Tag Archives: cream cheese

Oreo cheesecake topped with cookies and cream mousse and chocolate ganache

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After a rough sunday in Miami, I am making a plea to the football gods for my Bills for week 11 and am doing so with this request from my husband and a copycat of the cheesecake factory oreo dream extreme cheesecake.

This does take some time, but is worth it.  I used neufactel cheese, which is lower fat and lower calorie, so I added some cornstarch to help firm up the cheesecake layer.

  • Flourless Cake  ingredients
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 8 tbs butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees.  in a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and butter in 45 second increments until you can stir smooth.  Add sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Blend in eggs well.  Line a 9″ round pan with parchment paper.  Evenly spread batter into pan.   Bake 18 to 22 minutes.  Cool completely

  • Ganache ingredients list
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, heat cream for 3 minutes.  Add chips.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir smooth.   Place in fridge.

  • Cheesecake ingredients
  • 24 oz cream cheese (I used neufactel,  which is softer and lower calorie and lower fat)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 6 tbs cornstarch (if you are using neufactel or low fat cream cheese)
  • 3/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 12 to 16 Oreo cookies

Directions – preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a 9 inch springform pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  In a bowl, cream cream cheese, sugar and flour (and cornstarch if you are using a lower fat cheese).  Blend in Greek yogurt and vanilla.  Fold in eggs and yolk.  Pour 1/3 into prepared pan.  Top with 6 to 8 oreos and press down gently.  Top with a other third of batter and gently press 6 to 8 oreos on top.  Top with remaining third of batter.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes (middle jiggles a little and edges are set).  Turn off oven.   Crack oven and leave cheesecake in for an hour.  Transfer to fridge for a few hours.

  • Cookies and cream mousse
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • Crushed oreos (8 to 10)

Directions – in a bowl, whip cream amd powdered sugar to stiff peaks.  Blend in crushed oreos.    Put in fridge.

When ready to assemble – beat chilled ganache for a few minutes so it is spreadable.   Place flourless cake on a plate.  Spread a thin layer of ganache on top.  Gently place cheesecake on top of ganache layer.   Smooth oreo mousse on top of cheesecake layer.  Use rest of ganache on top and sides.  Store in fridge.

  • Layer list
  • Flourless cake
  • Thin ganache layer
  • Cheesecake
  • Cookies and cream layer
  • Frost entire thing with rest of ganache

Thanks for stopping by today!

Week 2 victory Monday treats

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To celebrate the Bills week 2 win over the jets, I present carrot cake cookies.  The exception to these is that instead of grating carrots (which, is not fun), I used carrot baby food.  My mother in law gave me a carrot cake recipe, so it is based on that.

And the special ingredient- mini chocolate chips!!!!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Chill the individual doughs before baking.   preheat your oven before baking and only bake these 10 minutes. You can always pop them in the fridge after they are cooled and frosted to firm them up

  • Ingredients list
  • 10 tbs butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packead into measuring cup
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 8 oz carrot baby food
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice or nutmeg
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Blend in egg, vanilla and carrot baby food.  Fold in dry ingredients.   Mix in chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Freeze and hour or chill a few hours.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger mounds of dough on sheet. 

Bake 10 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbs milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions – in a bowl, blend butter and cream cheese.   Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  Frost cooled cookies. 

Store in covered container.

Carrot cake bars for Championship week Thursday

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I got some carrots to make a carrot cake, but changed things up a bit and made carrot cake bars.  I used melted butter, so they are a little chewier than carrot cake.  Also, they have way too much frosting!  But there are worse things in life.  I doubled this recipe and used two 8×8 square pans to bake them in.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Bars ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup shredded carrots (wow, is that fun to do)
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions- line and 8×8 square pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray.  Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    In a bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla.  Blend in egg and yolk, then carrots.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Fold in chips.  Evenly spread in prepared pan.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and cream cheese.  Add vanilla.  Blend in powdered sugar slowly.   Frost bara.  Chill in fridge. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

XL Snickerdoodles

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Shouldn’t snickerdoodles be made with Snickers? 😉

For NFL week 12’s football Friday, I present XL Snickerdoodles with a cinnamon frosting.  These smell amazing as they bake!

The Bills are on a bye this week, so I get a stress free football weekend.  Woo hoo!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I recommend chilling the individual doughs for a few hours, or freezing them for 30 minutes to try and keep the cookies from spreading too much.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 1/2 cups flour (scooped from flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Cinnamon sugar

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar, crisco and cream cheese.  Add eggs and cinnamon.  Blend in flour, baking powder and salt.  Divide into 11 equal mounds.  Roll in cinnamon sugar.   Chill a few hours or freeze 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 15 to 18 minutes (no longer). Cool completely.   Place in fridge to firm up.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 2 tbs butter, soft
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3 tbs milk

Directions – in a bowl, combine ingredients and mix well.  Frost cookies.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Place in fridge to firm up.  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.   Please remember to be kind.  We are all fighting some sort of battle and a little kindness can make a big difference

Football friday # 11 – XXXL Frosted M&M Sugar Cookies

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For Chiefs week, I am going big, well, it is a huge game.  We are 8-2, KC is 9-0.  And let’s face it, all games between my guys and those guys are massive.  Waiting until 4:25 Sunday isn’t great, but I am glad it is not a night game.

Something cool happened today at work.  I got to interview Bills receiver Khalil Shakir for our ESPN Radio pregame show before KC-BUF Sunday.  Shout out to my friend and producer, Ryan, for letting me do the interview.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, I recommend chilling the individual doughs to keep them as puffy as possible.  You don’t have to frost them, but I opted to.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup M&Ms

Directions – cream butter, shortening cream cheese and sugar.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Stir in M&Ms.    Divide dough into 11 equal pieces.  Chill a few hours.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheet.  Bake 15 to 17 minutes (no longer).  Cool completely.  Pop in fridge to firm up.  Frost. If desired.  Store in fridge overnight.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Wishing you a wonderful day filled with joy, love and hope!

Go Bills.

Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake

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I noticed about abundance of neufactel cheese in our fridge (I buy it instead of cream cheese to bake with because it has   a lot less fat and calories), so I asked Rob if he wanted a chocolate cheesecake or a regular cheesecake with stuff in it.  He chose option b and the stuff he chose – chocolate chip cookie dough.  

Use a springform pan with this recipe.  I have 8, 9 and ten inch.  I went with the  nine inch pan this time.

The neufactel does make the cheesecake softer.  You can certainly use regular full fat cream cheese if you’d like.

**** I recommend lining your springform with tin foil and spraying it.  I also placed a cookie sheet directly under the springform pan as the cheesecake cooked in the oven.  

  • Cookie dough ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount)
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl,  cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add vanilla and milk.  Fold in flour.  Stir in chips.  Scoop out 1/2 tbs of dough.  Roll into balls.  Place on a tray and freeze at least 15 minutes.  As the doughs freeze, make your cheesecake

  • Crust ingredients
  • 3 cups finely crushed oreos
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 5 tbs butter, melted

Directions – line a 9 inch springform pan and spray with baking spray.  in a bowl, combine ingredients.  Press into prepared pan.  Place in fridge while you make cheesecake mixture

  • Cheesecake ingredients
  • 32 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tbs vanilla

Directions- remove cookie doughs from freezer and set aside.   Remove cookie crust from.fridge and set aside.  in a bowl, cream sugar, flour and cream cheese.  Add heavy cream.  Blend in eggs, yolk and vanilla.  Mix in cookie doughs.  Spread evenly over cookie crust.  Place cookie sheet in oven and Place cheesecake in springform pan on top.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes.  Edges will be golden, middle will be a little wobbly.  Turn oven off.  Leave door ajar.  Let cheesecake stay in oven for one hour.  Remove from oven and cover.  Place in fridge for an hour.  Remove from springform pan.   Store in fridge.  This keeps for about a week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!   Wishing you a day filled with peace, love and joy.

Chocolate cheesecake with an oreo crust

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I asked Rob what he wanted for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and he said lasagna. He despises turkey and the rest of the Thanksgiving fixings, so the last few Thanksgivings I have worked and we have had lasagna for our dinner on 🦃day. And when it came to dessert, Rob requested chocolate cheesecake. I think I do pretty well, even though I am new to making cheesecakes. (Cheesecake factory has nothing to worry about though) 😉

I pre-baked the oreo crust for 10 minutes because that is what I see people recommending online for cheesecake crusts. Something about keeping the crust from getting soggy.

Here is a peek at the oreo crust
  • Crust ingredients
  • 24 oreos, finely crushed
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line the inside of a 10 inch springform pan with tin foil on the bottom and halfway up the sides. In a bowl, combine crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. While crust is in the oven, prepare cheesecake.

  • Cheesecake ingredients
  • 24 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used neufchatel, which is softer, less calories, and lower fat)
  • 14 ounce can condensed milk
  • 12 ounce semisweet chocolate chips, melted
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, beat cream cheese smooth. Add condensed milk. Blend in melted chocolate. Beat in one egg at a time. Stir in vanilla. Pour over crust. Bake 70 minutes at 300 degrees. Remove from oven. Cool completely. Store covered in fridge.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Wishing you peace and happiness. And please, remember to be kind.

Very puffy triple chip cookies

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As we enjoy another night of Stanley Cup playoff hockey, I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies. These are made with browned butter and 2 oz of cream cheese. The cream cheese helped them stay thick and they did not spread out at all. You can not taste the cream cheese at all! They stayed nice and puffy and are loaded with 3 kinds of chocolate chips.

A few notes – browned butter is super easy. Place the butter in a sauce pan, cook over low heat . A few minutes after it completely melts, brown specks will appear. Turn off the pan and pour butter in bowl. Let it cool for 30 minutes. Spoon your flour from your flour bag into your container so you get the right amount. And preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp.

1/2 cup butter

2 oz cream cheese (I used low fat)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 yolk

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)

1 tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 kinds of chips!

Directions – place butter in a pan, cook over low-medium heat until there are small brown specks. Cool in a bowl for a half hour. (Otherwise, the chips may melt and you will have marble cookies). Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. In a bowl, combine cooled butter, cream cheese, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg, yolk and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients (you may need to use your hands and mix them like meatballs). Mix in chips. Scoop our 1/4 cups dough. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on the sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (no longer). Cool completely.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Red velvet whoopie pies

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Red velvet whoopie pies

This whoopie pie recipe is super easy. I chose red velvet, but you can use any flavor. I opted for a cream cheese filling. And I even used my whoopie pie pans. (One of many baking items I have that really don’t have more than one use, along with my churro maker -looks like a foreman grill used for burgers, and a twinkie pan.

Remember to preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. You can use a cookie sheet, just line it with a nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. Also, I let the butter and cream cheese soften in a bowl on my countertop while I baked the pies, to speed up the process.

  • Whoopie pie ingredients
  • 1 red velvet cake mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions- preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. In a bowl, mix cake mix, eggs and oil. Scoop out 1 1/2 tbs of dough and roll into balls. Stagger on prepared sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes (no longer). Cool completely.

  • Filling ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter, softened
  • 4 tbs cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions – cream butter and cream cheese. Blend in vanilla. Slowly, mix in powdered sugar. Spoon a generous amount between 2 whoopie pies. Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I wish you a day filled with love, joy and peace. Remember to be kind!!!