Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

First things first... IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON MAKING THIS CHEESECAKE AND SERVING IT TONIGHT YOU CAN'T!!!! Cheesecake has to set in the fridge overnight.

As you know I'm on a diet so I have been searching for a good excuse to make something delicious to share! A few weeks ago was my friend Taylor's Birthday and I jumped at the chance to make him a birthday dessert. He asked for "cheese cake or pumpkin pie is good stuff or peanut butter cake." So... a peanut butter cup cheese cake seemed perfect! I found this fabulous recipe on www.tasteofhome.com.

Tools Needed:
The Usual
Whisk
Baking sheet
Springform pan
Cooking spray
Microwave


Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup crushed Oreo cookies
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
Filling:
3 Packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softenend
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla extract (Bet you wish you had those odd size measuring spoons!)
3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 Cup hot fudge ice cream topping
6 Peanut butter cups

Yields:
12 - 14 servings

In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cookie crumbs and butter. Press in to the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until set. Let Cool.

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Spread over crust to within 1 inch of edges.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour 1 cup into a bowl; set aside. Pour remaining filling over peanut butter layer. In a microwave, heat 1/4 cup fudge topping on high for 30 seconds or until thin; fold into reserved cream cheese mixture. Carefully pour over filling. Swirl toppings... hopefully you can do a better job than I did. 

Return pan to baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until center is almost set. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if your cheesecake is set... click here to see a few tips on how to tell if your cheesecake is set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Microwave remaining fudge topping for 30 seconds or until warmed; spread over cheesecake. Chop peanut butter cups into 4ths and garnish the cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight and refrigerate leftovers.

Look at that crust! Nom Nom Nom! Enjoy!

New York!

So I think my blog is going to start heading in a new direction! As much as I love to bake... I LOVE FOOD MORE! If eating constantly didn't make me fat, I would... no joke. 


In saying that let me kind of layout how the rest of my posts are more or less going to go. From this point forward blog post subjects will be... 

• Baking, Eating, Sharing
• Cooking, Eating, Sharing
• Eating and Sharing (by "Eating" I mean anything I eat that I deem to be good enough to write a blog about... I will write a blog about)

Alright! So last weekend I went to New York with my friend Jglav to visit my friend Kat. Kat is an assistant stylist to the style editor of the Today Show (cool job huh!?) and writes an awesome fashion blog at StellarPutTogethers.wordpress.com. Kat let Jglav and I stay at her place in Jersey City and spent the entire weekend showing us around. I took pictures of EVERY SINGLE THING I ate in New York!

Jglav and I arrived late Friday night and Kat immediately took us to Time square. Of course I got a street vendor hot dog! In my opinion it is not a trip to New York if you don't!

My dog came with everything (except for relish... I'm not a sweet pickle fan). 

The next morning we all walked from Kat's apartment to a local bagel shop call Wonder Bagels. I was blown away by the oj choices... no pulp, some pulp, apple and even orange peach mango! YUM!

Best bagels I have ever eaten... no joke!! I got the everything bagel with plain cream cheese and Kat got an everything bagel with egg whites, cheese and tomatoes. 

This is me... in bagel heaven. 

We could not resist some Dunkin Donuts! I had an iced coffee and the pumpkin harvest donut. Jglav had the sugar donut. 

After several hours of shopping and touring we took a rest for some Pinkberry ! I had chocolate yogurt with bananas, strawberries, mini chocolate chips and almond slivers. 

Starbucks iced coffee and shoes... need I say more?

Mmmmm... take home pad thai, pad co, hummus and carrots! I was too tired to pay attention to the name of the local joint we ordered this from.

A long Saturday night of bar hopping and dancing ended with this fabulous pepperoni, canadian bacon and pineapple pizza slice from Famous Original Ray's Pizza. 

Another Wonder Bagel breakfast... this time I had an everything bagel with egg whites, cheese, tomatoes and avocado (we added the avocado ourselves). 

Did you know that coconut water is a great hang over cure?! Everyone drinks it in New York and it worked for me... read about its effects here!

Yep... why just try one donut when you can sample a variety!

After another long day touring we stopped at a sushi joint called Sushiya. Kat and I split the grilled salmon roll. It had grilled salmon, avocado, MANGO and red pepper. Fabulous! 

Street vendor crepe of strawberries, bananas and (of course) Nutella!

More Starbucks iced coffee... obviously sleep was not a high priority on this trip. 

And on the last day we had Wonder Bagels again (at this point we were addicted). I ventured out and got green chive cream cheese (as if an everything bagel didn't make my breath bad enough!).

Over all I had an absolutely wonderful time... we did so much shopping (H&M, Urban Outfitters, Top Shop) and I got to see my favorite painting, Starry Night, at MOMA.  I cannot wait to return... possibly this summer! A BIG THANKS goes out to Kat for being a wonderful hostess! Love ya twin!

Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles

Last week was my Birthday week and I decided to make one of my favorite desserts... Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles. They are very rich and to die for! The recipe is as follows...


Tools Needed:
The usual (measuring utensils, mixing bowls etc.)
Double boiler, crock pot or microwave
Foil or wax paper
Baking sheet
Chocolate dipper tools

Ingredients:
1 package of Oreos (I used regular but I imagine double stuffed or mint would be very good)
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
2 8 ounce packages semi-sweet baking chocolate

Melt packages of semi-sweet baking chocolate. I used a crock pot to melt the chocolate but that is only because I HATE double boilers and never fail to burn myself while using them. The downside to using a crock pot is that the truffles will not look as pretty. There are several ways to melt chocolate, I suggest reading this how to article and decide which method will work best for you.

Crush 36 Oreos into fine crumbs using a food processor (Oreos can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin). If you would like to top your truffles off with Oreo crumbs then crush 9 of them to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. Place crushed Oreos in a medium bowl. Add softened cream cheese and mix until well blended. 

Roll cookie mixture into 25 to 50 balls (depending on how big you want your truffles). Place balls on a baking sheet lined with foil or wax paper and put in the freezer for 10 to 20 min.

Using chocolate dipper tools dip balls in melted chocolate and place back on the wax or foiled baking sheet. If you do not have chocolate dipper tools a fork or small slotted spoon will also work. Sprinkle your truffles with reserved cookie crumbs.

Place your truffles in the freezer until firm, about 30 min. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

As always this baking blog was edited for deliciousness by The Lady in Red.