Oreo Cheesecake Bites

This recipe comes from one of my favorite sites: Kraft. That company simply has THE best recipes. I can't wait to give this one a try. It makes 36 bite-size servings. That's perfect when you need to take something off and you're entertaining at home. After all, who can possibly resist anything that includes OREO cookies?

Oreo Cheesecake Bites

36 OREO Cookies, divided

1/2 cup  butter or margarine, divided

4 pkgs.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup  sugar

1 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 pkg.  (4 oz.) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

HEAT oven to 325°F.
LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Finely crush 24 cookies. Melt 1/4 cup butter; mix with cookie crumbs. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.
BEAT cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Chop remaining cookies. Gently stir into batter; pour over crust.
BAKE 45 min. or until center is almost set. Cool.
MICROWAVE chocolate and remaining butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Cool slightly; spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours.
USE foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting into bars.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size Wise

Sweets can be part of a balanced diet but remember to keep tabs on portions.

How to Make Mess-Free Cookie Crumbs

Crushing cookies into crumbs can be a messy task. To keep the mess to a minimum, place the whole cookies in a resealable plastic bag. Flatten bag to remove excess air, then seal bag. Crush the cookies into crumbs by rolling a rolling pin across the bag until the crumbs are as fine as you need.

How to Neatly Cut Dessert Bars

When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such as cheesecake, carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on the blade, ensuring clean cuts that leave the edges intact.

Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake

Yesterday I found strawberries in my strawberry patch. Really. Already. Of course, they're still green and there's only a few of them but I am super excited. Then last night I saw this recipe. There it was, looking yummy in the April issue of Southern Living magazine. Guess what I'm planning to make with some of those strawberries when they ripen. Yep. That's right. This very cake.

Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoons strawberry-flavored gelatin
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries
shortening
parchment paper
vegetable cooking spray
Strawberry Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla.

Stir together flour, gelatin, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended. Stir in strawberries.

Grease (with shortening) and flour a 13 x 9-inch pan; line with parchment paper, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over long sides. Lightly grease paper with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Lift cake from pan, using parchment paper sides as handles. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove parchment paper. Cool completely(about 1 hour). Spread Strawberry Frosting on top and sides of cake.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Strawberry Frosting

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 drop pink food coloring (optional)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Beat cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add strawberries and food coloring (if desired). Beat until blended.

Beat cream and juice at medium speed until foamy; increase speed to medium-high and slowly add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold half of cream mixture into cheese mixture; fold in remaining cream mixture. Use immediately.

Philadelphia Double Lemon Cheesecake Bars

I found this recipe in the April issue of Family Circle magazine. It's actually part of an advertisement for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It sounds absolutely wonderful and perfect for someone like me who loves cheesecake and lemon. One thing to remember: You must start this early. It needs time to cool, then refrigerate.

 

Philadelphia Double-Lemon Cheesecake Bars

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs, 1 separated
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 13 x 9-inch pan with foil. Mix wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add 1 egg white and remaining 3 whole eggs, beating after each just until blended. (Reserve yolk for later use.)

Pour batter over crust. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool 1 hour. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Mix cornstarch and remaining sugar in saucepan, Gradually stir in water and remaining lemon juice. Bring just to boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until clear and thickened. Lightly beat reserved egg yolk until blended. Stir in 2 tablespoons hot cornstarch mixture. Return to remaining cornstarch mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir 1 minute or until thickened. Cool.

Spoon glaze over cheesecake. Refrigerate 1 hour. Use foil handles to remove cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.

Makes 16 servings.

Three Cheese Strata with Ham

This recipe was in a recent issue of Relish. It's an insert in our local newspaper. I love that it seems yummy and something that really won't take a lot of time. The original recipe gave cheese options but I only included those cheese I'm mostly likely to have on hand. I don't know about you, but I'm not real big on having to make extra trips to the supermarket just to get one or two items for a new recipe.

Three Cheese Strata with Ham

14 oz. onion rolls, cubed (from the supermarket   bakery)
3 oz. cubed ham
2 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
2 oz.. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (optional)
2 cups 2 percent reduced-fat milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Place cubed rolls in pan. Top with ham and cheeses. Combine eggs, mustard and milk; whisk well. Pour over roll mixture.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes, until set and puffed. Let cool 10 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Gingerbread Cookies

I clipped this from a newspaper insert way back before Christmas but I never got around to making them. It was an advertisement for McCormick.

Today I baked them. The original recipe was for Gingerbread Men. I simply used a round cookie cutter with wavy edges. It worked great. Next time, though, I think I'll decorate with a little icing.

Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a think flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on lightly floured work surface. Cut into gingerbread men shapes with a 5-inch cookie cutter. (Other shapes work fine.) Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate cookies as desired.

Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

Makes 2 dozen.

Citrus Golden Ring Cake

I found this recipe in a insert from American Profile. The magazine gives recipe credit to Crescent Dragonwagon, a writer who lives in Saxtons River, Vermont. She's apparently written several cookbooks. I missed them all. I'm thinking I'll try this recipe and then maybe I'll need to check out her cookbooks. I'm grateful she shared. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

Citrus Golden Ring Cake

Cooking spray
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Dust with flour.

Beat butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Sift 3 cups flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Combine buttermilk, orange juice and lemon juice.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed. Stir in orange rind and lemon rinds. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn onto a serving plate. Pour 1/3 of icing over cake while still warm. Let cool completely and spread with remaining icing. Garnish with orange rind, if desired.

Makes 16 servings.

Buttery Citrus Icing

1/4 (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, plus more for garnishing
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine butter and powdered sugar, beating with a mixer until smooth. Add citrus rind and juices. Beat well.

Ham, Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche

Do you like Quiche? Some folks do. Some folks don't. I happen to be one who does. While everyone else it seemed was eating Chicken Salad at JaDa's, I was always the one ordering Quiche. JaDa's closed so now I have to make my own. That's okay.

This recipe comes from the holiday recipe guide from Publix. It was in the newspaper and I kept it, carefully putting it aside until I had time to try the recipes. I found it piled under some things. Imagine that?!

Ham, Cheddar and Broccoli Quiche

1 cups Birds Eye SteamFresh Broccoli Florets
5 large eggs (or 1 1/4 cups egg substitute)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced, cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 frozen pie crust

Preheat oven to 375.

Microwave broccoli on HIGH 1 to 2 minutes to thaw; chop into bite-size pieces.

Combine eggs and half-and-half, then stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie crust.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.