cream cheese

Pumpkin Cookie Pies

It is starting to really feel like fall here.  The evenings are cool, the leaves are starting to change and fall off the trees, and it is now permissible to make fall flavored desserts!  So, in honor of this wonderful season I bought 4 cans of pumpkin and am going a little crazy baking pumpkin desserts.

Today I made soft, almost cake-like pumpkin cookies sandwiching a smooth cream cheese frosting.  After making a few of the sandwiches I decided to simply ice the rest of the cookies.  I made the cookies a little big, and so two of the cookies with the filling just made them a bit daunting.

This recipe is from Tasty Kitchen.  Here is the link. If you look at this recipe you will notice that one tedious element is piping the cookies onto individual pieces of parchment paper.  I just used an ice cream scoop and dolloped the cookie batter onto a large piece of parchment.  This works just fine, but does give the cookies more of a mounded appearance.  I fit 6 cookies per sheet and made a total of 35 cookies.

These cookies are quite soft, and the frosting makes them even harder to transport since you can’t stack them.  So, these may be a dessert I make and serve from my our kitchen instead of trying to take them somewhere…like I did today.  Ben liked them because they were not too sweet, and my friend Jackie said they had the texture of a pumpkin bread.  They are quite good after chilling in the fridge for a few hours and eaten cold.

I think fall is my favorite baking season.  Maybe I’ll make a pie here pretty soon.  You don’t have to have a reason to make a pie, right?

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Baked Chicken Taquitos

Some of our great friends are leaving the hustle and bustle of Amarillo and are moving down to Houston at the end of the month.  We’re very sad to lose them and they will be missed!  It’s even more sad since they are some of the only Aggies we know up here!  We had a little going away party for them this past weekend.

We had an hors d’oeurves dinner and had a wide variety of tasty foods that I need recipes for now.  A super delcious queso, spicy jalapeño, black bean and corn dip, and some crazy good chocolate chip cookies.

I made chicken taquitos that turned out to be pretty good.  These were easy to prepare ahead of time, easy to assemble, they re-heated well and were a popular item on our buffet table.

I used a rotisserie chicken, a “Fiesta” blend of cheese and added a little more lime juice and cilantro than the original recipe.  Low fat cream cheese is fine in this recipe.  You can change up the filling any way you’d like.  There are so many options with taquitos!  I made a black bean and corn version that people liked even more than the chicken ones, so I’ll get around to typing that one up in the next couple days.  Enjoy! (more…)

Cream Cheese & Oat Bars

There isn’t much to say about these creamy, yet crunchy, sweet, yet salty and incredibly yummy bars except that they are terrific.  They are lovely and simple, and I will be marking this one in my recipe collection as one that is an all around pleaser and something I will probably make many times in the future.

I found this recipe on Bake or Break.  The title is what initially drew me to the post, but then I saw the photo and knew I really had to make these bars.

I used pecans instead of cashews, and simply left out the apple butter because the only jar I found at the grocery store cost $8, and I wasn’t about to pour $8 onto a crumb crust and cover it with cream cheese.  I am sure the apple butter would have been delicious, but they are wonderful without it as well.  Ben’s dad really liked them and suggested maybe raspberry jam instead of the apple butter, which I think would add a great tartness to this sweet bar.

The bottom crust is thick.  I would maybe take a little more of the crust mixture out and put it on top next time.  The original recipe calls for removing 1 1/2 cups of the mixture…I would take out 1 3/4 or even 2 cups.  After you bake the crust, you do not have to wait for it to cool completely.  I waited about 10 minutes before pouring on the cream cheese mixture.  If you plan to spread either apple butter or jam, you may want to wait a bit longer so that you don’t break the bottom crust while spreading.

The cream cheese filling is perfect as is; I wouldn’t change a thing.  I did use one low-fat package of cream cheese, and am sure using all low-fat would be fine.  So, I guess I did change one thing.

We ate these while they were still a little warm, and then the next day after chilling in the fridge.  I liked them both warm and cool, although the butter is chilled so much straight from the fridge that I feel it needs a few minutes to warm up before the flavor of the butter can really be appreciated.  Man, I love butter.

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Blueberry Cream Cheese Pastries

These sweet little pastry packages are lovely.  Pre-made puff pastry makes this a dessert that requires very little hard labor in the kitchen.  Assembling these pastries is not exactly a breeze, but they are worth it.

I found this recipe hidden in Fine Cooking from August of 2010.  It is the “Letter from the Editor” section that I wouldn’t have seen if I hadn’t seen the recipe in the index.  The other fruit pies in this edition are so beautiful, but more time consuming since you make your own dough.

For me, this was a perfect dessert for our Sunday night dinner guests.  I made them earlier in the day and stored them in the fridge until time to bake.  I stuck them in the oven when we sat down to dinner, and they were done at the perfect time to enjoy them.

The recipe below is changed slightly from the original.  The original recipe calls for creme de cassis, which I do not have on hand these days, and so I substituted almond extract with good results.  I used low fat cream cheese, and cut smaller circles to make smaller pies.  Unintentionally, I did not cut vents in my pastries.  This probably caused more of the gooey insides to leak out, but they were still delicious.  I served these with vanilla ice cream.  The crunchy sugary tops are wonderful, and the combination of blueberry and cream cheese in the center reminds me of a grown up Toaster Strudel.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pastries

Ingredients

  • 2 17.3 ounce packages frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 4 ounces cream cheese (low-fat is fine) softened
  • 7 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs yolks
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 2 teaspoons cornstartch
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, 4 tablespoons sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 egg yolk and mix until well combined.
  3. Combine the blueberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, almond extract and salt and mix gently.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out individual puff pastry sheets into a 10 by 10 inch square.
  5. Using a round cutter (3 1/2 inches to 4 inches) cut out 4-6 rounds from the pastry depending on the size of your cutter.  Arrange the circles on a parchment lined baking sheet. (You will need 2 or 3 sheets)
  6. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water.  Brush the outer edges of each dough round with egg wash.
  7. Dollop about 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture in the center of the round, then top with about 1 tablespoon of blueberries.
  8. Fold in half to form a half moon and pinch edges to seal.  You may use  the tines of a fork to seal as well.
  9. Lightly brush each pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Cut a small steam vent in the top of each pastry.
  10. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
  11. Cool slightly, then remove from the baking sheet.
  12. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Creamy Cheesecake

This recipe is from Fine Cooking.  I love Fine Cooking.  The website has great recipes, but the magazine is so worth having.  The articles are interesting, the recipes have never disappointed me, the photos are beautiful, and they always include fun home and kitchen finds that I end up pining after.  The only complaint I have is that I only get an issue once every 2 months.  Here is the link to the recipe.

Cheesecake can be so incredibly delicious.  It can also be totally overdone.  For example, there is a cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory that mixes together cheesecake and pieces of carrot cake, slathers the top in cream cheese icing and tops it all off with candied almonds.  No, thanks Cheesecake Factory!

I like my cheesecake pure and unadulterated.  Buttery graham cracker crust filled with luscious creamy filling.  No chocolate, no caramel, no fake fruity sauces, just cheesecake.  I don’t mind fresh berries sitting on the side of the plate with a sprig of mint, but don’t mess with my cheesecake.  Keep it simple.

This cheesecake is very good.  The graham cracker crust is just right, not too thick and not too thin.  The filling is incredibly creamy.  The sour cream and lemon add a great tangy-ness and it isn’t overly sweet.  I might have under-baked it a bit.  The very center of the cake was on the verge of gooey, but turned out to be OK.  I blame this on the recipe, though.  After the cake bakes for 45 minutes, you turn off the oven and let it sit for an hour without opening the oven.  So, I didn’t have a chance to check on it!  It wasn’t my fault!

Overall, very tasty cheesecake and something I will make again.  Next time I will bake it for 50-55 minutes.  Other than that there are no changes that I would make.  Enjoy!

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St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Glad to report that I made it to Austin this weekend and got to see my pregnant sister and feel lil Kim kick, punch and hiccup a few times.  Babies are amazing.  I don’t think there will come a time in my life that I am not completely and totally in awe of a pregnant woman.  That little kid has fingers, toes, and eyelashes!  Incredible.  I cannot wait to see my little niece in just a few months…

I also got to see my nephew, my parents, aunt, uncle, cousin, and many relatives and family friends at my Grandpa’s 90th birthday celebration on Sunday.  It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with those people.  I am so blessed to have such incredible family and friends!

Back in Amarillo tonight and remembered that I had some of this cake leftover in the fridge.  The piece I ate today wasn’t as good as it was 5 days ago, but it was still tasty.  It was crazy gooey and delicious freshly made!

In my search for the origin of gooey butter cake, I discovered that the cake’s roots are in St. Louis.  I know next to nothing about St. Louis.  I do know that this is the home of the well known Gateway arch, which is the tallest man-made monument in our country standing at 630 feet at its highest point.  It is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and it located near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark expedition.  I had no idea there was so much historical significance to the arch!  Maybe I will plan a vacation to see some historical sights in the USA someday.  Someday…

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Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

These cute little cupcakes were for a December birthday lunch at work.  I really over-committed myself this week.  We attended Ben’s office party on Tuesday night, I volunteered to make a dessert for the birthday lunch, I’m bringing Swedish meatballs and a very time consuming little cookie to a Christmas party tonight, and I’m hosting a cookie swap tomorrow that I have yet to bake cookies for.  Yikes!  Needless to say, I did not want to make something complicated or too terribly time-consuming.  So, I made spice cupcakes…from a box! 

I wasn’t lazy enough to use canned frosting, so I made a basic cream cheese frosting and added a few tablespoons of maple syrup.  It was a bit of a stretch for me as a recipe follower, but it turned out to be a nice frosting for the spice cupcakes. 

spice1

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
  1. Cream together butter and cream cheese.
  2. Mix in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until it is a bit thicker than your desired consistency.
  3. Add maple syrup and beat until smooth.