Lemon Dream Cheesecake

To start this post I'd like to talk about the baking experience. A good friend of mine emailed me the other day telling me of her "kitchen disasters" with a couple of recipes that she's tried off this blog. One was that the cookies went completely flat and the other was that she forgot to put the baking powder in the muffins. I laughed in sympathy because I have been there and done that. It took me years of baking and experimenting on my husband and kids before I felt confident enough to let others try my baking delights. Baking is an exact science, but it also leaves a lot of room for creativity. So if there are others out there who are experiencing your own "kitchen disasters", I encourage you to hang in there. Try making each recipe a couple of times before you give up. It's always better the second time. I still experience that. The right tools and making sure you follow the recipe exactly are key. Before you know it people will be asking you for your recipes and you will feel confident enough to put your own twist on some of these recipes. That's what I love about baking: the possibilities are endless. So keep trying because before you know it you will be able to call yourself an "experienced baker."

I got this LEMON DREAM CHEESECAKE recipe out of a "Taste of Home" magazine that my sweet neighbor passed on to me after she was done with it. There were many great recipes in it that I have saved to make and post later on, but this one I wanted to try right away. It had been a long time since I had made a cheesecake and I found some beautiful lemons at the market that looked too good to resist. Any flavor of cheesecake is my middle sons favorite so he was super exited when he came home from school to see it waiting for him in the refrigerator. When people ask him what his favorite food is, he tells them cheesecake! This recipe has the perfect balance of lemon flavor- strong enough to taste but subtle enough to not be over powering. I altered the recipe a little to fit our needs and it was delicious. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Crust:  2 cups honey graham cracker crumbs
           6 tbsp butter, melted
           1/4 cup sugar

In a food processor, grind graham cracker crumbs to almost a powder-like consistently.

In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar.

Press onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a greased, 10 inch spring form pan. (Since I wanted to make two cheesecakes out of this recipe, I used 2 aluminum disposable pie pans)

Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling:  4 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temp

           1 cup sugar

           1 cup heavy whipping cream

           1/4 cup lemon juice (from a fresh lemon)

           2 tbsp of all-purpose flour

           2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

           5 eggs

           1 pkg instant lemon pudding and pie mix

           10 drops of yellow food coloring

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the lemon juice, flour, extract, cream, pudding mix and food coloring, beating well after adding each ingredient. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until just combined.

Pour filling into pie crust. Return pan to baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake is almost set (a little giggly in the middle but not soupy).

If you are using a spring form pan: Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen crust. Cool for 1 hour longer before refrigerating overnight. Remove sides of pan before serving.

If you are using a pie plate or disposable pie tin:  Cool for 2 hours on wire rack before refrigerating overnight.

DO NOT put cheesecake in the refrigerator if the pan is still hot. This will cause condensation to build on the top of the cheesecake and it will make it soggy and it will not stay fresh as long.

To decorate, I filled a piping bag with whipped cream and used a Wilton #2D tip to pipe large stars around the rim of the cheesecake and three large stars in the middle of the cheesecake. Then I sliced a lemon (very thin slices) and halved each slice and put one every 5 or 6 stars (this makes one per slice).

As I mentioned before, I made two cheesecakes from this one recipe using 2 disposable pie tins. We ate one and I put the other in the freezer. It will stay good in the freezer for 3 months so next time we are needing a dessert and I don't have time to make one, I can pull it out of the freezer and thaw and serve!

My family thought this cheesecake was delicious and a perfect way to brighten up these rainy, dreary spring days.

As always, please contact me for any questions or comments.

Happy Baking!

Bird Nest Cupcakes

To start this post, I need to apologize for not posting these recipes (perfect for Easter) in a timely manner. We have dealt with a funeral, a very sick cat and we said goodbye to our beloved dog of 7 years, who was a precious member of our family, this week. But without further ado, here is my recipe for Bird Nest Cupcakes.

To begin, make the recipe for "Hummingbird Cupcakes" on this blog. This will be the base of the bird nest.
Next, make the recipe for "Cream Cheese Frosting" on this blog. This will act as the glue for the bird nest and eggs.

On a baking sheet or baking dish, spread sweetened coconut covering the bottom of the dish.

Add 1/8 tsp of brown food coloring gel and 1/8 tsp moss green food coloring gel. I use Wilton Icing Color gels- they add rich color without changing the consistency of the recipe. Using your hand, toss the cococut around, spreading the color onto each flake. It takes several minutes of tossing and rubbing hand fulls of coconut together to incorporate colors.

Once the color is incorporated as evenly as possible, place dish of coconut in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. This will dry out the coconut and slightly toast to make a realistic bird nest look.

Cool coconut completely before decorating your cupcakes.

Frost cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting and using your hand, apply a large amount of coconut on top of the icing pressing it into the frosting so it will stick. Make sure coconut covers as much of the icing as possible to create a realistic bird nest effect.

Place three candied eggs in the middle of the nest and you have now created a "Bird Nest Cupcake".
These were a hit at our Easter family celebration today. I hope you enjoy.
Happy Baking!

Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe also comes from the Martha Stewart episode where the girls from DC Cupcakes on TLC were guests. As soon as I tried this recipe I immediately threw out my old recipe and this is the only cream cheese frosting recipe that I use now. I promise you will love it too!

Recipe:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz. cream cheese, room temp

Cream butter, vanilla and cream cheese together until well combined, approximately 1-2 minutes. Add confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Frosting will be pure white and have a spreadable yet thick texture. Color frosting if desired.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

This is a delicious southern cake recipe that has been used for cupcakes. The combination of all the fruits and honey will knock your socks off. I got this recipe from watching Martha Stewart. The girls from DC Cupcakes on TLC revealed this cupcake recipe for all. You're gonna love it!

Recipe:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1 cup mashed bananas
2 tbsp clover honey
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

Place butter in a large bowl. Add sugar and cream together until well combined, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating slowly after each addition. Add banana and honey and mix on low speed until well combined. Add pineapple and pecans. Slowly add 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/3 of the hot water. Repeat process twice, alternating flour mixture and hot water, ending with the hot water. Mix well until just combined (do not over mix). Fill cupcake liners full, leaving a small space between batter and top rim of cupcake liner (these cupcakes will not rise much so if you want a full cupcake, fill the liner full).

Bake until done, approximately 24-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

 
This recipe is a big hit at our family get-togethers.

Poll Results, Feedback Wanted and Upcoming Projects

Poll Results

The results from our last poll are in. This weeks question was "Which cookie is your favorite?" There were six voters and the winning cookie is: Chocolate Chip- the great American pastime. If you missed the recipe for Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies check it out now to learn the history of the chocolate chip.

Feedback Wanted

If anyone out there has tried any of my recipes so far I would love to hear your story! What did you and/or your family think of the recipe? Have you added it to your list of favorites? Did you have any issues or do you have any questions about the recipe? Did you put your own spin on it? Speak freely- all feedback is appreciated, positive or negative. To leave your story create an account with Google and sign in. Then return to this blog and click on the recipe(s) that you tried and leave your comments. Thanks!

Upcoming Projects

The end of spring and all of summer is an extremely busy time for us with lots of great celebrations. This week I will be posting a recipe for Bird Nest Cupcakes- perfect for Easter, fun to make and children love them! I will also be posting a Lemon Dream Cheesecake- also great for Easter and perfect for celebrating the start of the citrus season.
Next week I will be tackling my husbands 30th birthday cake. An Italian Cream Wedding Cake (our favorite flavor of cake) with White Chocolate Frosting. But it won't be as simple as that. Here's where my cake decorating skills will come into play. I will be creating a beach scene on a half-sheet sized cake using edible items to create sand, shells, beach grass and waves. Plus I will be molding a two-toned 1959 Ford truck out of rice cereal treats to place on the beach with a surfboard hanging out of the bed of the truck. I will show you step by step how this is done so you won't want to miss next week. There will be so many steps to this cake that I will be posting the cake recipe, the truck, the frosting recipe and the decorating in separate posts. Again, don't miss it (it could get interesting). :)

As I mentioned before there are lots of celebrations for us all summer long: 7 birthdays in the family, our anniversary, three different holidays...the list goes on. Follow all season long for great recipes and ideas for all of your celebrations.
Happy Baking!

Strawberry Sour Cream Nut Bread

 I found a quart of beautiful strawberries at the grocery store a few days ago and scoured my cookbooks to find a great recipe to make with them. I made this recipe for the very first time lastnight and it was a huge hit with our company. This recipe is a great way to celebrate the start of spring and the fresh fruit season. Try this recipe, I promise you'll love it!

Recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temp
2 eggs
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl using a wire whisk. This will sift all ingredients together to make a lighter, fluffier mixture.

In a seperate bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add the sour cream and vanilla.

Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture a little at a time until just moistened. Fold the strawberries and nuts.

Using a pastry brush, brush butter on all sides and bottom of a loaf pan. Spread batter into the pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


Using a pastry brush, brush a thick layer of butter all over the top of the bread as soon as it has been pulled from the oven.

The end result is a delicious homemade bread that is perfectly paired with a chicken dinner or even served as a dessert with whipped cream. The sour cream in this recipe makes the bread moist yet dense. This recipe has been added to our family's list of favorites and will be made several times throughout the summer season. I hope you enjoy it also, happy baking!

White Pizza

To begin this post, I wanted to say many thanks to everyone who has viewed this blog and to the individuals who follow this blog faithfully. In it's first week, this blog received 130 page views and my husband was so proud that he suprised me (early) with my new Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer. I have wanted one for so long and cannot begin to explain how excited I was. This will make my baking so much easier. So once again, thank you so much.

Friday nights are family nights at our house. It's a chance for all of us to wind down after a long week and spend time together watching movies or playing games. On Friday nights I usually cook light so I have more time to spend with everyone and also because the kids like having popcorn and snacks during the movie. So we've adopted Friday night as pizza night.

The recipe I'm going to share with you today is one that I haven't been using for very long- around 6 months. I got this recipe from watching "Kitchen Boss" on TLC, Buddy Valastro. I tried this recipe and was not only suprised by how easy it was but it was just as delicious as any take out pizza dough. This recipe is super easy, but there are many steps to it so I've accompanied many pictures with the step by step instructions.

Recipe:

3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt
1 packet dry active yeast
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
9 oz warm water

Using the dough hook on your mixer add flour, salt, yeast and olive oil. Stir for a few seconds to incorporate the ingredients.

At low speed, mix as you slowly pour in the warm water. As dough becomes wet and sticky you will need to bump the speed up to medium. Mix well for about a minute. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl when done.

Flour surface well and knead dough for 2-3 minutes. Push the dough forward with the heels of your hands and then fold the dough back towards you, rotate dough counter clockwise and knead again. Repeat this until the dough feels tight and smooth.

Place rounded dough ball in a bowl and drizzle 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil on the top and smooth the entire surface of the dough with your hand. This prevents a dry, crusty layer from forming on the surface of the dough.

Cover bowl with a towel and place bowl in a warm area to continue rising. This will take about 45 minutes. The dough will double in size.

Cut rounded dough ball in half, and roll out pizza dough onto a pizza stone. For thicker crust roll dough about 8 inches in diameter. For thinner crust roll dough between 10 and 12 inches. At this point you can put any toppings that you prefer on your dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Oven times will vary from person to person depending on oven brand and toppings.

Brush a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on the pizza dough with a pastry brush before adding toppings. We like "white pizza" which contains no sauce- just ricotta cheese, thin tomato slices and mozzerella cheese. My boys love this recipe.

For "white pizza" just spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese on the dough after brushing on the olive oil. Slice a few tomatoes (very thin) and layer them on top of the ricotta cheese. Then top with mozzerella cheese. I use a block of mozzerella sliced into small rectangles because this leaves brown, bubbly layers of cheese on top and then after the pizza has baked I sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzerella cheese on top to fill in any holes. My boys love the different textures of the cheese.

So this is our family's Friday night pizza. It's one of our favorites. I hope you enjoy.

Happy Baking!!

Supreme Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

To continue the celebration of chocolate chip week, I'm posting this recipe which brings two beloved ingredients together into one delicious muffin. The original recipe for banana bread came out of a "Gold Medal" flour brand children's cookbook titled "Alpha-Bakery."  A family member had passed it down to my children and it has the most delicious recipe for banana bread. I've used this recipe several times over the years to make loaf banana bread. As a child I always loved my mother's banana muffins. They were always so moist and delicious. So I altered the banana bread recipe so it could be used to make banana muffins. Then I added chocolate chips, just to kick it up a notch. But what makes this recipe so wonderful are two little secrets I'll share with you today.
    
First of all, when it comes to bananas for baking my motto is "the blacker the better." The blacker the banana the moister your muffin will be. So, let your bananas get as black as possible- to the point where when you start peeling it, the banana literally falls apart into your bowl. I promise that if your bananas are not as described, your muffins will not turn out as good. The second secret is that I use applesauce in place of oil in this recipe (I learned this trick from my mother-in-law, who did so to make a low fat version of a boxed muffin mix and I tried it and it made these muffins even more fabulous). Doing so not only adds even more moisture to the muffins but also takes the heaviness out of the batter and cuts out several fat grams and calories. The best part is, you'll never know. I promise this muffin does not taste lower in fat.

Recipe:

3/4 cup of sugar
3 large bananas (black)
1/2 cup plain applesauce
2 eggs
2 cups of Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, mash bananas with a spatula or wooden spoon. This will be rather easy since the bananas are already extremely mushy. Try to mash as many lumps out as possible to achieve a smooth banana batter.

Mix sugar, applesauce and eggs into the bananas with a spatula or wooden spoon. Stir in the remaining ingredients saving the chocolate chips for last.

Spoon batter into the cupcake liners, filling 2/3 of the way full (I use a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop- less mess).

Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, approximately 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing muffins from the pan.

This recipe makes 15-16 muffins.
These muffins are great alonside a home cooked meal and also make a delicious dessert if served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I hope you enjoy.
Happy baking!

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

It's chocolate chip week and to celebrate I'll be posting two of my best recipes starring chocolate chips! These two recipes are near and dear to my family's heart and trust me, you're going to want to make these  for your family.

Before I introduce the first recipe, I would like to share with you the brief history of the chocolate chip itself. 
In 1930, a woman by the name of Mrs. Wakefield was stirring together a batch of Butter Drop Cookies- a favorite colonial recipe. She cut a bar of semi-sweet chocolate into bits and added them to her cookie dough, expecting them to melt. What she discovered was that the chocolate held its shape. This delicious discovery was named the Nestle Toll House Cookie and has become a widespread favorite. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield's home was turned into the now famous Toll House Inn and her desserts attracted people from all over New England. What a fantastic mistake!

As you can guess, the first recipe I will share with you this week is the "Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe- only I've put a southern twist on it and I promise you will love it! The recipe comes from a book that my husband picked up for me at a book fair titled: "Nestle Toll House Best Ever Cookies". This book is full of delicious recipes and endless cookie ideas. I was so grateful that he was thinking of me when he purchased this book, but truth be told I'm sure when he saw the picture on the front cover he was thinking of his stomach too.   :)

Recipe:

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp (you may use margarine as well, softened)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (no lumps)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temp
1 cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped pecans

Let me take a moment to explain a few things about this recipe. I use unsalted butter versus margarine because it gives the dough a richer flavor and more dense texture. The butter needs to be at room temperature in order to mix evenly into the dough. The eggs do not have to be at room temperature but it makes the dough more creamy and easier to mix. The recipe in the book calls for chopped walnuts, but I use chopped pecans instead. This is where the southern twist comes in and it is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. In reality, you could use any nut you prefer. The end result is always a great cookie.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl using a whisk. By using a whisk, you basically are sifting the ingredients together creating a fluffier texture and therefore a fluffier dough.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and pecans.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I use a 2" cookie scoop) onto a ungreased cookie sheet (I use a pizza stone- cookies bake more evenly).

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Be sure not to over bake. Cookies should still be a little soft in the middle when you pull them out of the oven because they will continue to bake for a minute or two after you pull them out. Let stand for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
This recipe makes approx. 5 dozen cookies.

The end result is a fantastic cookie with the consistency of one you would buy in a coffee shop or bakery.
As I mentioned before, the perfect combination of salty and sweet.
Happy baking!