blogs about healthy living and healthy recipes. She does like to indulge as well so I did find some great sweets recipes to make. I have been on a crazy baking/sweets kick lately so while I loved some savory dishes (Asparagus and Bacon Eggs Benedict– duh!!) I decided to make the Oreo Truffles that Laura posted.

I have been on an Oreo kick lately. I have 3 varieties at home right now. (Thankfully, I have been good about using them in recipes and not eating them otherwise) Since Oreo is celebrating their 100 year birthday they created a birthday cake Oreo. I die. So decided to make these truffles with the Birthday Cake Oreos. They sell in smaller packages (of course) so I had to use 1 1/2 packages to get to the correct amount of Oreos needed (15.5 oz). The rest of this was super easy and a lot of fun, which insprired the S’mores Truffles I made recently as well.

I don’t think my coworkers would have known they were Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles had I not told them since that flavor was pretty subtle once it was combined with the cream cheese and covered in choclate. I am thinking about making these again with the Strawberry Milkshake Oreos.

*The birthday cake oreos are a limited edition. Get them ASAP!*

Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles

Makes 48 truffles

Ingredients

1 1/2 packages (15.5 oz) of Birthday Cake Oreos
8oz of cream cheese
3 cups white chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips
sprinkles

Process

Crush the Oreo Cookies in a food processor.
Combine the cream cheese and crushed Oreos together.
Divide the dough into 4 sections. And then roll a total of 48 1″ balls. Place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
While the balls are freezing, melt the chocolate.
Drop each ball into the chocolate and completely coat. Remove excess chocolate as you remove the truffle. Place on wax paper and immediately put a pinch of sprinkles on top. Put back into freezer to firm up the chocolate.
Store in the refrigerator up to a week.

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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

July: Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs

June: Cheesy Garlic Knots

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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S’mores Truffles

August 21, 2012

Day 2 of our most amazing, super special s’mores week! I’m so excited to share this truffle recipe, as well as the other 3 that I have planned for the rest of the week. Just you wait!

When I was thinking about what recipes to make this week I also had to think about how I would make them. In this case once I thought of making a S’mores Truffle I began to think about how to do that. I looked at other truffle recipes, specifically Oreo truffles, to create a recipe for these truffles.

I shared these with the guys on my job site and with the contractors working on residing he house next to ours. These were enjoyed very quickly. They did not linger around on the job sites. I highly suggest these for guys with huge appetites or for anyone at all!

Please be sure to head over to Amanda’s blog and check her Microwave S’more Turtles! A quick, easy recipe that had me looking around for more s’mores supplies to try myself!

S’mores Truffles

makes 4 dozen truffles

Ingredients

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs
12 oz of fluff marshmallow spread
2 cups of milk chocolate chips
2 to 4 oz cup cream
cooking spray

Process

Spray your bowl and mixer with cooking spray. Add the cream cheese, graham cracker crumbs, and marshmallow spread to the bowl. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. The mixture should be held together pretty, but don’t worry if it is a bit crumbly.
Spray your hands with cooking spray. Pinch pieces of the mixture off and roll in your hands to form 1″ balls. Place on wax paper lined cooking sheets. Put in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
When you are ready to coat the graham truffle balls, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave. Slowly add the cream to the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and the consistency is loose enough to be able to drop a ball in and shake the chocolate off . If you chocolate breaks in the process, then continue to add cream until the chocolate becomes smooth again.
Drop the balls in the chocolate to completely coat. Using 2 forks or a Candy Dipping Tool remove the truffle and tap and shake off extra chocolate. Place on a waxed lined baking sheet. Chill until ready to enjoy!
Find some fun dip-able things like cookies, pretzels, or fruit to use up the any remaining of the chocolate.

S’mores Week

Day 1

S’mores Chex Mix and S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches