Cheese Crescent Triangles

These were a last minute addition to our Christmas Day Munchies- I saw Feta Cheese in Jason and Monica's fridge, and knew I had seen a recipe I wanted to try that called for Feta. I decided I would improvise and use what we had at the house to make these little bites, and they turned out really well. Even the kids loved them! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Cheese Crescent Triangles adapted from Pillsbury.com

1 package Crescent Rolls
4 oz Feta Cheese
1 Tablespoon italian seasoning blend
2 green onions, chopped
1 egg,well beaten
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine Feta cheese, seasoning, onions and 3 tbsp of egg. Toss with fork until well combined.

Unroll crescents, and separate into 4 rectangles. Press seams to seal, and press each rectangle into a 7 1/2 in x 5 inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into 6 squares. Place a tablespoon of cheese mixture on each square, and fold over into a triangle. Press edges to seal. Brush the top of each triangle with beaten egg, and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Bake 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!!

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!

Christmas Cookies: Angeletti

I love baking Christmas Cookies, and this year is no exception. I have been trying some new recipes this year, and am excited to share them with you! This recipe is a new one, at least new to me- and I love it. I've made 4 batches in the last 2 weeks. This recipe came to me in an email from Real Simple highlighting 50 recipes for Christmas Cookies. I flipped through, and decided that these sounded simple as well as yummy. I was definitely right on both counts! This is a kid friendly recipe- no mixer required. My little guy enjoyed helping me make these, from the stirring all the way to adding the sprinkles as a finishing touch!

Angeletti  adapted from RealSimple.com

Makes 36 cookies

Cookies:
1 stick unsalted butter,melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a medium sized bowl and whisk until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. Flour your hands, roll even tablespoons of dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes or until cookies are puffy and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool completely before adding glaze.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream in a small bowl. If you're watching your waist (it's Christmas...so splurge!) you can replace the cream with water or milk. Stir until combined, then dip the top of each cookie in glaze to coat. Apply festive sprinkes and enjoy!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!