What I'm into these days...

This summer I was into cupcakes. I was trying a new recipe every weekend.

Now, I'm into cheesecakes. Ever since I bought my springform pan, I've been looking for cheesecakes to make, and picking up 5 or so packs of cream cheese every time I turn around.

Anyway, the pumpkin cheesecake I made at Thanksgiving was a success. I've adventured on to make two more for Christmas:

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake and Mocha Truffle Cheesecake.

Both were very very good and would be great to take to any Christmas gathering, or just to have sitting around your house. But, if your anything like me, I can't have desserts just sitting around or they will be eaten in record time. Feel free to follow my own personal philosophy: Make it then take it!


Peppermint Bark Cheesecake
Please note that this is very "pepperminty" and if you love peppermint and chocolate the way I do, you will love this cheesecake. I first saw the recipe here and adapted it to the following recipe:

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups oreos crushed 
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 
  FILLING:
• 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla or white chips
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/4 cup mini-chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
• Crushed peppermint candy (I used Andy's peppermint chips) and whipped topping, optional

Directions

• Combine the first two ingredients; press onto the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan. Chill. In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth; add flour and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and peppermint chips. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan over low heat, melt vanilla chips. Remove from the heat. Add 1/4 cup cream cheese mixture, and extract. Mix well. Pour the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top with the peppermint mixture.
• I put just a few drops of red food coloring on top of the mixture and used a knife to make a swirl design on the top.
• Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes longer or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan; cool 1 hour longer.
• Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, remove sides of pan. Garnish with crushed candy and whipped topping if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Here is a pic of my version just before baking:

The finished product:

My husband is not a fan of peppermint and chocolate, but he does love coffee, so that is where I went for this next cheesecake:

Mocha Truffle Cheesecake:

I had a cookbook with this recipe, but it can also be found here. I copied it straight from the book, but I would suggest using vanilla extract instead of almond extract in the whipped topping. I wasn't a fan of the topping, but the cheesecake itself was AMAZING!! I served this cheesecake to the same family members as the peppermint bark and they were equally divided on which one was better. The only thing I added was some melted chocolate piped onto the top.

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) devil's food cake mix
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1 to 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 
  FILLING/TOPPING:
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
• 3 to 6 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, egg and coffee granules until well blended. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 10-in. springform pan.
• In another large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in milk and melted chips. Dissolve coffee granules in water. Add coffee to cream cheese mixture. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet.
• Bake at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Chill overnight.
• Just before serving, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar and extract until stiff peaks form. Spread over top of cheesecake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Please continue to check back this week as I will be posting four different cookie recipes. Every year I make a large cookie tray. This serves as a great dessert dish to take to the 8 different places we travel each year. I can keep them in containers and refill the tray after each visit. We also put some on Santa's plate and save a few to snack on. :) These recipes are super easy, but super yummy, and always a hit!

i heart cupcakes.

I do love a good cupcake. I've been wanting to make a good chocolate/coffee cupcake for a while now. So today, I did. I made one. Actually, I made 30. Although I haven't yet tasted the finished product (waiting until Sunday for my sweat treat day), the samples have proven themselves worthy.

BONUS: On my weekly Publix trip, these little guys were calling my name:

What is a cappaccino bambino? Heck if I know, but I knew they'd be perfect on the cupcakes I was attempting later in the day!

Chocolate Coffee Cream Filled Cupcakes....yes please! :)

For the cupcakes:
I used Paula Dean's recipe (below) but I was slightly disappointed. The recipe calls for a cup of oil, but the edges came out crispy and the middle of each cupcake sort of sunk in, and I think this might be because it had TOO much oil, maybe next time I'll try just 3/4 cup of oil. Also, I used dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of the regular stuff.

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used dark)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Whisk the dry ingredients, add in the wet ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake on 350 for 16 minutes. 

Like I said, this was good, but I've had better. Next time, I'll stick with my favorite chocolate cupcake of all time, from My Baking Addiction.

Once your cupcakes have cooled, fill them with this WONDERFUL Chocolate Coffee Cream. Paul's recipe is below but I couldn't find chocolate coolwhip, so I melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips and mixed that with the original. I didn't have any chocolate liqueur either, so I used 1/4 cup of strong brewed coffee. This mess was unbelievable!! I was so tempted to frost the cupcakes with it, and some of you might choose to do so. To fill the cupcakes, I used Wilton tip #230. If you have an apple corer, you can use that to scoop out the middle and put your icing in a ziplock to fill them. 

Chocolate Coffee Cream

• 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
• 1 (8-ounce) container frozen chocolate flavored whipped topping, thawed

In a small bowl, whip the cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly add the liqueur and fold in the whipped topping. Cover and chill.

For the frosting: Paula's Coffee Buttercream recipe is below, but let me warn you...1)It's not very pretty, and I'm all about the look of something I'm going to eat. 2) It doesn't make enough, so double the recipe.

Coffee Buttercream Icing

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee

In a medium bowl, beat the butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth, then beat in the coffee.

Because I was a little bit disappointed with the look of the frosting, I decided to doctor it up a bit. I melted a few semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl and put them in a ziplock and cut off the corner. I drizzled the chocolate over my cupcakes and put some of those marvelous little cappuccino beans on top.

Go on. Make it. It's Sunday, so eat it. :)