Mini Cheesecakes

So normally when I make these cheesecakes, I make a double batch. I only made one batch this time since there would only be 3 of us eating off of them all weekend. However since both my friends love cheesecakes, I probably could have gotten away with the 2 batches and they could have just taken the leftovers home and would have been happy. Oh well. I found this recipe several years ago on www.kraft.com Since I only made the one batch, I mixed things up a bit. One batch each normally makes 12 vanilla cakes and 12 chocolate chip cakes. With the vanilla, you would use 12 vanilla wafers at the bottom as the crusts. Since I knew I was only making the one batch, I just used Oreos instead. I don't eat either cookie so I thought it would be less wasteful if I just picked one. I separated the batches and added chocolate chips to one batch and left the other plain. I didn't measure exactly half so I had a little more chocolate chip cakes than vanilla but it worked out and I didn't have any complaints! This is a perfect serving size if you are craving cheesecakes and I've made these desserts several times in the past couple of years. You can either chose to eat the vanilla cakes plain or add some fruit to them-either way they are really good!

Mini Cheesecakes (12 servings)

2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 vanilla wafers (or 12 Oreo cookie halves)
Assorted fruit
1/4 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer on medium until well blended. At this point, I separated the batches and added chocolate chips to one batch. Place one cookie in the bottom of 12 med paper-lined muffin cups. Fill evenly with batter.

Bake 20 min or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Right before serving, top with assorted fruit of your choice.




Oreos as a base...






Batter separated...






Ready to be baked...






Enjoy!...

Fruit Cups

I made these for our annual girls' holiday dinner in February. I hosted the fun dinner so I wanted to make something pretty simple for a dessert. I had also made the green bean casserole from another post on here. I found this recipe online...sorry I can't remember where! But it was super easy..I made the cheesecake filling the day before and I threw it all together pretty quick. I accidently used too much melted chocolate but it tasted okay. The girls' seemed to love them, so that's all that mattered!

I also forgot how much it makes but I believe I used two packages of pre-made phyllo cups.

Recipe:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1-2 c white chocolate, melted
1-2 c milk chocolate, melted
Your choice of fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries

Beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth. Blend in sugar in small amounts until well creamed together. Add sour cream and blend well. Spoon mixture into a zip-loc plastic bag and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

When ready to use, cut the tip off one corner of the bag and squeeze into the prepared phyllo cups. Top with berries. Once chocolates are melted, pour into two zip-loc bags, cut the corners off and drizzle over the cups.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

The above picture is what this dessert was supposed to look like...mine didn't turn out so pretty! But they still tasted good! I found this recipe on www.foodnetwork.com while looking for a new dessert recipe for our annual girls' Thanksgiving/Holiday dinner. It looked and sounded good and it did taste good and I did get good reviews from the girls. But it was a little more difficult to make and I think the next time I make it, instead of putting it in the fridge overnight, I will freeze it so when I cut it, it won't fall apart on me and fall off the sticks. The cheesecake was so soft, I ended up taking out the sticks and drizzling chocolate over it. It worked. Oh and next time, I'll be more careful and not cut my finger open with the scissors while cutting the sticks in half!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 lb cream cheese, at room temp.
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Chocolate:

5 tbsp veggie shortening
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips)

Wooden pop sticks (I used cheap wooden skewers that I cut int half)

For the cheesecake: Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Line a 8-in by 8-in baking dish with foil letting long flaps overlap on each side. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Break up the brown sugar to remove all lumps. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the cream and beat slowly; then add the yolks and vanilla mixing until just combined. Gently stir in peanut butter. Make sure not to over beat the mixture otherwise it can cause the cheesecake to crack.

Pour and evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Open the oven to release some heat, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees. Continue to bake the cheesecake until the outside is set but the center is still loose, for about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, and cool cheesecake in the oven for 45 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Lift cheesecake from the pan by lifting up the foil. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Stick a wooden pop stick halfway into each bar and freeze for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, place shortening and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat the chocolate at small intervals, mixing well in between.

Dip the cheesecakes into the chocolate mixture, and stand on waxed paper to set, about 5 minutes. At this point, I put them in the freezer to set more quickly. Serve cold (straight from the fridge), or freeze up to 2 weeks. (Left out, the cheesecake tends to melt a little.)


Adding the cream...




Mixing up the ingredients...




After the peanut butter was added...




Cutting up the cheesecake...




Cheesecake with the sticks in before dipped in chocolate...




Finished product, minus the sticks...Enjoy!