Cheesecake Mini and Regular

Cheesecake is one of my favorites. It's rich, decadent, and just all things wonderful. This is a recipe that I lifted off of Pinterest (where would we be without it) and I've been slowly working on for some time now. Cheesecake is one of those things that I just can't seem to get to come out consistently. Sometimes the top cracks, sometimes it gets golden brown, sometimes it's pale and perfect and wonderful. Either way, this filling is absolutely delicious!

This is what I call an "afternoon cake", meaning that it is IMPERATIVE that everything be room temperature. Leave your cheesecake out over night and then early on the day you want to make the cake set out the milk, eggs, and sour cream so that they come up to temperature as well. I promise you, nothing crazy is going to happen if you leave the eggs and milk out all day.

Start by making a graham cracker crust. In a gallon sized plastic bag, beat one and half packets of graham crackers to a pulp. I keep some large bits in mine, but you can just keep the going as small as you want. Poor the contents of your bag into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Melt some butter and pour it over the mixture. Mix until just combined.

Firmly press the crust into your well greased backing tin. I was making mini cheesecakes and a regular cheesecake. If you're using a spring form make sure to line the bottom with parchment paper. Pop the pans in the oven for three to five minutes to let the crust set.

I'm really, really terrible at taking pictures. Anyways, this is what it looks like when it's all done and ready to go in the pan. 

To fill up the mini tins, use a small ice cream scoop. It cuts town on mess and fills up the cups perfectly. 

Pour the rest into the well-greased spring form (sorry about my awkward hand). 

Pop the pans in the oven at 325. The minis will be done within twenty minutes so keep an eye on them. You just want to make sure the centers are set. If when you jiggle the pan and the centers don't wiggle it's set. The fullsized cheesecake will take about and hour or longer. Again, just until the center has set. 

Take the little guys out, turn them out on a cooling rack to cool. In a double boiler, melt some chocolate with a stick of butter. Drizzle the chocolate on top of the minis with a spoon (or glob it like I did, that works too). You can also chop up so peanuts and put them on the top for a scrumptious topper. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Now, you might be wondering where the finished fullsize cheesecake is. Well, like I said, consistency can be difficult. The top got brown on me and sunk down. Oh well! Life will go on. It tasted good! 

Here's the recipe. 

Gayle's Cheesecake 

Ingredients: 

- 4 8 oz cream cheese blocks at room temperature 

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract 

- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 

- 4 eggs room temperature 

- 3/4 cups sour cream room temperature 

- 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream, whole milk, or 2% (less preferred) at room temperature 

Directions 

1- Beat together the cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract together for approximately four minutes in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

2- On low speed, gradually add the sugar then turn back on high for one minute. 

3- On low speed, add one egg at a time. Mix until well combined. 

4- Stop and scrape sides 

5- Add sour cream and heavy whipping cream (or milk, whatevs). Beat for one minute. 

6- Scrape sides and mix thoroughly with a spatula. 

7- Pour into a spring form pan and back at 325 for until the center is firm (approximately 1.5 hours) 

Saintly Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs are an Easter staple. It's just not Easter without them.

I mean it's just not Easter without a plate of Deviled Eggs on the table. For some reason, people seem to treat Deviled Eggs like they are something special when actually they are really easy to make. I actually like to make them quite often because they keep well in the fridge and serve as a good lunch or a healthy snack. 

This is what you'll need. 

Boil six eggs for ten minutes. Unfortunately, one of my eggs decided to explode so I could only make eleven instead of twelve *insert crying emoji* 

Cut the eggs in half. Put the yolks in a medium mixing bowl along with one of the white halves. 

Put them in a bowl, mush them up, and add about half a cup of mayo and a tablespoon of honey mustard. Add plenty of salt and pepper. 

Chop up a couple sweet pickles so you have a tablespoon or so of diced pickles. I don't like using relish, but you can if you so choose. 

Add plenty of dill and paprika to taste. Mix it all up and then put it back in the egg whites. You can use a piping bag or just two spoons. 

Dust with paprika, chill, and serve! 

It's that simple. 

The great thing about deviled eggs is that you can do them in anyway that you like. It's all how you like your eggs. 

Tell me how you make your deviled eggs in the comments. 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

These things are probably one of my favorites. They are quick and easy to make, and they require no forethought. I'm a stickler for leaving cold baking ingredients to come to room temperature and sifting your dry ingredients but this recipe needs none of that. Beside that, these are made with things that are typically in your pantry. So these are the perfect thing to make on short notice!

Here's what you need:

Start by creaming together sugars and butter. Beat in the eggs and stir in the vanilla. 

Dissolve the baking soda in hot water. You don't need any more than a tablespoon of water, so don't go overboard with it. Add it to the mixture along with some salt. 

Then gradually add the flour. 

Now chop up some pecans. This is the best part of the recipe. You can use any nut you want. Walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts. Anything that you have in the house. Just chop them up and throw them in. Or if you have nut allergies just skip this part. It makes no difference. 

Throw in the chocolate chips. You can add as much or as little as you want. You can use semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark, or a combination. Again, it doesn't matter. Just use whatever you have in the pantry. I used a combination of semi-sweet and milk chocolate because I ran out of semi-sweet. Give it all a quick mix. 

Pour it into a well-greased baking pan. You can really use any size. Anything 9x13 or smaller is perfect. It just depends on how thick you want the bars to be. 

Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about thirty minutes until the top is golden brown and a knife or toothpick comes out of the center clean. 

Cut and serve. They're really great! Here's the recipe; 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars 

Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 eggs cold 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water 

1/2 teaspoons slat

2 cups chocolate chips 

1 cup chopped pecans 

Directions: 

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2- Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Then stir in vanilla. 

3- Dissolve baking soda in hot water then add to batter with slat. Stir in flour gradually. Beat 20-30 seconds after mixed well. 

4- Add chocolate and chopped pecans 

5- Pour into a greased pan. Bake for thirty minutes until a knife comes out clean. 

Sinfully Simple Queso

This is my absolute favorite cheese dip! It is delicious and so incredibly easy to make!

Start by browning off your sausage. I used sage sausage to add a bit of flavor, but regular sausage is absolutely fine. It won't change the flavor much.

While that's going on chop up some high quality, expensive, well-aged cheese. HA! You can use whatever kind of Velveeta you want. Here I used two blocks of the Queso Blanco. You can use plain, spicy, one of each. Whatever you want! It's all delicious.

Throw it in your crockpot and let it all melt together, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips, and that, my friends, is Sinfully Simple Queso.

Here's the recipe.

Sinfully Simple Queso 
Ingredients: 
2 lbs. of ground sausage 
2 blocks of Velveeta Cheese 

Directions: 

1- In a large skillet, brown sausage. 

2- Cut up your choice of Velveeta Cheese into small rectangles. 

3- Add the cheese and the drained sausage to a crockpot. 

4- Turn the crockpot on low-medium and allow the cheese to melt, stirring occasionally. 

5- Add 2% milk if needed to thin dip. 

6- Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy! 

Lemon Tea Cake

There's nothing, absolutely nothing, like a good lemon cake. My mother would agree. I originally made this cake from a recipe I found on Pinterest for Mother's Day. I've made it several times since then and tweaked it considerably.

If you're looking for a quick, easy delicious cake, this is what you want. It's the perfect base for strawberry shortcake, companion to tea, or breakfast item. Hands down, bottom line, no further questions, it's just delicious.

Here's what you'll need:

Alright, so full disclosure, I don't normally do things in this order, because I'm terrible at planning ahead; but, this is the easiest way to do things. 

Quick note, for this I've found that the eggs, milk, butter, and lemons all need to be at room temperature. If they aren't the cake will fall and have this weird texture. Don't be afraid to leave your eggs and milk out, nothing bad should happen. 

First, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. 

 Next, grate 1/4 of a cup of lemon zest. It works out to the zest of about four small lemons. 

Squeeze 3/4 of a cup of lemon juice into a measuring cup. It's really important that you use fresh lemons, not the yucky stuff that comes out of the bottle. To that, add 3/4 of milk. It doesn't matter what type. 2%, 1%, Whole, Organic, anything will work just as long as it comes from a cow. Add 2 Teaspoons of vanilla, give it a stir, and you'll have this glorious-ness. 

Alright, at this point everything should be ready to be dumped in the mixer. Yay! 

In a mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat 2 sticks of butter with 2 cups of granulated sugar. 

As it's beating, add it four large eggs and 1/4 of a cup of lemon zest. 

To that yummy-ness, add the lemon juice, milk, and vanilla mixture. 

If it looks "curdled" don't worry. That's normal! 

To that, add the dry ingredients: 

It's a really wet batter. If you want it to be dryer, just add a bit more flour. 

Pour the batter into a bread pan. This recipe also makes four 6-inch loaves. 

I overfilled this pan just a bit. Basically, you want to fill it until it's an inch from the top. Even so, I'd put a cookie sheet under the pan to be safe. 

Bake it at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour until a toothpick comes out partially clean. After it's baked, turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven for five to ten minutes. 

For the glaze

Here's what you'll need: 

In a small sauce pan, combine the zest and juice of one small lemon and half a cup of powdered sugar over low heat.

Yum!! Turn the heat up so that the mixture simmers for just a moment. You'll end up with a clear, yellowish syrup that's the most amazing liquid on earth. It will take all your strength not drink it all or take a bath in it. Or take a bath in it while drinking it. Anyways, this stuff is good. Real good. 

Turn your cake out on a board: 

BOOM! Okay, okay, so it's not the prettiest cake in the world, but it's delicious. That's all that matters isn't it? 

Spoon the glaze over the top of the cake, and try not to gobble the whole thing down while it cools. 

Enjoy! 

Lemon Tea Cake: 

Ingredients: 

For the Cake:

2 Sticks of Butter, room temperature 

2 Cups Granulated Sugar 

4 Large Eggs, room temperature 

1/4 Cup Freshly Grated Lemon Zest (About 4 Lemons)

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour 

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda 

1 Teaspoon Salt 

3/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Zest 

3/4 Cup Milk, room temperature 

2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract 

For the Glaze: 

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar

The Zest of One Lemon (About 1 1/2 Tablespoons) 

The Juice of One Lemon (About 1/4 Cup) 

Directions: 

1- Zest lemons. Set Aside. 

2- Mix 3/4 cup of lemon juice, 3/4 milk, and 2 Teaspoons vanilla. Set Aside. 

3- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set Aside. 

4- In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar. Mix for about 5 minutes, adding lemon zest and eggs. 

5- Add the lemon juice/milk/vanilla mixture. Mix thoroughly. 

6- In one dump, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly. 

7- Pour batter into a well greased pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to hour.

8- Turn oven off and allow cake to sit in the turned-off oven for five to ten minutes. 

9- While the cake is cooling, combine the zest of one lemon, the juice of one lemon, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Allow glaze to simmer for just a moment, and then remove from heat. 

10- Turn the cake out onto a board. Poke holes in the top and spoon the glaze over the top of the cake. 

11- Let cool. Enjoy! 

Here's the link to the recipe I adapted to make this one: 

http://chindeep.com/2010/06/16/lemon-tea-cake/

Love and Happy Reading!

Gayle 

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies. If there's a good chocolate chip cookie nearby, I'll eat it. This is my absolute favorite cookie recipe! Replacing some of the butter with cream cheese adds richness and texture. Other than that, this is your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

Here's what you'll need: 

Cornstarch? Yes, it's a little unconventional for cookies, but it keeps them shiny. 

First, cream together butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, and vanilla. 

 

It's very important that both the cream cheese and butter are at room temperate. The ingredients will need to be beaten together for about five minutes. 

When it's done it should look like this: 

Meanwhile, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a sieve. This is really important because it will make the cookies lighter and keep lumps out of the batter. 

In one dump, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix it up until just combined. 

Now for the chocolate! I like my cookies really, really chocolate-y (who doesn't) so I use three cups of chocolate chips for this recipe. I also use a mixture of semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. This time, I used two cups of semi-sweet and one cup of milk chocolate, but whatever you have on hand is fine. You could even use white chocolate or butterscotch chips or even substitute dried cranberries and nuts. This dough really works for just about anything. 

No matter what your "filling", make sure to coat it in flour. For three cups of chocolate, I used one quarter cup of flour. 

So your final product looks something like this: 

 I could eat all of it raw.

Now, this is the part that takes the most time. It is really important that you chill the dough. It needs to be chilled for at least two hours. I prefer to chill it overnight, but if you're in a pinch for time thirty or forty-five minutes in the freezer will do the trick. 

Just wrap it up in some cling wrap and forget about it. It'll last for up to five days. 

When you're ready to bake it off, drop it by rounded spoonfuls on to baking stones or sheets. This dough doesn't expand very much so you don't need to leave much space between each cookie. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 350. If you use baking stones, bake for about twenty minutes, turning at about ten minutes. If you use baking sheets, bake for about fifteen minutes, turning at seven minutes. 

Here's what they look like right out of the oven: 

I may or may not, have cooked them a wee bit too long, but they're still delicious. They are crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, and everything a cookie should be! 

Enjoy! 

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients: 

1/2 Cup Softened Butter

1/4 Cup Cream Cheese, softened 

3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed 

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar 

1 Large Egg

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract 

2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour 

2 Teaspoons Cornstarch 

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda 

1/4 Teaspoon Salt 

3 Cups Semi-Sweet and Milk Chocolate Chips 

Directions: 

1- Combine butter, cream cheese, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 

2- Sieve together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. 

3- Add chocolate chips. Beat momentarily. 

4- Chill dough for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days. 

5- Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto baking stones or greased cookie sheets. 

6- Bake at 350 for twenty minutes (baking stones) or fifteen minutes (cookie sheets), turning halfway through. 

7- Allow to cool for five minutes on sheets. After that, eat 'em up! 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle