Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

Adapted from: http://www.annies-eats.com/

Ok, I'm going to start tagging certain posts as "Laura's Favorites" because lately I've come across some pretty awesome recipes, this being one of them. A perfect fall dessert! Everyone raved about this one. It had a perfect layer of cinnamon apples topped with a cheesecake layer and then finally a whipped topping. (I omitted the pecans as usual since I'm not a fan.) I made this for a family get together at my house for no reason other than my husband made his infamous "puerco pibil", a Mexican pork dish. I had to show off my baking skills as well ! I also made Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cream Cheese Blondies, another one I'm adding to my Favorites. :)

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

½-¾ cup caramel

1 cup chopped pecans

APPLE FILLING

5 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

CHEESECAKE

8 oz. cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

TOPPING

¾ cup heavy cream

3-4 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

¼-½ cup caramel

Chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 375° F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened and the ingredients are evenly mixed. Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and press the crumbs in an even layer over the pan bottom and about half to two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until golden in color. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Pour a layer of caramel into the bottom of the crust and sprinkle evenly with the chopped pecans. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the filling.
To make the apple filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, until bubbling. Mix in the apple slices and toss well to coat. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until tender and most of the liquid has been reduced, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and pour into the prepared pie shell. Set aside.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 350° F. To make the cheesecake layer, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla, egg and lemon juice until fully incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Spread the cheesecake filling into an even layer over the top of the cooked apples in the crust. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
To serve, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (being careful not to overbeat.) Spread gently over the top of the chilled cheesecake layer. Top with dollops of caramel sauce and swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with a handful of chopped pecans if desired. Slice with a long, thin knife to serve.

The Ultimate Black Bottom Cupcake

I was looking through my blog and forgot to post this! I made these Black Bottom Cupcakes for Christmas and they were awesome. There are several recipes out there for this type of cupcake, but apparently this is the ultimate. I don't have another to compare it to, but I would definitely make this recipe again. I even had some left over batter and made a few mini-cupcakes. This way when they were finally cooled, I didn't have to eat an entire cupcake to do a taste test. However, I ate about 3 of the mini-cupcakes....hmm....

Adapted from: http://www.cookiemadness.net/

INGREDIENTS (Yields 18 cupcakes)

FILLING
16-oz cream cheese, cool room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
1/3 cup miniature or regular size chocolate chips – or however many you want (I used regular sized chips, and it was more like 1/2 cup)

CAKE
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (7.9 oz)
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder – Hershey’s Dark
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Add the egg whites and stir or beat on low speed just until mixed; stir in the sour cream and chocolate chips. Set aside.
Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl.
In the actual mixing bowl, beat together the oil and sugar. You can do this with a whisk, spoon or hand-held mixer.
Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the buttermilk/vanilla mixture and the flour alternately to the sugar/oil mixture. Stir until smooth – be careful not to overbeat.
Divide the chocolate batter evenly among the muffin tins. Spoon large tablespoonfuls of cream cheese batter over the chocolate batter. You should have some cream cheese batter leftover.
Bake on center rack for about 25 minutes. Let cool in cupcake pan for 30 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Adapted from: http://www.crystalscozykitchen.blogspot.com/

This may take the cake (no pun intended!) for one of the best desserts I've ever made. If you're a chocoholic, this is the cheesecake you want to make. I used a lot of dark chocolate, where the recipe was pretty flexible in using dark, semi-sweet, bittersweet, etc. I'm a big fan of dark chocolate though. ;) I'm considering making a bar version of this for my parent's Christmas Party but already had another chocolate dessert in mind for that....decisions, decisions!

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

2 cups crushed cookies (I used Oreos with fillings removed)

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp melted butter

Oreos - about 8 for surrounding crust (taken apart and fillings removed)

FILLING

1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar

3 bars of cream cheese (8 oz. each)

1/3 cup cocoa (I used dark chocolate cocoa by Hershey's)

1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING
1.5 cups chocolate chips (I used 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips & 3/4 cups semi-sweet chips)
1/4 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, place the Oreos around the outside of a springform pan (separated with fillings removed). Mix the 2 cups of cookie crumbs with sugar and butter and then press into the pan covering the bottom and up the sides. The original recipe called for more Oreos lining the top of the crust, but since the crust is crushed Oreos, I really didn't notice these extra cookies. I would omit this next time...and there will be a next time! Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. A tip from the original recipe that I found helpful - put the pan on a cookie sheet (I lined this with foil) so that if butter oozes it, it won't create a mess.

To make the filling, first melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips). You can melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, or on low heat on the stove. Add 1/4 cup of room temperature heavy cream to the melted chips. Mix until combined. Set aside. Next, beat the 3 (8 oz.) of softened cream cheese for about 1 minute. Add one cup of sugar and mix until combined. Add 1/3 cup of baking cocoa and mix until combined. I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate baking cocoa and highly recommend it! I've been using it in all of my chocolate recipes recently and think it makes everything just a bit richer (and better)! Add the eggs, one at at time and beat until smooth. Add 1 tsp vanilla, mix, then add the cream/chocolate chips mixture and mix on low speed. Pour the filling into the baked crust and bake at 325 for about 55-60 minutes. The original recipe called for 45-50 minutes and I baked it for 50. It was a little underdone in the center, which is always better than overdone, but if you want a fully baked cheesecake I'd suggest about 55 minutes or so. Check on it to make sure it looks okay! After baking, let the cheesecake cool for about an hour.

To make the topping, melt 1.5 cups of chocolate chips. I used 3/4 cup of semi-sweet and 3/4 cups of dark chocolate chips. Mix with 1/4 cup of room temperature heavy cream. Pour over the top of the cheesecake and smooth it out. Put cheesecake in the fridge for about 4 hours or so (I had it in overnight).

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies

Here we go! These were much better than my previous attempt at chocolate pumpkin brownies. I found two versions of this recipe - the original on Cara's Cravings blog and the second altered version at Beantown Baker's blog. I used the altered version since it made more pumpkin cheesecake batter, making it less of a "brownie". I'm sure they would be great either way though!

Adapted from: http://www.beantownbaker.com/

INGREDIENTS (makes 16 bars)

BROWNIE BASE
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder - I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

CHEESECAKE BATTER
6oz cream cheese, softened - I used 8oz
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar - I used 1/2 cup
2 tbsp flour - I used 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp
1/2 cup pumpkin puree - I used 2/3 cup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract - I used 1/3 tsp
1/2 tsp cinnamon - I used 2/3 tsp
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and ground cloves - I used 1/3 tsp

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan. Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients. Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.

Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake

This cheesecake was fantastic! Despite "the incident", it turned out rich and flavorful. I will describe "the incident" since I'm sure you're all curious. The directions below describe placing the cheesecake in a pan of boiling water and then baking it in the oven. Since my cheesecake pan is not airtight, I wrapped it in foil before putting it in the pot of water. Apparently, I was a bit lazy in my effort, since water seeped in and into the cheesecake. I could see it bubbling and mixing thorough the batter as I then declared that it was ruined. My husband said I was acting like it was his fault since he was the one who put the cheesecake in the pot (I didn't want to burn myself....but he could take that chance).

After FINALLY getting the cheesecake pan out of the pot, I decided to bake it as it was and prepared myself for an awful tasting cheesecake. While the cheesecake did crack (even though I left it in the oven for an hour after baking, then an hour on the counter to cool) it was fabulous. I love Ferrero Rocher candies and once I spotted this recipe I knew I had to make it. Maybe next time without so much drama.

Adapted from: http://www.clumbsycookie.blogspot.com/



CRUST INGREDIENTS
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbsp cocoa powder


CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice (I didn’t use it)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional (such as Frangelico, I didn't use it)
½ tsp salt
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates cut into large chunks
3/4 cup Nutella
2 tbsp chopped roasted hazelnuts (I didn't put these on the top of the cheesecake)



DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, and Frangelico and blend until smooth and creamy. Lastly add the chopped Ferrero Rocher.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water. 5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Premier Cheesecake Cranberry Bars

Adapted from: http://www.verybestbaking.com/

This are the best bars (and while we're at it, dessert) I've ever made. I credit these bars to getting me into baking a few years ago. That says a lot being that I'm a chocoholic. They're a staple around the holidays. I will have to say that they are a bit messy and fall apart easily but the best way to avoid that is lining the pan with foil. Before cutting, place them in the fridge for at least a few hours. Then you can take the whole dessert out with the foil and cut them into bars. Otherwise, it can be a crumbly mess and you will end up eating half of them before you even get to serve them! Trust me!


INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) White chips
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can (16 oz.) OCEAN SPRAY® Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. I find the way for these to be as neat as possible is to line the pan with foil and grease the foil. This way you can take the entire thing out of the pan and cut into bars when you're finished. Combine flour, oats and brown sugar in large bowl. Add butter; mix until crumbly. Stir in morsels. Reserve 2 1/2 cups morsel mixture for topping. With floured fingers, press remaining mixture into prepared pan. Beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract; mix until smooth. Pour over crust. Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in medium bowl. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved morsel mixture over cranberry mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover; refrigerate until serving time (up to 1 day). Cut into bars.

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

I was told this cheesecake "might possibly" be the best cheesecake ever tasted by my brother-in-law, so I'm going to ahead and say this cheesecake was fantastic. However, the white chocolate was supposed to be melted - I burnt it the first time and didn't have the patience to try it again, so it was more of a white chocolate chip pumpkin cheesecake. I guess I didn't do that bad of a job on it since I got great reviews at Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (about 2 sleeves)

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of sugar, divided

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup white chocolate, melted

3 eggs-1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons caramel sauce for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. For crust, combine graham cracker crumbs (I used a blender to crush them) with melted butter and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Mix together and press into a lightly greased 9-in. springform pan. Set aside.

3. For filling, mix cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Add pumpkin, white chocolate, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice, and mix until combined. Pour into springform pan and place pan on in a shallow baking pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and drizzle caramel topping over the cake. Chill until ready to serve.