Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce...School's In Session

I'm happy to report that we are back in full swing of school, sports and chaos!  School started last week and the schedules have been non-stop.  Junior year is upon us and the girls are very excited about it and making Varsity team!  I see Letterman jackets in our future very soon.

I have been so busy with them, my new business, redecorating rooms, getting ready for family guest stays and taking on a role with the Booster Club Board, that my experimental cooking and baking (and blogging) on weekends has taken a sideline.

This is what happens when I stop making weekend treats and I go to the grocery store on the way home from work, after a bad day with an empty stomach and feeling hot flashes!!

Luckily, I was able to try out this treat and conquer my very first, made from scratch, cheesecake earlier this summer.  This cheesecake was unbelievable (easy and a little time consuming, but so worth it) and I cannot wait to make it again for our upcoming guests.

Cheesecake With Fresh Strawberry Sauce
Courtesy of Trisha Yearwood

Crust:

Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

32 ounces (Four 8-ounce packages) cream cheese
2 cups sour cream
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Sauce:

1 to 1 1/4 cups halved fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime, zested

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray; line the bottom with a round of parchment paper; and spray the paper with cooking spray. Place the pan on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and bring the foil up around the sides to enclose the seam between the bottom and the sides of the pan (this will prevent water from leaking in).

Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are coated. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Set aside.

For the filling: In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese together with the sour cream. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sugar, cornstarch and vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Set the foil-wrapped pan inside a larger pan, and carefully pour 1/2 inch of warm water into the larger pan to create a water bath. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, open the oven door and let the cheesecake stand in the opened oven for 1 hour. Refrigerate the cheesecake for 2 hours or overnight before removing it from the pan.

For the sauce: Process the strawberries, sugar and lime zest in a food processor or blender until smooth. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. (The sauce is best served cold from the refrigerator.)

One Year Ago:  Volleyball Cookies
Two Years Ago: Puttanesca Pasta

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes"

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes", a great summer read by Joyce Meyer that I have been enjoying.  It's a book for women about "giving yourself permission to lighten up".  It's a very spiritual and inspiring book that reminds us gals, "Fun and enjoyment are needs in our lives, and we can't be healthy without them".

I took Joyce's advice...I stumbled on these darling shoes (on sale of course).  They were the last pair in my size, so of course it was meant to be that they were waiting there for me...and I made a batch of these "oh my goodness - very naughty cookie bars".  I don't know what else to call them except naughty!  Pure bliss in one bite!

They were also the perfect dessert for my family...my husband loves chocolate chip brownies, my oldest daughter prefers Oreos, my youngest daughter is partial to chocolate chip cookies...and let's face it, I'm addicted to all three of them and I'm not even going to try and deny it.

Naughty Cookie Bars

Inspired by Joyce Meyer

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes"

1 tub refrigerated pre-made cookie dough (or make your own)

1 package Double Stuff Oreo cookies

1 box, family size, brownie mix (plus ingredients needed to prepare)

1/2 bag mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with parchment paper.

Spread layer of cookie dough evenly over the parchment paper.

Place rows of Oreo cookies on top of the cookie dough.

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.

Spread the prepared brownie mix over the Oreo cookies.

Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the brownie mix.

Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30- 45 minutes.

Depending on your oven, start checking it after 30 minutes

and brownies are baked through.

One Year Ago: Spinach, Chicken, Bacon Pizza

Two Years Ago: Snickerdoodles

Chocolate Chip Shortbreads

If you want to give your teenager a heart attack, pick her up at school, have her open the rear tailgate of your vehicle to stash backpack and sports bag, to find a high chair, baby gate and pack'n play crib. Her face goes white, she freezes and asks why there are baby things in the back of my car.  "Why do you think?" I asked back.  "I don't know"...why don't you tell me!", as she says in complete panic.

After I got a really good laugh in the parking lot (I was the only one laughing of course), I had to remind her that their twin toddler niece and nephew would be here next month and needed a place to sit and eat and a crib to sleep.  "Oh yeah", she sighs in relief.

Back at home, the other teenager needed some assistance with extra credit for her history presentation.  She studied the Country of Austria and interviewed their Uncle Rudi (our brother-in-law), who immigrated to the United States from Austria when he was just three years old, with his parents.  Truly a wonderful and fascinating story that she was delighted to share with her class.

So, for that extra credit I (I mean she) decided to make shortbread cookies.  Since most Austrian shortbread recipes have nuts in them, I had to be on the lookout for other recipes, to respect anyone with food allergies...That would be just our luck - make a cookie, someone has an allergic reaction, say good-bye to the extra credit.  At any rate, we got very lucky and found a super easy, buttery, yummy shortbread that I will definitely make again.

Chocolate Chip Shortbreads
Courtesy of Woman's Day

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter, diced in cubes
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
(Makes 16 wedges)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Have baking sheet ready and covered with a piece of parchment paper.

Mix flour and granulated sugar in a medium bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or rub butter in with fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in mini chocolate chips.

Gently press crumbs together to form a dough (the heat from your hands will help this happen). Place on baking sheet; pat into an 8-inch disk.  With a sharp knife, score into 16 wedges, cutting about halfway through dough.  Lightly prick wedges twice with a fork.

Bake 25 minutes, or until shortbread looks dry and golden at edges.  Immediately cut through score lines.  Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

* For the purpose of our classroom assignment and needing to share with 40 students, I took the recipe measurements (x 4) and spread all the dough out over a cookie sheet.  I then scored it into diamond shapes and baked it for about 30-35 minutes, checking often to make sure the edges didn't burn. Worked perfectly if you are looking to feed a large group.

Volleyball Cookies and Lessons in Icings

For 4-5 months of the year during the Spring/Summer and early Fall, I am a golf widow.  My husband took up the sport the morning of our wedding 17 years ago and was immediately addicted.

The rest of the year, my husband is a volleyball widower.  Nights and almost every weekend is dedicated to volleyball both high school and competitive club.  My girls and I are constantly on the go.

This past week our girls' school volleyball teams had a potluck.  We were given plenty of notice and the girls were assigned to bring cookies.  Well, in the craziness of our week I forgot about the potluck. The day before, they reminded me...I played it off like of course, it's the first thing on my mind as I dropped them off at school.

While driving to work, my wheels in my overloaded brain start turning.  Could I just pick a couple packs of cookies from the grocery store?  No, that is just not in my DNA, I couldn't possibly be that boring.  Could I pick up a gourmet case of fancy cookies from Costco and just drizzle some melted white chocolate on them to look homemade?...of course not.  No, I decide with just less than 24 hours until the event that I am going to make 48 volleyball cookies and individually package them in cute little clear bags tied with ribbons in their school colors.  Can you say "insane, overachiever"?

Now mind you, I am not much of a baker or a cookie/cake designer by any stretch of the imagination. So, I spent a good amount of the day during breaks on Google, Pinterest, Wilton and any other website I could get my hands on to figure out how I was going to pull this off....brain overload!!  I had no idea about the world of "icings".  I can honestly say I now know everything about "bordering", "flooding" and "settling".

Thank God I discovered King Arthur Flour.  This website positively saved my sanity and my mission.

Simple Cookie Glaze
Courtesy of King Arthur Flour

2-1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1-1/2 to 2 Tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon milk (2% or Whole)

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Stir until smooth; a fork works fine.

The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it.  If the glaze is too thick, dribble in another teaspoon of milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

King Arthur Flour Tip:  Be sure to measure accurately here.  Too little milk, and the glaze won't spread nicely.  Too much milk and it will be thin, spotty and develop splotches overnight.

Once the glaze has hardened, you can color on it with foodsafe markers or you can pipe another color over the top.  You can sprinkle sugar on top of the wet icing for a sparkly effect.

Yield:  2/3 cup of glaze (this amount glazed 24 cookies)

** I used Wilton's Cookie Icing in Black for the volleyball lines.

Spreading the glaze with an offset spatula for "settling".

Before and After Glazing

One volleyball player....

...two volleyball players helping out.

Resting for packaging.

Our basket of little beauties - mission accomplished!

One Year Ago: Mocha Mint Delight

Happy 4th of July - Apple Pie Cake

Happy 4th of July to everyone today!  Hope you are all enjoying a relaxing and restful long weekend full of BBQ and sweet delights.

Last weekend I pulled out my annual buntings that I got for a steal at a garage sale a few years ago.  I just love my nostalgic buntings.  They drive my husband crazy and can't understand why I tote these around every time we move.  How can you not love these - they remind me of the old western movies when they always had them out for some big parade or election....they just scream out John Wayne to me.

I'm sure our new neighbors just loved our patriotic showing as well, since I continued our theme and lined the front garden wall with my miniature flags.  I did notice a few double takes as people drove by.  Really now, it's only once a year and it is the time to get your spirit on!!

We are having a dessert, tailgating, fireworks watching evening with Matt and Heather, complete with Blue Velvet cupcakes, red velvet cookies and their patriotic embellishments.

The girls and I hit our local fireworks tent last night and found the perfect pyrotechnic.  How can you not love a firework that is named after you - my husband loved it!!

Last weekend we celebrated a little early with this Apple Pie Cake.  So sweet and delicious.  Since we are still working on our eating changes but needed a little treat, I substituted using an unsweetened apple pie filling and 1% milk and topped it with low fat Cool Whip. Oh so yummy, incredibly easy and tastes exactly like an apple pie!!

Apple Pie Cake
Courtesy of Plain Chicken

Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (21oz) can apple pie filling
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 inch pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, apple pie filling, vanilla extract, cinnamon, eggs and milk. Mix with an electric mixer just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon and milk. Pour over warm cake. Allow cake to cool completely before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped topping or fresh whipped cream.

Nutella Cookies and Neighbors

I think it certainly goes without saying, when life gives you floods, bake cookies!!

I have figured out in my wise old years, when I am happy, I bake and when I am sad, I bake.  Needless to say, this past weekend provided so many emotions, including both happiness and sadness.  I feel so blessed that our family and home were spared by the floods thanks to our guardian angels and just the right height real estate.

At the same time, I have been overwhelmed with sadness, witnessing all the devastation around us and throughout Northern Colorado.  There have been so many people displaced and I just pray that they will be able to get back to their businesses and homes in the not too distant future.

So, there I found myself Sunday morning with a whole lot of butter, flour and sugar that needed to be shown some love.  Then there was of course, trying to decide which flavor cookie to bake.  It was definitely time to clear out the pantry and refrigerator with the various odds and ends ingredients that I had collected for the fair.

The decision was made...I couldn't just make one type of cookie, or even two, so I filled out my afternoon by making three different types of cookies.

Chocolate Chip with Peanut Butter Chip

Our friend and backyard neighbor Toni in Alaska brought a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies to us the day we moved in.  I wish that I could bake a plate of cookies for each of our neighbors that have been affected by the floods.  For now though, my family, husband's office and my coworkers will have to deal with the sugar fix this week.

White Chocolate, Oatmeal and Craisins

Toni also taught me that Nutella is the cure for all ailments and I think she may actually be right.  The star of the weekend was the simplest recipe for Peanut Butter and Nutella cookies.  These are really great to have on hand or plate up for your next door neighbor.

Peanut Butter & Nutella Swirl Cookies
Adapted from Sweetest Kitchen

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
3/4 Cup Smooth or Chunky Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1-3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.  Mix until well blended.

Add flour, baking soda and salt.  Drizzle Nutella on top of the dough then swirl it through the dough with a butter knife.

Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator.  Roll into balls by hand.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Using a fork, press down the balls to flatten slightly.  Bake until edges are very lightly browns (about 7 to 10 minutes).

Allow to rest 2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.