Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

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Summer is coming, and summer calls for light, refreshing summer-y desserts.  These lemon blueberry cheesecake bars blend the perfect amount of sweetness, tartness, richness, creaminess and crunchiness. 

You could probably use any berry with good results.  I love the combination of lemon and blueberry, so these are my kind of dessert bar.  They are very sturdy, so they would travel well.  Bring them on your next picnic!  Enjoy.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Blueberry Filling:

  • 1 cup blueberries, chopped
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

 Crumb Mixture:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup butter

 Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

 Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan combine blueberry filling ingredients; stir until corn starch is dissolved. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
  3. In a large bowl, combine all crumb mixture ingredients except butter; mix well. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly in bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
  4. In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended; pour into baked crust.
  5. Spoon blueberry filling over cream cheese filling, lightly swirl with knife.
  6. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over filling.
  7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely, then chill. Cut into bars.

Grilled Pita Bread

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Bread is not my forte.  I am scared of things that require proofing yeast and waiting for dough to double in size.  Because inevitably the yeast does not proof, and the dough does not double.  I know all the tricks to avoid such problems.  Make sure your yeast is active and not expired.  Make sure your water is between 110° and 115°F.  Make sure you let the dough rise in a relatively warm space.  Despite my efforts, I have failed more than once in the bread department and this makes attempting yet another bread both frightening and daunting.

With my past experiences, why would I subject myself to more bread baking?  Because grilled pita bread sounded way too delicious to pass up.  I am so very glad that I decided to make these.  Every other part of the meal was incredibly tasty, but these were my favorite part.  This may have been because I was a successful bread baker for one night, or they might have been that good.  The exterior is so crunchy and delicious.  The pita are pretty thick, so the interior is soft and fluffy.  These were a great complement to our dinner of grilled Thai chicken and roasted asparagus.  Of course this would be a perfect partner to a Greek meal of souvlaki and tabbouleh.

The dough is easy to put together in the stand mixer and rose well after the first hour.  It was a snap to roll out the individual pitas and let them rise for another 45 minutes.  I was a bit scared about them sticking to the grill, but the olive oil brushed onto the pitas helped with the sticking and hepled to achieve a nice crisp crust.  They only about 3 minutes on the first side and 2-3 on the other.  Check them so they don’t burn.  They are tastiest fresh from the grill, but can be reheated in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.

Grilled Pita Bread

Courtesy of Fine Cooking (slightly adapted)

  • 1 Tbs. honey
  • 2 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more as needed
  • 1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil; more for the bowl and for brushing pitas
  1. In a small bowl, mix the honey with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and stir in the yeast. Let sit until the yeast has started to foam, 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Put both flours and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer running on low speed, mix in the olive oil until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup lukewarm water and mix until fully incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Raise the speed to medium and knead the dough until it comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball that is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, 4 to 5 minutes. If the dough seems too wet, add more all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. at a time. Raise the speed to medium high and continue to knead for 5 minutes. Oil a medium bowl, transfer the dough to the bowl, and roll to coat it with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead two or three times to remove any air bubbles. Form into a log and divide it evenly into 10 pieces. Form each piece into a ball and then roll into disks about 1/4 inch thick and 6 inches in diameter. Lightly oil two rimmed baking sheets. Put the disks on the baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until just doubled in thickness, 30 to 45 minutes.
  4. Heat a gas grill to medium high heat, and oil the grates.  Brush the pitas lightly with olive oil, and lay the pitas, oil side down on the grill.  Cook the pitas in batches on the grill until starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Brush with oil, then flip and continue cooking until lightly golden on the bottom and the pitas are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more. Cool on a wire rack. If stuffing, cut the pitas in half and carefully separate the layers with a fork.

Circus Cookie Taste Test

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Mother’s Circus Cookies are one of the most fun and delicious packaged cookies you can buy at the store.  How can you resist these sweet animal-shaped cookies covered in white and hot pink icing and rainbow sprinkles?  Well, you probably can’t resist them…unless for some crazy reason you have never tried them, or, even more shocking, tried them but did not find them irresistible!

A few years ago, these delicious cookies were on the verge of extinction when Mother’s Bakery closed.  Thankfully, Kellogg came along in 2008 and started making the cookies with the original recipe!  I love these cookies.

I saw a bag of them the other day, and broke down and bought them.  A little later while in the store, I saw a bag of Animals Frosted Cookies made my Keebler.  I was interested to find out which was better, so I bought those cookies also.

Here are my findings and analysis of the two cookies.

In this photo, the top 2 cookies are Mother’s and the bottom 2 are Keebler.

Appearance:  Mother’s have brighter colors, while the Keebler cookies are more pastel in hue.  Both have sprinkles, but Mother’s has more sprinkles per cookie.  Mather’s are smaller in size than Keebler.

Texture:  The cookie textures Are similar but Mother’s are a bit crunchier.  The frosting texture is softer on the Keebler but also waxier.  Mother’s has a firmer exterior of frosting that lacks the waxy aftertaste.

Flavor: Mother’s cookies ware a tiny bit sweeter, but the cookies were pretty similar aside from the waxy frosting.

The Verdict:  Mother’s wins, no question.  They are definitely the better cookie in every category and are just tastier…in my opinion, anyway.  When given the choice, choose Mother’s.

Chocolate Chunk Pudding Cookies

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In college a friend gave me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that uses pudding mix in the dough resulting in an extra soft and tasty cookie.  Of course I lost the recipe in one of the 4 moves I’ve made across Texas in the last 5 years.  I came across this recipe this past weekend and decided to see if they were like Ashley’s.

I found the recipe on Kraft foods website. Here is the link.

They were not quite the same, but they were good.  I used some high quality milk and white chocolate in these cookies which made them extra special.  Good chocolate really does make a difference.  Chopping off a block of chocolate instead of using chips also makes a difference in the texture of the chocolate in the finished cookie.

I used half butter and half shortening in these, which makes the cookies more sturdy and causes them to spread less, but I will use all butter next time.  Some cookies can take the half shortening short cut without much of a sacrifice of flavor….but not this cookie.  For some reason they tasted too fake to me and too much like a grocery store cookie instead of a homemade one.

All of that negativity doesn’t make these cookies at all un-tasty.  I really liked how soft and chewy they were and absolutely loved the white and milk chocolate chunks.  Crazy good.

Chocolate Chunk Pudding Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, room temp
  • 1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 package (3.4 oz) vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 taespoon baking soda
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 6 ounces chopped milk chocolate
  • 4 ounces chopped white chocolate
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 375°F.
  2. Beat butter, sugars, dry pudding mix and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended.
  3. Add eggs and baking soda; mix well.
  4. Gradually add flour, beating after each addition until well blended.
  5. Stir in chocolate.
  6. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.
  7. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until golden brown. Cool 3 min. on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Triple Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

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An undeniable craving for oatmeal cookies struck me last week.  I rummaged through the baking cabinet…yes, I have a cabinet filled almost exclusively with baking goods and gadgets…and found a bag of peanut butter chips.  Mmm.  Then I went to the pantry and was drawn toward the jar of creamy peanut butter and the container of roasted peanuts.  Peanut butter oatmeal cookies were calling to me.  I toyed with the idea of adding some dark chocolate chips, or maybe some crushed pretzels, but in the end all peanut was the way to go.

I looked at a few regular oatmeal cookie recipes for some basic ratios and then changed and added as I thought necessary.  My final recipe is below.  There are a few things I might tinker with in the future, but these cookies were very good.  They have a nice full peanut flavor, a good contrast of salty and sweet, they are crunchy yet chewy, and delicious.

Triple Peanut Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups oats
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1 cup chopped peanuts

Directions

  1. Beat together butter, shortening and peanut butter until smooth.
  2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, powder and salt.
  5. Mix in flour mixture  until just combined.
  6. Add in oats, peanut butter chips and peanuts and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
  7. Spoon dough onto baking sheets using a large scoop (2-3 tablespoons) about 1 inch apart.
  8. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
  9. Let cool on pan for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Basil Guacamole

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Glorious guacamole.  It is one of my favorite foods not just because of its deliciousness, but because it is so very versatile.  You can enjoy it as a dip for chips, as a spread for a sandwich, in a wrap, on a taco, on fajitas and on top of a salad.  Guacamole is also good for you thanks to the avocado!  Avocados provide many essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid.  High is good fats, avocados give you a great excuse to indulge in guacamole.  Now, the chips…they’re not quite so nutrient packed, but they are tasty.

This recipe is from epicurious.com.  Here is the link. The recipe recommends serving this “Italian take on the classic” guacamole with toasted ciabatta bread and crudités.  I served the guacamole with plain tortilla chips and some spicy flax seed chips that I found at World Market.  I think they’re called Sweet and Spicy Flax Seed Chips.  If you see them, you should try a bag.  I really liked how they tasted more substantial than a normal chip and had that great sweet and spicy combination.

I also bought a jar of roasted salsa from World Market.  It packed quite a punch in the heat department, but wasn’t unbearable.  We used some of it the next morning in our migas.

The guacamole was definitely different than your everyday avocado, cilantro, tomato, jalapeno, onion and lime guacamole.  The basil is detectable, as are the shallot and lemon juice.  The flavors are perfect together and I really enjoyed it.  I think it would be really tasty on the toasted ciabatta as the recipe suggested.  Next time I will try it that way, or maybe with plain pita chips.  Yum.

Basil Guacamole

Ingredients

  • 6 medium avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, diced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil plus leaves for garnish
  • ½ cup finely chopped shallots

Directions

  1. Place avocados in large bowl; add lemon juice.
  2. Using fork or potato masher, crush avocados coarsely.
  3. Mix in 1/2 cup chopped basil and shallots.
  4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. Can be made 1 hour ahead. Cover and chill.

Photos courtesy of Carrie Hartman

Overnight French Toast

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Breakfast.  The most important meal of the day.  It also happens to be the most boring meal of the day for me most of the time.  I am not organized enough, and I don’t get up early enough to fix anything more exciting than a bowl of cereal and some fruit.  Every now and then I have enough time to scramble a few eggs, but that is rare.  So, when I have an opportunity to make something good for breakfast I make the most of it.

This weekend our great friends Carrie and Jason came up to visit.  We had such a nice and relaxing time together.  Sunday morning we had French toast casserole and migas for breakfast.  It was quite a delicious feast and something I plan to make again when we have guests.

The French toast is prepared the night before and allowed to sit in the fridge overnight to let the bread soak up the sugar, butter, eggs and milk.  I was pretty exhausted the night I was supposed to make the French toast and I almost felt like skipping it and just going to bed, but it took me less than 15 minutes to put it all together and pop it in the fridge so don’t let time be your excuse not to make this.

This breakfast is so very simple and easy.  In the bottom of a 9×13 pan goes a mixture of butter, brown sugar and corn syrup that has been melted together on the stove. The thick slices of French bread are placed atop this sugary sticky goodness, and the mixture of eggs, milk and vanilla is poured on top of everything.  Cover this in foil and go to bed.  When you wake up bake the dish for 45 minutes and voilà.  Breakfast.

The tops of the bread slices are golden brown as they come out of the oven.  The inside of each slice is creamy and delicious.  The bottom of each slice is covered in the rich buttery sugar sauce that has caramelized and become something very special thanks to its time in the oven.  So delicious.  Next time I will add some ground cinnamon and nutmeg to the milk mixture.  I served it with butter and syrup, and my husband had the ingenious idea of putting the sliced strawberries we had at the table on his slice.  Any kind of fruit or berry would be a good complement to this sweet, rich and crazy good French toast.  Make this some Saturday morning and make your breakfast guests very, very happy.

Overnight French Toast

Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, sliced
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Combine the corn syrup , butter, and brown sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has melted. Pour this mixture over the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch casserole dish.
  2. Place the bread slices over the sugar-butter mixture in the dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; pour this mixture over the bread. Cover the dish and let it stand in the refrigerator overnight.
  3. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  4. Uncover the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Serve while hot or warm or the French toast will harden in the pan. It can be reheated.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Toffee Brownies

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A few weeks ago I caught the end of Oprah while on the treadmill at the gym.  Her guests were the contestants of the 2010 Pillsbury Bake-Off, and at the end of the show they revealed the winner of the $1,000,000 grand prize.  This was the winning recipe, Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups.

These little treats look delicious!  And I know they must taste good as well.  How could they not?  The ingredients have no option but to create perfect sugary wonder!  Sugar cookie dough made into cups, dipped in chocolate and nuts, a spoonful of fruit jam in the bottom, topped with ice cream and fresh raspberries on top.  My problem with this is that it won $1,000,000 dollars.  They are somewhat creative I guess, but very little of this recipe is homemade or imaginative.

Were there no better recipes than this in the contest?  Seriously?  Who judges this contest?  A 10 year old who just LOVES ice cream sundaes?  Am I being harsh?

I got on the Pillsbury website and decided to go on a mission to look at other recipes that were contenders in the 2010 Bake Off. These brownies were among the finalists, and while they do use a brownie mix, there is more to these brownies than just a dressed up mix topped with ice cream.  On top of the brownie layer is spread a layer of sweet cream cheese and peanut butter goodness.  To finish things off, a layer of melted chocolate  is spread over the brownies and then sprinkled with toffee pieces.

Without having made the cookie cups, I can’t say for sure that these are better or more worthy of the prize, but they are very tasty.  Enjoy in small portions with a glass of milk because they are rich and quite chocolate-y.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Toffee Brownies

Courtesy of Pamela Shank

Ingredients

  • 1 box (19.5 oz) Brownie Mix
  • ½ cup Vegetable Oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • ½ cup Peanut Butter
  • 1 bag (8 oz) toffee bits
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spoon until smooth. Spread batter in pan; set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add milk and peanut butter; beat until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits. Spoon mixture over batter; spread evenly.

4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until cheesecake layer is set and edges are light golden brown. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate 40 minutes.

5. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and cream uncovered on High 40 to 60 seconds or until chips are melted; stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake layer. Sprinkle with remaining toffee bits. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.