Eggnog Cheesecake

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a great holiday filled with good food and great people. I was scheduled to work Christmas night, so I volunteered to make dessert so I could make it ahead of time and leave it with my family if I did indeed have to go into work. As it turns out, I got super lucky and got cancelled last night so I was able to enjoy the holiday dinner with my Mom, my brother and his (as of yesterday) Fiancée, her two boys, her mom, and my little Cooker Boy. We had a great day- no stress, good food, and lots of fun!

This was my first attempt at a true cheesecake, and I am super pleased with how it turned out. I changed the crust from graham cracker crumbs to gingersnap crumbs, as I received a tin of gingersnap cookies as a gift and thought they would compliment the eggnog flavor well. I also doubled the crust recipe, as I wanted to continue the crust up the sides of the cheesecake a bit. 

Eggnog Cheesecake adapted from Taste of Home

makes 1 9-inch cheesecake, about 12 servings

Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

4 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 eggs

3/4 cup eggnog

1/2 teaspoon rum or vanilla extract

dash ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan, and wrap two pieces of heavy duty foil around bottom and up sides of pan. Combine crushed cookies, sugar and melted butter in a small bowl and toss until combined. Press crumbs into bottom and up sides of springform pan. Place pan on baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool on wire rack.

Combine cream cheese, sugar and flour in large bowl and beat until smooth.  Add eggs, and beat on low speed until just combined. Slowly stir in eggnog, extract and nutmeg. Pour filling into crust and tap on counter lightly to get rid of any air bubbles in the filling.

Place springform pan inside a larger baking dish, and add 1 inch of hot water to bottom of baking dish to create a water bath.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until the center is just set and the top of the cheesecake appears dull.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently run knife around the edges of cheesecake to loosen from pan.Cool 1 hour longer, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, remove outside ring of springform pan, and top cheesecake with freshly whipped cream and another dash of nutmeg.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Mini Halloween Cheesecakes

Have you noticed that I really like Halloween? I love all things Halloween...and I especially love creating Halloween-themed goodies to share with my family and friends. These yummy little creations, though, didn't last long enough to be shared. Yes, they're that good. Yes, I admit to being selfish! I've polished off 4 of these goodies in the last 24 hours, Ben has had one and the other three are safely hidden for my consumption later this week! Ok...my mom has talked me into bringing her one tonight when I drop some other things off at her house.

Back to the goodies! I saw these Mini Halloween Cheesecakes from Lindsey of Gingerbread Bagels as part of the Top 9 on Food Buzz a few weeks ago...they caught my attention for a few reasons. First, they're Halloween-themed- Lindsey seems to love Halloween as much as I do. Second, they're cheesecake- and I don't have a whole lot of any experience making cheesecake. Third, they're super easy..the Halloween Oreos are perfect for the crust, and that eliminates the whole crust-phobia thing I have going on.

Mini Halloween Cheesecakes from Gingerbread Bagels, adapted from Martha Stewart


Printable Recipe


I halved the recipe, which gave me 8 mini cheesecakes. Original will make 16.

22 Halloween Oreos
(2) 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 275. Line 16 muffin tins with paper liners, and place an Oreo in the bottom of each liner. Crush remaining Oreos using a food processor if you have one, or place them in a ziploc bag and crush them the old fashioned way! In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Add sugar, and continue to mix until combined. Mix in vanilla extract then add eggs and sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula, making sure everything is combined. Stir in a small amount of orange gel food coloring, adding a little at a time until the desired color is reached. Add the crushed oreos, and stir to combine.

Spoon batter into liners, filling almost to the top. Bake for 22 minutes, turning pan 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. Remove from oven, and cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

Enjoy,and let me know what you think. I can see myself making these often, Halloween or not!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownies

I had a very interesting weekend at work. It ranged from moments of sheer boredom to what could have been moments of sheer panic if such a luxury was afforded in my profession. When someone else's newborn baby's life rests in your hands, there is no time for panic. You do what you've been trained to do, breathing for a baby that isn't breathing on it's own...while barely remembering to breathe for yourself. When it's all said and done, you go home on an adrenaline high...and barely sleep that night, reliving that experience over and over again.

I've said it before..I bake to clear my head. I definitely needed a clear head after my experience in Birth Care over the weekend. I'd attempted a new brownie recipe last week that didn't turn out right. I wanted to try brownies again, but I'd also seen a recipe for Dulce de Leche Cheesecake bars that looked good. I decided to take elements of both and make up a new recipe. Brownies, a layer of Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, a layer of Dulce de Leche, and a chocolate glaze. I wasn't sure if this would turn out or not, but it did...perfectly. The brownies are exactly what I envisioned-rich, creamy and decadent. The process of deciding how to put this recipe together and then making each of the elements definitely cleared my head and left me relaxed, just as I hoped it would.

I adapted elements from a few different sources to come up with these Brownies. The Brownie itself is from David Lebovitz via Cake or Death. The Cheesecake and Chocolate glaze come from Becky Bakes. The Dulce de Leche is from The Perfect Pantry. I only take responsibility for having a sweet tooth and wanting all of these goodies in one!

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Brownies

First, the brownies.
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour

Line an 8'x8' square pan by criss-crossing two sheets of foil to leave foil hanging over the sides of the pan. Grease the foil with butter or non-stick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate, stirring constantly until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, whisking until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add sugar, vanilla, and flour, whisking until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and set aside.

Now, my favorite part, the Dulce de Leche

I use the microwave version of Dulce de Leche. It's the only method I've ever used to make it, but I've had good results and it's fast. 

(2) 14 oz cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Pour contents into a large glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap with a little bit left uncovered to vent steam. Microwave for 2 minutes on 50% power. Remove from microwave and stir with wire whisk. Repeat for another 2 minutes at 50% power, remove and stir. Continue to microwave for 10-12 1/2 minutes, now in 2 1/2 minute increments, stirring after each. The milk will start to bubble up as it heats, and will darken in color. When the color and consistency look right to you, stop microwaving. It's that easy. Set aside and let cool, covering bowl when completely cool.

Next, the cheesecake...

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
3/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup dulce de leche * recipe follows

Pour milk into a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top and let stand until it softens.

Beat cream cheese, eggs, salt and gelatin mixture together in a medium bowl using electric mixer on medium speed. Beat until smooth, then gently stir in dulce de leche.


Pour over brownie batter, and bake for approximately 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove from oven when cheesecake is lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Immediately top with one cup of dulce de leche, cover with foil, and place back in the oven for a few minutes to soften the dulce de leche and make it spreadable without destroying the cheesecake layer. Remove from oven, and spread dulce de leche to cover cheesecake. Let cool.


Finally, the glaze.

3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 stick butter
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate and corn syrup, and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour immediately over the brownies, and tilt pan to spread.

Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes to set glaze. Then, cover and refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!