Cheesecake

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Leah Short — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:43:43 +0000

This year with the work birthdays, I created a new way for coworkers to get a birthday treat. Instead of me guessing what they would like, I created “The List.” It’s a list of about 20 or so desserts, with descriptions, they can choose from. No one sees The List until their birthday comes up. You’re not allowed to share what’s on the list, but the birthday person can choose whether or not to share what they picked. Once a dessert is chosen, it’s off the list, no repeats. It makes it fun and special when it’s birthday time! My boss chose these Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars and I was so glad he did. My mom made these a few times and raved over them, so I couldn’t wait to try them myself.

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Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 15:37:01 +0000

Don’t you love it when two desserts come together and you get the best of both worlds without choosing? Yes, me too! Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars do just that. It’s a chocolate chip cookie. It’s cheesecake. It’s cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of chocolate chip cookies! The recipe couldn’t be easier. I made these bars for a coworker’s birthday recently. I needed something delicious, but quick and easy. Sometimes it gets hard baking during the week and I had a bajillion other things to do as well. But instead of being stressed, I made it easy on myself! I created these bars in no time thanks to refrigerated cookie dough. Quickly whip up the cream cheese layer and that’s it!

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Butter Crunch Lemon Bars

Leah Short — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:12:28 +0000

I’m giggling as I type this post because I just finished reading an article where The Pioneer Woman talks about how to take good food photos. Yeah, about that. I promise I’m going to give you a decent food photo someday, but that day isn’t today. I made these Butter Crunch Lemon Bars for a coworker’s birthday last week. So you know what that means, no time for good shots in the daylight. Perhaps I should make a rule at work that all birthdays are celebrated on Mondays so I can get some good pics, lol! Not only did I not use my nice camera, but I sort of forgot about pictures all together. That is until we were in a meeting in our conference room and decided to bring the rest of the bars in because no one could go 10 minutes without eating one. They were that good! So I grabbed my phone and snapped these horrible pics…ah, the life of a food blogger.

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White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake

Leah Short — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 14:04:21 +0000

I really need to make more cheesecakes. I’m not sure how they tend to fall off my radar, but that gets remedied right now with White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake! Tender cheesecake marked with sweet white chocolate and topped with tart cranberries. It’s the perfect balance of flavor in a smooth, decadent dessert.

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Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Leah Short — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:30:20 +0000

I can’t believe after 2 1/2 years of blogging, I don’t have a cheesecake recipe. Well, I do, but if you read that post, you’ll see I didn’t love it and it’s not really cheesecake. I’m happy that I finally have a winner in the cheesecake category…Mini Oreo Cheesecakes! These little single servings are so cute and the crust is a whole Oreo cookie. They couldn’t be easier to make and oh boy do they taste fantastic!

So, how’s it taste?

They turned out so well. The only downside is they are so small, you’ll want to eat three of them, and that is perfectly acceptable. I’m usually apprehensive with cheesecake because it’s hard to tell when they’re ready to come out of the oven. I was nervous that these were undercooked, since you take them out while the middles are still jiggly. After cooling completely and letting the refrigerator work it’s magic, they were perfect! The texture of the cheesecake is so creamy and I liked the bursts of Oreo chunks throughout. The sour cream adds just a bit of tang that I think is needed to balance the sweet. You can really smell the tangy sour cream, but the flavor isn’t as strong, so don’t get worried! Using a whole Oreo as the crust is genius and makes it so easy. In the picture above, you’ll see I used the new Birthday Cake Oreos as the crust. They really do taste like cake and frosting, but they are really rich. I also made some with original Oreos as the crust, and I liked those better. The single-serving size makes these great for any special occasion, even if that occasion is just “I want some cheesecake!”

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

by Martha Stewart's Cupcakes via Handle the Heat
makes 30 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients:

42 Oreos, 30 whole & 12 coarsely chopped
2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Add eggs gradually until combined, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in sour cream and salt. Fold in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from tins for serving. Store in refrigerator.

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Pecan Cheesecake Pie

Leah Short — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:11:00 +0000

There’s nothing better than a healthy obsession (does that exist or did I just create an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp?), except when two of those obsessions merge! And I use the term “healthy” loosely since I’m referring to the combination of pecan pie and cheesecake! Meet Pecan CheesecakeÂ Pie!

So, how’s it taste?

It sounds fabulous and looks fantastic, but I was a tad bit disappointed. I made this for Thanksgiving dessert last year and I normally use the holiday as an excuse to eat several servings in one day. I found myself not really interested in this one. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but I found the combination of pecan pie and cheesecake to not be nearly as good as the two separately. I would have rather had a piece of each!

You know how in pecan pie, the pecans float to the top and the “goo” goes to the bottom? Same in this case, except the pecans end up on top of the cheesecake, and the cheesecake is on top of the goo.Â I needed my pecans and goo to be together to get that pecan pie flavor. It was just too weird texture-wise to have the goo on the bottom of cheesecake, and I don’t know how I feel about cheesecake with a pie crust. Some things just aren’t meant to go together.

Pecan Cheesecake Pie

Southern Living, November 2007

Ingredients:

1/2 (15 oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs, divided
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup light corn syrup

Directions:

1. Fit pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions. Fold edges under, and crimp.

2. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pie crust; sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.

3. Whisk together corn syrup and remaining 3 eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla; pour mixture over pecans. Place pie on a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 350Â° on lowest oven rack 50 to 55 minutes or until pie is set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 2 days.

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