Classic Cheesecake

Hello! I know you're all just dying for another treat recipe...and this one may look intimidating but I swear it was a piece of cake (haha, really, no pun intended!) My only recommendation is to take out your ingredients a couple of hours before you're ready to make it. Almost everything needs to be at room temperature so it makes sense to put it all on the counter ahead of time. Now obviously this recipe can be modified for different flavors, crusts and toppings; however, this being the first time I've attempted a real cheesecake I wanted to stick with a basic recipe so I didn't have the opportunity to screw it up too much! I'm sure I'll be back again with a modified version--although probably not too soon because I've eaten WAY too much of this! I also want to admit that I cheated with the topping...we made this the same day as our Giordanno's stuffed pizza so we were cooking fools. I just bought a can of Duncan Hine's Cherry Pie Filling and put it on top to save some time. It was very tasty, however if you have some extra time to make the topping listed below (perhaps while the cheesecake is baking) let me know how it is. The recipe seems easy enough and I'm sure you could also add a few things to spice it up. Maybe some cinnamon or vanilla extract. Or use brown sugar instead of white... Just throwing some ideas out there. Alright, enough procrastinating- get down to mixing and give this cheesecake a try!
  
What you need for the cheesecake:
A 9-inch spring form pan (we just got one for Christmas so I was excited to give it a try!)
1 and 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I just bought the Keebler box of crumbs; if you want to mash your own this is about two sleeves worth)
1/2  cup  (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
1  cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar
3  8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1  cup sour cream, at room temperature
1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Cherry sauce:
1 10-ounce bag frozen cherries
1/2  cup  sugar
1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
1  tablespoons  cornstarch
2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

To make the cheesecake:
1. Heat oven to 325° F. Measure out your graham cracker crumbs (or if using whole graham crackers, pulse them in a food processor until fine.)  

2. Add the butter, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and mix to combine. 

3. Once the mixture is even, press it into the bottom and up 2 inches on the sides of your spring form pan.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar on medium speed until smooth- about 2 minutes. Next, add the sour cream and vanilla extract; once again, beat until combined. Now, add your eggs one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated before adding another. 

5. Pour the mixture into the crust and bake until just set (the center may be slightly wobbly but the edges should be golden brown) about 50 to 60 minutes.

Before baking...

6. Let cool to room temperature in the pan, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before releasing the spring form pan.

Make the cherry sauce:
1. In a large skillet, combine the cherries, sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mixture begins to thicken, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Add this mixture to the cherries in the skillet and cook 2 minutes more. The mixture should look thick and syrupy. Finally, stir in the lemon juice and then take off the heat. Let cool completely, then top your cheesecake.

Yum!

ENJOY!!

Stuffed Pizza

So this recipe has been a long time coming! Stuffed pizza- Giordanno's style: chewy, cheesy, saucy pizza. We've made this about 5 or 6 times now and have definitely perfected it to our liking. We found a crust recipe online that we follow pretty much exactly (original source). The rest is modified to our taste but you can do whatever you please. As most of you know, I'm a pretty plain pizza eater so cheese (and maybe some spinach) is about the extent of my adventurous-ness but Danny's been known to add some pepperoni or switch up the cheeses. Do whatever floats your boat...just know that the original cheese is not boring! This takes some time and preparation so plan ahead...the dough takes about 2-4 hours to rise and then you'll need some time to shred the cheese and roll out the dough, make the sauce, etc. The prep time after your dough has risen is probably about another hour, however you can do a lot of the prep while the dough is rising so it's easy to split it up. You'll also need a deep dish pizza pan...ours is a Chicago Metallic from Bed Bath and Beyond. Danny and I find that this is a super fun weekend recipe when we have all day to plan and prep for it. Even when we made this the first time there were no complaints- it's so good- and the recipe has only gotten better from there!

COPYCAT GIORDANO'S STUFFED PIZZA

What you need for the dough:

bout 6 cups of flour

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 ½ teaspoons instant yeast

3 teaspoons sugar

7 tablespoons Canola oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups warm water

To make the dough:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200F. Mix flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in large, deep bowl with a wooden spoon.

2. Pour oil into flour mixture and mix well. 

3. Add water in 1/2 cup increments and mix well with wooden spoon.

4. As you mix, a rough dough should start to form. At first it will be sticky in some places and completely flour in others. Once a semi-cohesive ball starts to form, dump the entire contents out onto a clean work surface.

5. Using your hands, create a big pile of the dough and any loose flour. Press down and fold in half. Keep pressing down and folding the dough in half, varying the direction in which you fold slightly each time.

6. Continue to knead dough until it becomes smooth, about six to ten minutes. If the dough sticks to your hands or the work surface after several minutes of kneading, add a tablespoon or two of flour. If there's lots of extra flour or the dough is too dry, splash a teaspoon or two of water over the dough and use your hands to incorporate the flour. Just add what is needed to make the dough even in all areas.

7. Once well kneaded and smooth, shape the dough into a large, flat disk. Fold in four sides of the disk to a point, flip it over, and shape the dough to form a ball. Lightly dust with flour.

8. Turn off the oven that you pre-heated earlier. 

9. Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking spray or olive oil. (I just wash the same big, deep bowl that we started the dough in.) Place dough in bowl and cover with a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap).

10. Let rise for 2-4 hours (4 is better than 2) in the warm oven that you had on earlier (just be sure it is off- you don't want it to start cooking!)

In the meantime, you can start preparations for the rest of the pizza...

What you need for the sauce:

1 jar Ragu pasta sauce (we use the Parmesan Romano)

1 small can of tomato paste

1-2 T of granulated sugar

Cayenne pepper or Crushed red pepper to taste (optional)

To make the sauce:

1. In a small saucepan, mix together your sauce, paste, sugar and any additional seasonings.

2. Let simmer until thick and bubbling, about 15-20 minutes. Be patient with this, it really makes a difference once it's cooked for a while.

  

What you need for the rest of the pizza:

Cornmeal 

3 Tablespoons butter (melted) 

About 24oz of mozzarella cheese (I know it takes longer but I recommend buying the fresh, unshredded variety...it melts and tastes so much better than the stuff out of the bag!)

All of our freshly shredded cheese!

Putting the pizza together:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. Spread melted butter in the bottom of your deep dish pizza pan. 

3. Sprinkle with cornmeal until coated.

4. Take your risen dough and punch it down to separate into two pieces. Make one piece slightly larger than the other (about 60-40 split).

5. Roll the larger piece of dough out with a rolling pin until it's slightly larger than your pan (about 16' in diameter). 

7. Line your pan with the large piece and fill with cheese and toppings.

8. Roll out your second piece of dough the same size as the pan (about 14').

9. Place this on top of your filled pizza and pinch the sides together to form a crust. Cut a few slits in the top piece of dough to allow it to air out.

10. Cover with pizza sauce. If you have some left over, save it for extra dipping of the pizza!

11. Bake in your pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to cutting board and slice.

 

Perfection!! ENJOY!

Cranberry Almond Scones

Good evening everyone!! Ever want a scrumptious but easy breakfast recipe that you can throw together to impress any guest? These scones might just be the perfect fit! Danny and I worked on these together tonight to bring into work tomorrow. It's a fun morning surprise for co-workers or maybe family or guests that you have spending the night. You probably already have most of the ingredients on hand or you can modify the recipe to suit your needs. All you need is a few minutes (and some patience in cutting the butter) and you'll have a delightful delicacy to dazzle your friends!

CRANBERRY ALMOND SCONES

What you need for the scones:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon almond extract (you can switch this up with anything)

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into pea size pieces (this is the most tedious part- the rest is easy!)

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds (optional- I chose not to use them)

3/4 cup heavy cream

Granulated sugar for garnishing

To make the scones:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, almond extract, salt and cinnamon. 

3. Add the butter and mix it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until a coarse meal forms. Add in the dried cranberries and almonds (if you choose to use them). 

4. Add the heavy cream and combine it into the butter flour mixture until you create a ball of dough. (You may end up using a bit more than 3/4 cup...use as much as you need to get the dough to stick together.) 

This was after a 1/2 cup of cream...keep adding more until you get to something like this:

5. Form the dough into a 1-inch thick disk and cut it into several wedges. Sprinkle each wedge generously with the granulated sugar. Transfer the wedges to your prepared baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes. 

Let me know what you think of these. ENJOY!!

Yummy!

Chocolate PB Crunch Balls

OMG...these things are out of this world. I don't know how I haven't come across this recipe sooner. They're like a light and fluffy version of a buckeye- so much so that you CAN'T. STOP. EATING. THEM. Danny hasn't felt good this weekend- he didn't want to try one. I forced him. He went back for seconds and thirds...then I put the pan back in the fridge and he asked where they went!

Enough talk- let's get down to business so you can make these little bad boys ASAP!

What you need for the balls:
*Quick note- I halved this recipe because we did NOT need 70 of these sitting around!
2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups rice krispies
1lb (3cup) powdered sugar 
1/4 cup melted butter
2 packages semi-sweet chocolate chips (1T shortening)

To make the balls:
1. In a microwave safe dish, measure out your peanut butter and butter. 
2. Microwave on low for about 30 seconds (until butter is melted) and it's easier to mix.

3. Mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Scrape sides of bowl as needed.

The mixture is thick once all powdered sugar is in there.

4. Once all sugar is fully mixed in, pour in your rice krispies. At this point, the mixture is pretty thick. The original blogger noted that it was easier to mix in the krispies with your hands so I took her advice! You can use a spoon, it just might take a little longer.

Everything is mixed in.

5. Pop the bowl in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes to cool it down.
6. In the meantime, pour your chocolate chips in a microwavable container. I always add a tablespoon of shortening because I think it melts better this way.

7. Once your peanut butter mixture is chilled enough, take it out of the fridge and roll 1-inch balls. Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet.

8. Dip your balls one at a time in the melted chocolate. Place back on the wax paper and pop in the fridge until hardened (this was the hardest part- waiting!!)

Don't you just want to pop one in your mouth right now?

ENJOY! 
This recipe is modified from the original found here.

Cookie (Butter) Monster!

Hi again everyone! Hope you've all had a good week and your 2013 is off to a great start. It was super busy around here but I managed to squeeze in a night of baking on Wednesday- sorry for the delay in getting this posted! I bought some cookie butter a couple of months ago but hadn't had the chance to open and use it. I was determined to find something fun to do with it...so why not put the buttered cookie spread back into cookies and add some chocolate? Sounded creatively scrumptious to me! :) Plus, I owed Danny's NEW office a treat! Great way to meet both goals this week. Let me know what you think!

COOKIE BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
What you need for the cookies:
1/2 cup cookie butter

(mine is from Trader Joe's called Speculoos)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cup flour (now that I've tasted it, I would cut this back to 1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

To make the cookies:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl beat butter and Speculoos with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. 

 

3. Add 1/2 cup of the flour, the sugars, egg, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat till thoroughly combined scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in remaining flour. 

 4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix in chocolate chips (or other desired mix-ins).

5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. 

6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned.
7. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

This recipe made about 3 dozen cookies for me. YUM!

ENJOY!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I can't believe the craziness of the holidays is already behind us! I've already started thinking about new recipes I want to try next Christmas...but for now, maybe we should get back on the right 'diet' track after all that extra holiday munching. ;-) This recipe is not only SUPER easy but also NOT totally calorie-laden. Call me lazy on this one but I saw the recipe while browsing Pinterest and it looked too simple and yummy to pass up. And to be honest, I'm still a bit worn out from all the crazy December baking that this was a good 'ease back in' recipe!

PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

What you need for the cake:
1 box Angel Food Cake mix
1 can 20oz crushed pineapple (with juice- don't drain)

To make the cake:
1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the can of pineapple (juice and all) and the cake mix in a bowl with a whisk. The mixture will become very foamy.

3. Pour batter into ungreased 13x9 pan and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes (until golden on the edges).
This cake is good all on its' own but...

To make this a little more interesting, you could:
1. Top with plain whipped topping (like Cool Whip) OR
2. Mix a small can of crushed pineapple (with juice) into an instant vanilla pudding. Then, add this mixture to a container of whipped topping and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Top cake with the vanilla-pineapple-whipped topping. Yum!!

ENJOY!!