cream cheese

The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford Pie

August 29, 2014

You guys, Labor Day is just a few days away. I can’t even…

How is the unofficial end of summer here already? It’s like a slap to the face I tell you! I just don’t want to believe that the days are getting shorter (you know what I mean), it’s already getting cooler in the mornings, and before I know it I’ll be muttering swears under my breathe as I shovel snow off the walkway in front of our house. Or my favorite, mop up melted snow water that sneaks away from the mat at the front door in hopes that the bamboo floors don’t get water damage there. Seriously, thanks previous owner- it was super smart to put a sensitive wood right at the door in a climate where is snows for like 8 months of the year. dumb. And that’s just the beginning of the crap they didn’t or did do.

Since September is just about here I am making this ‘The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford Pie’ because it’s Price’s favorite pie and his birthday is coming. So let’s pretend this is an early birthday pie. Or is it a late birthday dessert since I never made him the German Chocolate Cake brownies that I owe him for his 2013 birthday. I am the worst.

Speaking of being the worst, I can barely remember to do my time sheet every week before the system closes on Saturday at midnight. And yes we get reminder emails that I just delete because I’m dumb. That means I have to do it manually in excel on Monday mornings, which is bad because it creates more work for a coworkers as he then needs to enter it in the system in some sort of back way sort of way. And when I said Monday mornings I really meant Wednesday morning, which is exactly what happened this week since I was traveling on Tuesday… ugh. how am I not fired yet? So I bought him a breakfast burrito and left a note at his desk asking him not to hate me. Hello, tangent…

Anyway, this pie is great. I had never heard of it before Price asked for it years ago. I did manage to make it for him in a somewhat of a timely manner then. ha! So you should do yourself a favor and make this asap since it’s the bee’s knees.

It’s super quick to make since it uses the good stuff like Cool Whip and instant pudding mix, however it takes several hours to set up. Sooooo plan accordingly. And be sure to tell people that you are not make it for right just now. My mom is visiting and was kinda disappointed to learn that she would have to wait for it. So she just stole some of the cream cheese & Cool Whip layer and went back to watching TV and reading. #multitasking

The first piece kinda has to be scarified since it just doesn’t come out of the pan that nicely so that is the one you get to set aside for a midnight snack. Or you can eat it for breakfast, like what Price did. Now that is not the worst.

The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford Pie

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
2 (8 ounce) containers frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 (5.1 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
1/8 cup grated semisweet chocolate

Process

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, butter, and chopped nuts. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
The the bowl of a stand mixer/large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add 1 container of whipped topping and mix until combined. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Attempt to not kill Pricer for screwing it up!!
In a large bowl, combine the pudding mixes and milk well until thick. Spread evenly over the cream cheese filling.
Spread the remaining container of whipped topping over the pudding layer. Sprinkle grated chocolate over the top.
Refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours before serving.

Sourced from All Recipes

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!