Amaretto Cheesecake Bars

I have been a fan of a creamy cheesecake since I was little girl. To me a dense cheesecake the your fork will stand up in, is kind of dry and so rich that it's hard for me to finish. These are rich but light weight, creamy and perfect as bar size.

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg brought to room temp
erature
4 tablespoons amaretto

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons whole roasted almonds — chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray.

Combine flour, salt and brown sugar in bowl of food process and pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until mixture is coarse. Set aside about (estimate) 1 cup of mixture for topping, then press remaining into pan. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Clean food processor bowl and add cream cheese and sugar. Process cheese and sugar until very smooth.

Add egg, amaretto and vanilla and pulse until mixed. Spread batter over partially baked crust.
Add almonds to reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle over cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack, then chill.

Cut into 6 or 8 squares, then cut each square into a triangle.

Makes 12 or 16

Oreo Cookie Brownies

What’s great about these brownies is, if you make them properly , they have an almost flakey texture. That is, they hold together and appear to be borderline cakey, but when you bite into them, they are almost truffle-like. Ofcourse it doesn't hurt that Oero cookies are a favorite of my husband.

And finally, Halloween. The orange and black Halloween themed Oreos are out now and I think broken Halloween Oreos would look really good.
8 ounces unsalted butter

8 ounces plus
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz total)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

8 Oreo cookies, broken up

Preheat the oven to 350º. Line a 13×9 inch metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Melt the butter, 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.

Stir (do not beat) eggs, vanilla, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, salt and espresso powder together in another bowl then add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the Oreo chunks and 4 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with remaining 2 tablespoon of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool, then chill brownies. Lift from pan and cut into squares.

Makes about 32
Note: Recipe works well in an 8 inch square pan too. Just use half of all ingredients (1 ½ Tablespoons of beaten egg for the ½ egg).

Almond Toffee

The recipe below is a fairly small batch. Once you master this size, you might want to double it and use a larger pot.


1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, divided use
2 sticks unsalted butter — 1/2 pound (salted works too)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces good quality dark or milk chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1/2 cup of the almonds on a non-stick cookie sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes or until toasted and aromatic. Set aside.

Line a 13×9 or 15×10 inch pan with parchment paper and set next to stove.

Place butter in a heavy bottom (helps prevent burning), medium sized (3 qt) saucepan and melt over medium heat. When butter is mostly melted, stir in sugar, warm water and salt. Set a deep fry or candy thermometer in pan, being careful that bulb is not touching bottom of pan. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring once in a while (once or twice around), until it reaches 240 degrees F.

At 240 degrees, add the remaining 1 cup sliced almonds to sugar mixture. After adding almonds, stir constantly, keeping heat at medium, until mixture reaches 295 degrees F. If temperature is not rising at a slow and steady rate, raise heat a tiny bit until mercury starts rising. When mixture reaches 295 degrees F, immediately remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Pour into parchment lined pan. The mixture should be kind of a liquid blob at hit point and if you are on track, the pan will be clean when you dump the blob of candy onto the parchment. Mixture will begin to firm, and butter may pool and separate, Do not pour off any excess butter. Do not panic, because if you cooked the toffee to 295, your candy should set. Sometimes it just takes longer.

Scatter chopped chocolate across top of hot almond mixture and let chocolate melt into and over the candy as candy firms. Using back of a spoon or off set spatula, spread melted chocolate evenly over candy. Crush your toasted almonds and sprinkle over melted chocolate. Let candy cool for 1/2 hour at room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator and chill for about 1 hour to firm chocolate.

When chocolate is set is set, lift candy from pan by grasping parchment. Break candy into large chunks.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Autumn has finally arrived, and nothing celebrates this colorful season better than our favorite orange veggie ...the pumpkin!

Ingredients:
3 cups granulated sugar
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C)

Grease and flour three 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, or 5-6 mini loaf pans

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, vanilla extract and eggs, and beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl add the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt to the flour and stir with a whisk to break up any lumps.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture in batches, blending after each addition until combined. Gently, fold in chocolate chips and nuts (if desired). Bake for ~1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove pans from the oven and allow to cool for ~5 minutes. Remove bread from pans and cool on wire racks.

Do not allow it to completely cool in the pan, as it will become soggy

Five Minute, Artisan Bread

I admit, that I enjoy cooking great meals. Homemade bread with a great crust however, has always alluded me. I love it, but can’t seem to make it. Sure I can made great quick breads and bread use a bread machine, but somehow I always find myself attracted to the fresh bread at the grocery store like a magnet.

I have spent hours in the kitchen kneading and watching dough rise but still couldn’t seem to make anything close to what I wanted. Now that I’m taking some time off from work I set out to find the right recipe, and I am very happy to say that I think I found it. I actually made good, artisan-quality fresh bread that requires little time commitment. Leave it to me to find this now, when I have plenty of time for the usual kneading and waiting for the dough to rise. I found out about no-knead bread. The first time I tried baking using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method.

This method uses steam to make a chewy, crisp crust just like the batard loaves I would by at Whole Foods. This bread is not airy and full of holes, and it’s not lightweight and squishy on the inside. This bread is substantial and worth the small amount of time required. Just a few minutes mixing 4 ingredients in a bucket, no kneading, refrigerate up to 14 days depending on the type of bread you make, then shape it, let it rise, and bake it. The Five Minutes refers to the amount of actual hands-on work for making the basic loaf of bread. You want a baguette or a batard to have with soup or appetizers, or you want a nice pizza dough, or you get a phone call saying someone is coming over for dinner and you want a nice loaf for the meal, and you can have any of those with just a few minutes of active work. You still have to plan for rising time and preheating the oven, which are not factored in to the equation, but overall this method is one of the easiest I’ve ever tried.

I baked my first loaf on a pizza stone. I just placed it on the hot pizza stone because I don’t have a peel and it worked fine, although the pretty slits I made in the dough didn’t make it.

If you haven’t tried this before the authors Jeff and Zoe have some You Tube videos demonstrating the technique, which are very helpful for bread baking.

Fancy Chocolate Caramel Apples

So, most would think that caramel apples are just of halloween, but I think different. When my husband mentioned that he liked caramel apples I first asked him why it took 16 years to tell me. So I started searching for something a little more interesting than just plain caramel apples.

What I found was very simple and delivered a real WOW effect. Crisp apples, dipped in caramel, chilled, dipped in chocolate and rolled in other goodies. To make it simple, I used caramel candies instead of making the caramel from scratch. I also mixed semi-sweet and milk chocolate pieces. I find using semi-sweet a little too bitter and the milk chocolate a bit too sweet, so the mixture was just right for me.

Select firm apples, Granny Smith are excellent and a bit tart, Honey Crisp are also excellent crispy apple that has a balance of tart and sweet. Wash throughly to remove any wax. You may also want to run them under hot water to remove the waxy residue. Place the sticks in the center of the apple.

Melt the caramel in a sauce pan adding 2 tablespoons of water. Once completely melted remove from heat and dip the apple in the caramel and roll to coat. Place the apple on a cookie sheet lined with foil that's been buttered or a silpat. Once all of the apples have been coated, place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes to set.


While the apples are setting up, prepare the chopped nuts, M & M’s, Reeses pieces, crushed cookies, mini marshmallows & graham cracker crumbs, anything that you want to cover the chocolate apples.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a glass bowl placed on top of sauce pan with boiling water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not sit in the water as not to burn your chocolate.

When the apples have chilled, dip them in the chocolate and while the chocolate is still warm, into your favorite topping and put them back in the refrigerator to harden.

I used Honey Crisp apples and covered the chocolate with Oreo cookie crumbs. My husband loved them and one apple goes a long way when cut.

I think I might add these to my Christmas baskets.

Here’s the video that got me started. I'm only posting part 2 because she makes the caramel in part one and doesn't give amounts. Besides, using ready made caramels was easier for me.

Oh, left over caramel? Do the same with pretzel rods.

The Right Gift For The Right Person

I've read posts before from recipients of our wonderful homemade gifts. Many toss them out without even trying them. But you have to think about what you're making, who it's going to and if they would enjoy or know how to use what you've given.

Teachers for one have written numerous posts about receiving a food gift that they immediately throw out. So, do you really want to give flavored vinegar, or infused fruit to someone who has no use for it? And if it is for your child's teacher, how well do you know him/her? Do you know them well enough that if you were the teacher, that you would eat their food gift?

I realize that it's the gift that counts, but why put in the effort if it's just going to be thrown away. On the other hand, there are lots of people eager for your homemade gifts. So let's list several items and see how they appeal to you.

- Chocolate Covered Spoons (would YOU use these? If so, how?)

- Gift Basket . Your basket can include homemade cookies and other yummy food.
Buy a cheap basket at the $2 store or craft store. Line it with a decorative kitchen towel or shredded tissue paper. Fill it with any sort of goodies you can think of, from soaps to wine or a favorite movie. Wrap the basket in shrink wrap and use a hair dryer to blow-dry the shrink wrap on the basket to stay in place.

- Knit a warm fuzzy scarf.
It will be a lasting memory and really useful if your gift recipient(s) live somewhere cold. If you don’t know how to knit, there are many websites, books, and magazines that can teach you how. Or you could go to the nearest yarn store and ask one of the people there for lessons.

- Make Gourmet Candy Apples. (I love these and they are a delicious treat for your friends and family.)
I'll post about these in a future blog

- Bake breads or cookies (and a jar of homemade jam for the bread)
Package them in a tin or basket add a decorative ribbon to dress it up. If you can splurge a bit more you can include a bread knife, wooden cutting board or bread cookbook with the bread gift. For the more experienced cook you can try truffles, candies, etc. For an easy fix, buy tubes of cookie dough.

- Give hot chocolate mixes with a mug.
Just find the ingredients you like, mix together, seal in a bag or container and give with a big mug for drinking. This is a great gift for families as you can give each person an individual mug. This is also a great just in case gift to keep at the house for a last minute hostess gift or that person you accidentally forgot. Easy to transport, it’s great for giving at the office or school.

- Candy Coated Pretzels.
Dip one end of a big pretzel stick in melted chocolate. Roll in either mini M&Ms, colored sprinkles, chopped nuts, or crushed candy cane. Allow to harden by placing the undipped end down in a drinking glass. Wrap in cellophane.

- Go for a movie theme.
Buy a bucket of movie popcorn, include a box of candy and a gift card for a movie store. Makes a great last-minute gift.

- Give cute tea cups and saucers, for the tea lover. (add homemade quick bread or scones)
Shop thrift stores, antique stores, pottery outlets, yard sales or your own cabinet for tea cups and saucers. Add several gourmet tea bags, individually packaged tea bags or fill with packets of gourmet cocoa mix packets. Wrap with cellophane and top with a holiday bow. (Hint: add a drop of glue or piece of tape to attach the saucer to the cup to prevent from slipping or breaking.) This is a great way to get rid of old china.

Tips

Shrink wrap can be purchased on rolls that look like wrapping paper rolls in most craft stores. Look for the kind you simply wrap around the basket and blow dry to seal.

If you have a specialty food you can make it and put it in a container. Include a recipe card with the details of how to make it. If you make a sauce or marinade, bottle it and include a card for ways it can be served or used.

Do the math! If it will cost you $20 to get the supplies to make the present you may be better off buying a small gift. Try to make gifts utilizing items you already have or doing a craft you are already good at. This is not the time to embark on a new craft hobby if you’re not crafty. There are still inexpensive gifts you can give but embellish the wrapping or give it in a basket to make it seem more homemade…

About Making Jam

If you've never made jam before, don't worry, it's pretty easy to do. If the fruit is high in pectin, a natural substance that helps the fruit jell, it can be boiled with a sweetener and a bit of acid until it reaches the thickness desired. If the fruit is low in pectin, powdered or liquid pectin is added to help the jam set. Measure carefully, stir frequently to avoid scorching, and test often to see if the jam has reached the jelling point.

Testing for the jelling point

This is not complicated. Simply place a small spoonful of jam on a small plate and put the plate in the freezer for 1 minute. Take it out and draw your finger through the middle of the pool of jam. if the surface wrinkles and the channel left by your finger stays divided, your jam is ready. You may have to do this a few times when you're just starting. If you've already done one test and think that the mixture is close to the jelling point, remove it from the heat while you do the test to prevent it from overcooking.

The amount of time it takes to get to the jelling point for each batch of jam can vary tremendously. The amount of time is affected by the type of fruit, the ripeness of the fruit, and even the amount of rain that fell during the growing season. It is affected by how well your pot conducts heat, the temperature of your stove, and whether your pot is low and wide or narrow and high. Because of the variability, cooking times may not be listed in all recipes.

Don't forget this is not Jell-O, you should be able to drizzle the jam over a hot biscuit. If the jam is too soupy, put it all back in the pot and cook a little longer. Conversely, rock-solid jam can be heated with more water to thin it if necessary.

Storing Jams and Marmalades

Jam ladled into sterilized jars can be stored in the refrigerator of up to 3 months. (To sterilize jars, submerge them in boiling water for 10 minutes.) The boiling water bath method of preserving jam is the most practical, because the jars will keep at room temperature for up to a year. So you won't have to worry about refrigerator space until the jar is opened. If you are still new to jam making, don't worry about the number of steps involved with the water bath. This process is relatively short and simple.


I've added a link to a great site that shows how to make jam.

Jams and Marmalades

If you've never experienced the satisfactions of making a batch of jam, beware: It can become an obsession. On the plus side, your friends will benefit from your new fixation and your holiday shopping could be complete by the end of the summer. And with a few jars of your special blend of jam, you'll always be ready with a hostess gift, a neighbor who needs a pick-me-up, your child's teacher. And since the jam is ready and waiting you may be inspired to bake a loaf of bread, or stir up a batch of corn muffin mix to go along with it.

Buying organic fruit at a farm stand, farmer's market or picking your own in the summer is one of the pleasures of making jam.
Any fruit that is to be used for preserving must be in tip-top condition. You cannot rescue slightly overripe or bruised fruits by putting them in a preserving jar.

It is always better to make your jams in season, however if this is not possible you can freeze the fruit until you are ready to use them. Fresh fruits that your froze are better than store bought commercially frozen, however the commercially frozen can also be used.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

With the way the economy is today, forecasters are predicting that less will be spent on presents this holiday season. I’ve always made gifts for my neighbors and they always look forward to my next endeavor.

I have read on other blogs and in chat rooms from ladies who dread getting something homemade as gifts from their friends. Maybe it’s what they’ve gotten in the past. I know when I get cookies, spiced nuts or even homemade instant hot chocolate, I’ve always been excited. And the time and effort out into making these is added value to me.

A parent with a busy schedule, a college student, and single friends are few of the candidates who might appreciate a gift of cookies, breads, granola or hot chocolate mix.

However if your friends are more interested in keeping up with the Jones’s, or being the Jones’ then they generally put less value on the time and love put into these delightful homemade gifts.

Last year I invited 5 friends over and we tried making different jams and apple butter. It was actually much easier than we ever thought, tasted great. We had a wonderful time together that we vowed to do it again this year.

There are so many ways to present your homemade gift. Depending upon your skills in the kitchen, jams and apple butter can be given with homemade bread, quick bread or scones. Along side a loaf pan, popover pan, biscuit mix or pancake mix (the jam can be heated and made into syrup).