White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

½ Cup + 5 Tbs Sugar

1 Cup Chocolate Cookie Crumbs (I used chocolate Teddy Grahams)

¼ Cup Butter, melted

1 10 oz Package frozen Raspberries

2 tsp cornstarch

½ Cup water

2 Cups White Chocolate Chips

3 (8 oz) Packages Cream Cheese

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Today is my daughters 9^th birthday. She's on to us. She knows we always save the good desserts for ourselves. Not this time!

Use a food processor to crumble cookies.

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 Tbs sugar and melted butter. 

Press firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. You can use a regular pie pan if you have no other choice, but its not as pretty and it doesn’t hold as much.

In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 Tbs sugar, cornstarch and water.

Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 5 minutes.  

Sauce shouldn't be lumpy when its done.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to set the timer because I walk away and forget I was even cooking anything. ADD anyone?

After boiling, remove from heat and strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. This part is a true labor of love. I did it because I love my daughter and she has asked for the hardest and most time consuming dessert for her birthday. If anyone knows a better way, by all means, tell me!

You'll want the scrape the sauce off the bottom of the strainer to get every last drop.

 

Preheat oven to 325 F.

This is where you cannot be a cheapskate.  Use Ghirardelli chips. 

It’s a rule. 

In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips and half n half, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Then break open the extra bag of chocolate chips you bought and toss back a handful. I don’t judge.

In a large bowl (Kitchen-aid), mix cream cheese and ½ cup sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. 

Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 Tbs raspberry over sauce over batter. I chose to swirl it around, cause that’s how I roll, but you don’t need to. 

Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan and again spoon 3 Tbs raspberry sauce over the top. 

Swirl batter with a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Strawberry Pie

  This is one of those recipes that I hesitate to give out. I hate saying that because I think its dumb when people don't share recipes. I understand, but I still think its dumb. I believe that unless you created the recipe from scratch or it is a family recipe handed down from your great great aunt and she'd haunt you for eternity for sharing it, then you should spread the food happiness around. I only hesitate to give it out because I love taking this pie to share with people. I love getting the credit. I love being told how amazing and completely delicious it is, and asked, "Can I please have the recipe?" No....they can't. But you can.

So I am finally sharing it now because this is not in fact, my own recipe. I "stole" this one from the mother of an ex-boyfriend...of my sister. Like 15 years ago.
  Man I hope you guys like this, I've talked it up too much:)

Ingredients: 4 lbs Fresh Strawberries(I had 2 lbs and had to go buy more)
2 Deep Dish Pie Crusts (mine are store bought, feel free to make your         own if you feel like showing off)
1 Container of Strawberry Pie Glaze (sold by the strawberries, duh)
One 8 oz. Package Cream Cheese (Regular, NOT fat free)
1 Container Cool Whip
                                   About 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar


                                                                        Bake crusts as directed.

Okay, this was my first attempt at making the filling in a long time. I used Fat Free cream cheese. Fat Free. Seriously, shoot me the next time I do that. Its fine if cream cheese isn't a main part of the dish, but in this case it is the whole enchilada.

Don't add enchiladas to this recipe.


This is how that one turned out. I guess it was fine, but if you look closely, you can see tiny little granules of cream cheese still visible. I hate that. It infuriates me. So I moved on, still fuming.

In a separate bowl, pour glaze over strawberries. Don't do the whole container. you're gonna want them all just coated, not swimming through a sea of glaze. Pour a little and mix.....repeat until you're happy with it. I used about 2/3 of it for 2 lbs berries.




                                 This is a good amount.

Okay, so I couldn't deal with the cream cheese thing, so I refrigerated everything and finished up today, with a new package of full fat cream cheese. Mix together the cream cheese, Cool Whip, and Powdered sugar. The sugar is up to you on the amounts. Its really how sweet you like it. I used 1 1/2 cups.

Beat the heck out of it for 1-2 minutes, and thats it. See how creamy? It was effortless.

 Here it is again......












Oh wait....

One more time, just look at the difference. Poopy grainy fat free cream cheese mixture on the left, smooth dreamy creamy mixture on the right.....the left one isn't really poopy.

Put a generous dallop (I like that word) of creamy goodness on your cooled cooked pie crust.

Spread it around. Make sure its a thick layer.

Remember these bad boys?







Sure you do.....
Pour 'em right on top.

     Yum.

  I couldn't wait. In fact, I was eating this as I wrote this post. I'll probably be eating more as you read it too. I seriously can't figure out why 2 hours of working out per day isn't helping....

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Okay...I have a confession. Yesterday I ate a smore for breakfast. Yes, its true. It was delicious. And today, I made cake. For breakfast. I love running, that's all I have to say about that.
This recipe comes from the blog, "The girl who ate everything". It is very sweet. It is very cakey. Maybe better for dessert than breakfast. Lesson learned.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Start with 3 cups flour.

 Then you'll add 1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim, as though it'll make a difference)
 1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs

Mix well.....
                                                                                 

 You'll want to stop and scrape down the sides, then mix a little more....
                                                                                

Add melted butter. Mix well.

Spread batter evenly into a greased 13x9 inch pan. I love bakers joy, by the way.....just a little fyi







Now for the topping:

Down the hatch:)

Show me a baker who says they don't eat brown sugar straight, and I'll show you a filthy liar.

Mix together 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 Tbs Cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped pecans if you're feelin it today,
I  was not.

I did, however throw in 1 or 2 or 8 extra shakes of cinnamon.

 Again, you'll want to scrape down the sides....

I know, this looks gross. Just toss the cinnamon mixture haphazardly wherever you want. I did. The floor, the cupboard door, go crazy.









Then take a knife and make swirly twirly pretty patterns all over the cake.











This is what your cake should look like. Unless it doesn't. I'm sure yours looks fine.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. That's what my recipe said. It lied to me. It ended up baking around 40 minutes. I haven't met your oven. Just bake it for 30 minutes and then stick a toothpick into it to test doneness. If its not done, check again every 5 minutes till the toothpick comes out clean.






                                  
Now go wash your dishes. You slob.

Heres a little sideways view of the Glaze. Sorry, forgot to turn it. Bummer. You will need:  2 cups Powdered Sugar, 5 Tbs Milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well.

Drizzle glaze over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yummy.