Strawberry Cheesecake Hamantaschen

Yep, you heard me. Strawberry, cheesecake, hamantaschen. Head in to the kitchen right now and make them. You won't regret it. A buttery crisp shell with a rich filling of strawberry jam, cheesecake and a sprinkle of graham cracker (or Lotus cookie) crumbs - these are just one perfect bite. So what are you waiting for?

Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars

Remember the Lime Strawberry Cheesecake I shared a few weeks ago. I teased then that it was not the only cheesecake I made for the holiday of Shavuot. And indeed it was not, because sharing the spotlight was this jam-packed, sinfully delicious slab of cheesecake. That's right: cookie dough, peanut butter cup cheesecake bars.

Lime Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Last week was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot means a lot of things to a lot of people, but I'm going to inch out in to heresy here and say that to me, Shavuot means cheesecake. Cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake. Seriously, I started thinking about cheesecake in March. And I made them* in June.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

Last week was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Celebrating the receiving of the Torah and marked by the consumption of dairy products, it's a great holiday all around. Cheesecake!
Since I don't make cheesecake all that often (with the exception of a Thanksgiving adventure and last Shavuot) - I like to plan an elaborate one. This brownie mosaic cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen definitely fit the bill.
There are four components - the crust, the cream cheese filling, the brownies and the ganache topping. Each component simple, and coming together in the most delicious manner.
I made the brownies the day before, and was pleasantly surprised that my cheesecake was in the oven within an hour of starting. And boy was it delicious. Somehow it didn't look as neat and perfect as Smitten Kitchen's, but really that isn't much of a surprise. Also, you'll have way to much brownie left over - but, that didn't seem to be too much of a problem in my house.

It was still really rich and heavy in the way that only cheesecakes can be, studded with brownies that somehow blended in in texture but kept the rich brownie flavor, and a delicious cookie crust.
About that crust - as per Smitten Kitchen instructions, I used smiling, precious teddy bear shaped graham crackers - much more satisfying to crush and kill.
Though the instructions were given for a doubled crust I was a reluctant to do so, but then found that the crust only really covered the bottom of the pan, not the sides. If you want it to come up higher on the sides of the pan, double the amounts I give.
Oh the carnage!
A survivor surveys the wreckage.
I wasn't actually originally planning on making the ganache to top the cheesecake, but when it came out of the oven I thought it was a little ugly looking, so I figured I should cover it up. I ignored her recipe and just melted some chocolate chips and butter together, which is fine for eating within a day or two but may temper otherwise.

Tip of the Day: Though I often bake brownies and other bar cookies in foil, this time I wanted the crisp edge that a metal baking pan gives for making the cubes.

Recipe: (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Brownies:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Crust:
1 1/2 cups or 5 ounces finely ground chocolate cookies or wafers
5 tbsps melted butter or margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Filling:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups brownie cubes

Ganache:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp confectioners sugar

Brownies:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, then the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour and salt.
Line a 9x13" pan with foil and grease. Pour in the batter and bake for 30 to 35 minutes on 350 F. Let cool and refrigerate until needed (makes it easier to cube).

Crust:
Stir the cookie crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt together.
Press into the bottom of a greased 10 inch springform pan.

Filling:
Beat the cream cheese on medium until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
Beat in sugar and vanilla.
Gently fold in 2 to 3 cups of 1-inch brownie cubes. Pour into the prepared crust, and bake on 350 for about 40 minutes, or until it is set on the outside ring.

Ganache:
When cake is cooled completely, grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor.
Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan, the pour it into the feed tube of the food processor while the machine is running. Blend until smooth, then add the vanilla and sugar. Spread over cheesecake.

Mini Pumpkin-Shaped Pumpkin Cheesecakes

It just doesn't get any cuter than this people.

Individual desserts are pretty adorable to begin with - but when they take the shape of an ingredient? Oy.

I should probably start by explaining why I have a mini pumpkin cheesecake pan. As Alton Brown would say, it isn't quite a kitchen multi-tasker.
So I didn't purchase this baby, but I did win it on BakingBites.com! That's right, Nicole of BakingBites ran a giveaway for the pan and a copy of her cookbook, and I actually won! And of course I've been trying out things from her cookbook too - posts to come.

Anyway, back to the cheesecake. With the cream cheese and pumpkin and cinnamon and nutmeg....
Yum.
These have a graham cracker crust, pressed down in to the bottom and baked first, then topped with the filling. It was really pretty simple, the most time is probably spent dividing everything up between the 12.
My friend Tali thought they weren't quite festive enough, so she decided to update it a little.
And then I made her eat it. To each her own.
I had no problem eating mine.

Now, obviously I don't expect you all to have your very own pumpkin cheesecake pan. I would say you can make it in a muffin pan, only hesitantly, since it may be difficult to get them out. These have removable bottoms, so you just have to lift them up and take off the plate underneath.

This amount would probably be about right for a 9 inch pie - but you may need more crust.

Recipe:
Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
2 tbsp sugar

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Divide equally among 12 muffin tins - about a heaping teaspoon in each - and press down with your fingers.
Bake on 325 for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Mix in the eggs one at a time, and add in the vanilla.
Mix in the pumpkin and spices. Stir until completely combined and uniform in color.
Divide equally among the pans.
Bake on 300 (note a temperature change) for 18 to 20 minutes, until set.
Let cool for 30 minutes on wire rack, then place in fridge to cool for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before removing from pan.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Oh boy. This is practically the ultimate dessert. Honestly, I'm not sure how much better it gets than these.This past Friday and Saturday was the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which is celebrated in part by eating dairy foods - like blintzes and of course, cheesecake! And when I knew I was making cheesecake, I couldn't imagine creating anything but this recipe from Bake or Break, for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars.This recipe looks complicated, and the final product definitely looks fancy, but each of the individual components is simple and contain pretty standard ingredients.

Let's begin:

First up is the graham cracker base, which starts with graham cracker crumbs. You can buy these in the store, or make your own (and get out some aggression) by smashing up some graham crackers.
Next, the recipe calls for you to add the melted butter. Followed by the chocolate chips. Of course, since I'm impatient, and the butter was still in the microwave, and the chocolate chips were sitting right there, I added them first. Which meant that when I added the butter, the chips began to melt a little. That's what you get for impatience.
But it still worked fine, and when it was all mixed, I pressed it into a foil pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake that in the oven for 6 minutes. Don't forget it's in there!
Meanwhile, we're going to make the cream cheese filling. Nothing fancy, just the cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla.
Cream it up until it's light and fluffy. Note: the actual recipe calls for you to make the cookie dough first, then the cream cheese filling. Not sure it makes much difference. I suppose the cookie dough is probably easier to clean out of the bowl than the cheese. But I used a different mixer for the cookie dough anyhow. See:
So now you're going to spread the cream cheese filling evenly in the baked graham cracker base. When I did it, some of the crumbs came off and mixed with the cheese - but since I was covering it with the cookie dough anyhow, I wasn't too concerned.

Next came the cookie dough dolloping. Ooh boy. Try not to eat it while you go. Ok, just eat a little bit. There isn't even any raw egg in it! Not that that has ever stopped me before. I pressed the cookie dough pieces down a little bit here, but I think next time I might push a little bit more, to really get them submerged.
After it had baked and cooled, I melted the chocolate, with a little bit of butter for the topping. It was a little thick, so I thinned it out with some milk and plopped it into a ziploc bag and snipped a corner off.
Then I went straight to work with my design.
Isn't it beautiful! I just couldn't stop taking pictures.
Bet you're hungry now. Wouldn't you know, there is even some still left in my fridge. I'll be taking bids now. Cream cheese, cookie dough, graham crackers - is there anything really missing in life?
I should be honest though: this recipe is made for a 9 inch square pan, and I had the audacity to convert it to a 9x13 recipe. Which resulted in a lot of measurements like 7.22 tbsp of butter. So there was a lot of fudging, and a little guessing, but nothing in this recipe worried me, and trust me, it was delicious. So if anyone needs .78 tbsp of butter, give me a call.

Tip of the Day: Make these now! And try not to eat them in one sitting. I dare you.

Recipe: (from Bake or Break)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsps butter, melted
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Cheesecake:
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Cookie Dough:
5 tbsps butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar
3 tbsps sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini here too)

Topping:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp butter

Crust:
Stir graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips. Press into a parchment paper lined 9 inch square pan.
Bake for 6 minutes then set on wire rack to cool.

Filling:
Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and blend well.
Pour into baked crust.

Cookie Dough:
Beat butter, sugars, salt and vanilla together until well mixed.
Gradually add in flour, and stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dollops of dough into the filling.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until set.

Melt together the chocolate and butter and drizzle over the top of the baked cheesecake.