No Bake Baileys Cheese Pie

Day 4 of St. Patty's/Irish Themed Cheesecake - a day late, but not an ounce of flavor short! 

So, I know a lot of you may not necessarily want to devote a solid hour - thirty (not including chilling time) to make a cheesecake.  That being said, I thought I would offer up something a little easier (and less time consuming).   The cheese pie whips together in about 8 minutes, and just needs an hour or two to set up enough for total enjoyment!  I opted for a graham crust, but a chocolate crust would be great with this recipe, too.  I also used Original Baileys, but caramel or mint would be just as delicious.  Keep in mind, though, that the alcohol in the Baileys will not be cooked out, so your cheese pie will be a little tipsy! 

No Bake Baileys Cheese Pie
Yields 8 servings

Ingredients 

8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 graham cracker crust


To Prepare the Cheese Pie
1. Blend together the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream until they are incorporated.
2. Add in the Baileys, sugar, and vanilla.
3. Blend them until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
4. Pour into the crust, and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours, or until firm enough to hold its form.

I used the left over heavy cream and whipped it with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla, until it turned into whipped cream.  I then "iced" the entire cheese pie with the whipped cream!

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake

You guys didn't honestly think I forgot about our 3rd day of cheesecake, did you?!

Recipe Jealousy reared its ugly head today.  I had entered a contest a few months back for Adventure Ingredient Cupcakes.  The winners were announced today, and ALL of the winning recipes included stout beer, despite the fact that there were 14 ingredients to choose from.  So, needless to say, I am slightly bitter about today's recipe including stout beer, but many congratulations to the winners!  I am sure their cupcakes are worthy of the prizes, but this also means that I can now share my entered cupcake recipe with you guys later this week!

Anywho, back to the cheesecake! It ended up having a velvety texture and flavor, and is extremely rich!  You can taste the beer, but it is not overwhelming!

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake
Yields 8 - 10 servings

Ingredients 

Filling
16 ounces softened cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1 bottle of Stout beer (I used Sam Adams Cream Stout)
7 ounces of cacao in the 70 - 79% range (I used Ghiradelli 72% Twilight Delight)
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs

Crust
2 cups chocolate Teddy Grahams crumbs (break them down in a food processor or blender)
4 tbsp melted butter

To Prepare the Cheesecake 
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wrap the outside of a spring form pan with aluminum foil
3. Mix the Teddy Graham crumbs and butter together in a bowl with a fork until evenly mixed.
4. Spray the inside of the pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour the crumb mixture into the pan and press into the sides and bottom evenly, being sure that there are no holes or cracks.

6. Place in the fridge to firm while you prepare the filling.
7. In a sauce pan, cook the beer down.  This step will take approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

8. Once the beer has reduced to half its volume, add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.
9. After the sugar and beer have cooked, add the chocolate until it melts, and then remove it from heat.

10. In a bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream together.
11. Very slowly, add the beer mixture to the sour cream and cream cheese. 
12. Blend in the three eggs one at a time.
13. Gently pour the filling into the crust, and bake for approximately 1 hour.

Before the bake

After the bake

While baking, your cheesecake will rise to the height of the pan.  It is ready to come out of the oven when the center is firm and jiggles like solid jello!  Your cheesecake will shrink back down as it cools.  Let it cool for about an hour before refrigerating. 

When you are ready to put the cheesecake in the fridge, gently open the spring on the pan, and carefully lift it up and over, being careful not to spill crumbs on the cheesecake!

Grasshopper Cheesecake

Week O' Cheesecakes - Day 2

I really have to wonder how many days it will be before I get sick of eating cheesecake...  But for now I am voting never...

I don't know why I associate Grasshopper (mint chocolate) with St. Patrick's Day or anything Irish, but why fight it, right?  Besides, green makes me think Ireland.  I really wasn't sure about mint flavored cheesecake, but it works in its own little way, especially when combined with a chocolate crust!  Hope you guys enjoy!


Grasshopper Cheesecake 
Yields 8 - 10 servings

Ingredients 

Filling
16 ounces softened cream cheese
16 ounces sour cream
1 tsp Creme de Menthe flavoring (found in the candy/cake aisle of your local craft store)
10 drops of green food coloring
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs

Crust
2 cups chocolate Teddy Grahams crumbs (break them down in a food processor or blender)
4 tbsp melted butter

Topping
Dark Chocolate Melting Chips (found in the candy/cake aisle of your local craft store)


To Prepare the Cheesecake 
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wrap the outside of a spring form pan with aluminum foil
3. Mix the Teddy Graham crumbs and butter together in a bowl with a fork until evenly mixed.
4. Spray the inside of the pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour the crumb mixture into the pan and press into the sides and bottom evenly, being sure that there are no holes or cracks.

6. Place in the fridge to firm while you prepare the filling.
7. In a new bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream together.
8. Add the creme de menthe flavoring and food coloring and blend.  Check the flavor of the batter so far.  If it is not strong enough for your liking, add more creme de menthe flavoring slowly.  Keep in mind that the flavor will become stronger when the cheesecake bakes!
11. Add the sugar and blend.
12. Blend in the three eggs one at a time.
13. Gently pour the filling into the crust, and bake for approximately 1 hour.

Before baking

While baking, your cheesecake will rise to the height of the pan.  It is ready to come out of the oven when the center is firm and jiggles like solid jello!  Your cheesecake will shrink back down as it cools.  Let it cool for about an hour before refrigerating. 

When you are ready to put the cheesecake in the fridge, gently open the spring on the pan, and carefully lift it up and over, being careful not to spill crumbs on the cheesecake!

To Garnish the cheesecake, my sister suggested a chocolate drizzle across the top, but I can never make things that easy...

I decided to add some chocolate trinity knots, which are actually really easy to make!  Find a picture of a trinity knot online, and copy and paste it to a blank word document 8 - 12 times.  Print out the document, and tape a piece of parchment paper over top.  You will be able to see the design through the parchment, like the photo below. 

Melt about a half cup of dark chocolate candy melts in the microwave.  I used a piping bag to trace the design.  You can use a squirt bottle filled with the chocolate or even trace it with a new, clean paint brush dipped in the chocolate!

Place them in the freezer for just a minute and they will be ready to adorn your cheesecake!

Irish Potato Cheesecake

With St. Patrick's Day just 12 short days away, I thought there was no better way to prepare than an entire SEVEN days of Irish themed cheesecakes!

I am currently referring to myself as the Kitchen Pooka.  For those of you not as versed in Irish lore, pookas are fairies that lurk at night and cause mischief!  I have definitely been known to cause some late night kitchen mischief with cream cheese, sour cream, and a spring mold!

Last night I made the first of the cheesecakes, which was based off of Irish Potato Candies.  Irish Potato Candies are generally made from cream cheese, coconut flakes, confectioner's sugar, and a heaping dose of cinnamon.  I wanted to capture as many of these flavors as I could, and this morning's family taste test was positive proof that it was successful, so enjoy!

Irish Potato Cheesecake
Yields 8 - 10 slices

Ingredients

Filling
16 ounces softened cream cheese
16 ounces sour cream
1 can Creme de Coconut (found in the ethnic food aisle of most grocery stores)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup coconut flakes (pulverized in a food processor or blender)
3 eggs

Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup cinnamon
4 tbsp melted butter

Topping
1 cup toasted coconut flakes (toasting directions included below)


To Prepare the Cheesecake 
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wrap the outside of a spring form pan with aluminum foil
3. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and butter together in a bowl with a fork until evenly mixed.
4. Spray the inside of the pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour the graham cracker mixture into the pan and press into the sides and bottom evenly, being sure that there are no holes or cracks.

6. Place in the fridge to firm while you prepare the filling.
7. In a new bowl, blend the cream cheese and sour cream together.
8. Open the can of creme de coconut.  The coconut and oil will have naturally separated - keep them separated!  The coconut will actually have settled on the top of the can.  This is the part you want to scoop out of the can (leaving the oil behind) and add to the bowl. 

This white cream is what you will be adding to the cheesecake!

The coconut oil settles to the bottom of the can, which makes this step a lot easier!

9. Blend everything again.
10. Add the pulverized coconut.  This will add just enough texture without being overwhelming.  If you do not want to break it down, you can add a cup of regular coconut flakes!

Running the coconut flakes through the blender will make it a smaller texture, but it will still pack a powerful punch of flavor!

11. Add the sugar.

12. Blend in the three eggs one at a time.
13. Gently pour the filling into the crust, and bake for approximately 1 hour.

Before baking

After baking

While baking, your cheesecake will rise to the height of the pan.  It is ready to come out of the oven when the center is firm and jiggles like solid jello!  Your cheesecake will shrink back down as it cools.  Let it cool for about an hour before refrigerating. 

When you are ready to put the cheesecake in the fridge, gently open the spring on the pan, and carefully lift it up and over, being careful not to spill crumbs on the cheesecake!

Just before serving, put 1 cup of coconut flakes in a frying pan over low heat, and toast them until they start to turn golden brown.  Garnish the whole cheesecake or individual slices with the toasted coconut!

Vegetable Puffs

Another Meatless Monday has come and gone! 

I wanted something different this week that was not going to be a production, and considering how much we have been going out to eat, I definitely wanted to kick up the healthy factor!  What I really loved about making this dinner was all of the beautiful and rich colored foods that go into it - it was a real pick me up for a gloomy day!  This recipe makes 6 thick slices if you are serving them along side something else, but if you are eating them on their own, I would say it makes 3 generous servings.

I was also beyond excited at the grocery store when I came across two new products that helped this dish along - Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cream and Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Roll Dough!   So with that being said, let's get to the recipe and pictures!

Vegetable Puffs
Yields 6 hearty slices

Ingredients 
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 broccoli crown, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces of spinach leaves
10 ounce container of Philly Cooking Cream in the Italian Herb and Cheese Flavor
2 rolls of Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Dough

To Prepare the Puffs
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Pour the bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions, and black beans into a large skilled over medium heat. 
3. After approximately 10 minutes of cooking, add the spinach.  It will look like A LOT of food, but the spinach will cook down quite a bit! 

4. Cook for approximately 10 more minutes, being sure to stir it often. 
5. Add the cooking cream, and coat the veggies completely.

6. Shut the vegetables off. 
7. Spread out one of the crescent dough sheets on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

8. Spoon the vegetable mixture onto the dough, being sure to leave a one inch border. 

9. After all of the vegetables or spooned on, fold the dough up onto the veggies to create an edge or barrier.

10. Place the other dough sheet on top of the vegetables, and tuck and pinch it under the puff. 

11. Bake the puff at 350 degrees until it is a deep golden brown color!

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake

We like to spend Thanksgiving at home, and then after dinner we go to a few relatives' houses for dessert and to visit.  So, when it comes time for leftovers, we are all itching for that taste of sweet pumpkin.  Normally I make a cold pumpkin pudding pie, but this year wanted to make a cheesecake.  I could not ignore pumpkin as a key ingredient!  This cheesecake was my family's favorite so far, and it was eaten VERY quickly!  I am looking forward to making it again around Christmas time!

To Make the Filling
1. Leave out 2 blocks of cream cheese to soften.  Once they are soft (usually in about an hour), blend them with 3/4 cup of sugar.

2. Beat in 3 eggs one at a time.  Add the eggs one at a time and make sure they are well incorporated into the filling so your batter does not become a slimy mess!

3. Beat in 8 oz of sour cream and mix well.

4. Add 8 oz of pumpkin puree, a 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
5. Blend everything together!

To Make the Crust
1. Pulverize ginger snap or spice cookies until you have two cups worth that are the consistency of sand, and put it in a bowl.
2. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter (either on the stove or in the microwave), and mix it into the crumbs using a fork.  It will take a minute before the butter evenly spreads amongst the cookie crumbs.
3. Time to prepare your baking pan!  I like using a spring form pan when I make cheesecake, mainly because it is easy to present, and also cut and serve.  A spring form pan has a latch on the side of it that allows it to open by approximately an extra half inch around the entire circumference around the pan.  I bought mine as a set of 3 from Ross for $9.99, but they can also be found at Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Target, etc.  If you do not have a spring form pan, you can use a cake pan.  You will need to wrap your pan in aluminum foil.  This helps prevent the crust from burning, and also helps the cheesecake cook more evenly!

Inside spring form pan

The buckle - aka business end - of the spring form pan

4. Spray the inside of your aluminum wrapped pan with Pam or another type of non-stick spray.
5. Pour your cookie crumbs into the pan.  (If you are using a shallow cake pan you will only need about half of the crumbs you prepared).  Press them into the bottom and sides of the pan to create a layer of crust.

6. Put the pan in the fridge for 15 minutes or longer so the buttered crumbs have time to set and hold the shape of the pan.

To Bake the Cheesecake
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Get your pan out of the fridge and pour the filling into the crust gently.  Again, if you are using a shallow pan, you will not need all of the filling.  You will only need to fill the pan about half way with the filling.

3. Bake your cheesecake for just over 1 hour.  You will need to keep an eye on it...if you open the oven and it has risen and no longer jiggles, your cheesecake is done.  Bring it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge! Don't panic, as it cools it will shrink down to half the height it was when you pulled it out of the oven!

An example of a cheesecake fresh out of the oven!

An example of after the cheesecake cools!

The finished pumpkin cheesecake!  It cracked a little bit more than the cheesecakes normally do, but it was still delicious!

Fruit Pizza

So, when I told my sister I was going to make this for the homecoming after party, I was told that no one would want it.  In a cruel twist of irony, it was the first thing that all of them grabbed, and I was out of fruit pizza in about 5 minutes!  The spread adds just enough sweetness to the pizza to keep the fruit from tasting tart, but there is actually very little sugar in this recipe!  It is a healthy option for breakfast, and is always popular at bridal and baby showers!  Plus, it is pretty cheap to make! 

To Prepare the Pizza
1. Blend 8 ounces of softened cream cheese with 1 cup of whipped topping and 1 tablespoon of sugar. 
2. Evenly spread the mixture on a pre-made pizza crust.

3. Top with slices of your favorite fruits.  This time I used all berries, but melon, bananas, pineapple, mango, apples, pears, or seasonal fruits all work well! 

'

Sweet Cream Crescents with Berry Dipping Sauce

Last month my Dad, sister, and I went berry picking at a local farm.  We came home with POUNDS of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  I broke all of the berries down into sauce (the recipe is below), and then froze all of the sauce and put it in resealable containers in our freezer.  I have been trying desperately to go through the sauce in the fear of it turning rotten at some point, so I have been trying to come up with some easy recipes to go through the sauce.  That is how this recipe came to be!  These are very filling and a few go a long way!  If you don't want to make as many as I did, cut all of the filling and crescent ingredients in half! 

Sweet Cream Crescents with Berry Dipping Sauce
Yields 5 servings (3 crescents each)

To Prepare the Filling
1. Blend 2 blocks of softened cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar.

2. Add 1 egg to the mixture and blend well.

To Make the Crescents
1. Unwrap 2 packages of pre-made crescent roll dough, such as Pillsbury or a grocery store brand.

2. The crescents will break down into 8 triangle pieces.  Leave them in this shape!
3. Put a spoon full of the filling in the wide end of the triangle and close it by folding in the extra dough until the crescent is sealed shut.  You might have to pull the dough and pinch it a little to make sure the filling is completely encased in dough!

4. Once the crescents are closed they are more pliable and can be reshaped.  I made mine into triangles for easy dipping!

5. Bake them at 350 degrees until the dough is firm and golden brown on the bottom.  This step only takes approximately 10 minutes!
6. Pull them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving!

To Prepare the Sauce
1. Mix a pint of berries with 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch over medium heat until it becomes the consistency of jelly.
2. When it is done cooking, press it through a mesh colander to remove the skin and seeds.  I opted for blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries...Their tartness was a nice compliment to the sweetness of the crescents!  If you don't want to make your own sauce, you can buy pre-made sauces in your grocery store's baking aisle, or even heat up a little jelly in the flavor of your liking! 

Sauces from left to right: Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, and Sweet Cream!