Strawberry-Cheesecake Brownies

I bought two gigantic bars of Hershey's Milk Chocolate right before Christmas. The large amount of chocolate was supposed to be shared among several people in a gingerbread house party. The chocolate never was used, so I was left with lots of chocolate with no purpose. Since New Years closely proceeds Christmas (obviously), I decided to bake a New Years dessert laden with chocolate. Yum. This is what my mind came up with:



STRAWBERRY-CHEESECAKE BROWNIES
(adapted from Nestle Classic Recipes 2003, Easy Double Chocolate Chip Brownies)

-1 cup (6 oz.) chopped chocolate (I used milk chocolate, but semi-sweet or dark would be great)
-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
-3 eggs
-1 1/4 cups King Arthur's white whole wheat flour**
-1 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 cup Trader Joe's Organic Strawberry Jam, at room temperature
-1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
-1/4 cup sugar

**White whole wheat flour contains a different variety of wheat than conventional flours do. White whole wheat flour still is considered 100% whole wheat flour. Its flavor and texture is just more pleasant than typical whole wheat flour. I use white whole wheat flour in almost all of my baking recipes because this flour has the fiber and nutrients of whole wheat flour, but has similar properties to regular white flour.


Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 13" x 9" jelly roll pan.

In a medium metal pot over low heat, slowly melt chocolate and butter. Stir the mixture occasionally. Remove from heat when smooth and luscious. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and mix. Gradually stir in flour, 1 cup sugar, and baking soda. Mix well until batter is glossy and consistent.

Spread brownie batter into greased pan with a spatula. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar. Evenly dollop cream cheese mixture and strawberry jam over batter. Artistically feather the dollops into the batter with the tip of a sharp knife.

Bake brownies for 18-22 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool brownies to room temperature on a wire rack (DO NOT REMOVE BROWNIES FROM PAN). Cut and serve cold or room temperature. Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cheesecake

I try to make interesting desserts during the holidays. This year I was torn between making cranberry-upside down cake, cranberry swirl cheesecake, French chocolate bread with honey and spices, and gingerbread cheesecake. After taking a poll, I decided to make gingerbread cheesecake, a dessert that sounded fun to bake. Boy, was a wrong! It was an overly-complicated, extremely time-consuming Martha Stewart recipe. Most of my frustration concerned the gingerbread crust. Conventional cheesecakes have a Graham cracker crust, but this Christmas cheesecake called for a gingerbread crust. I thought this was a novel idea (it made the finished cake super special). In order to make the crust, however, fresh gingerbread dough had to be prepared and baked. This was extra work, and Martha's gingerbread recipe seemed very strange. I have made gingerbread cookies with my sister for the past two years, and the process is rather simple (dough is prepared, refrigerated, rolled, cut, and baked). Martha's recipe was unlike any that I have ever seen. Her recipe required the dough to be prepared, refrigerated, rolled, frozen for 15 minutes, cut, frozen for another 15 minutes, and baked. Her cheesecake even called for a water bath, which I have never prepared for a cheesecake. I later asked some of my family members (those who have experience baking) what they thought of the recipe. It was agreed that the gingerbread recipe was odd, but the water bath was not totally unheard of for a cheesecake recipe.

The entire gingerbread cheesecake recipe was composed of way too many steps. I would have chosen a time-consuming gourmet recipe I wanted one. Despite the lack of love that was put into the cheesecake's making, the end product was delicious! The cheesecake had an unconventional gingerbread crust, no superficial cracks (thanks to the water bath), an unbelievably creamy consistency, and a spicy gingerbread-type taste. The cheesecake was a huge hit with family! I would not bake this cake again, but I definitely would eat it again!

To any bakers interested in taking on the challenge, the link for Martha Stewart's Gingerbread Cheesecake Recipe is below:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/gingerbread-cheesecake

Mini Blackberry-Lemon Cheesecake Tarts

When I bake, I usually follow a recipe. Baking, unlike cooking, is a scientific skill that must be learned and practiced. I was feeling spontaneous this weekend, so I decided to bake something without a recipe. That's right, NO RECIPE! I based my measurements solely off of consistency, texture, sweetness, and color. This is what I came up with:

Mini Blackberry-Lemon Cheesecake Tarts



*Makes roughly 15 tarts*

Crust:
-1 1/2 cups oats, ground
-1/4 cup oats, not ground
-1/4 cup + 2 Tbpns sugar
-2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a tray of mini muffin tins. In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until creamy. Add oats (ground and unground) to the egg-sugar mixture, beating until incorporated. Use your hands towards the end, if necessary.

Pinch off pieces from the dough, roll them into small balls, and press them into the greased mini muffin tins. Be sure to work the dough up the sides of the muffin tins to create walls for the tart. This part may get messy, so feel free to dust your hands with flour between each tart.

Bake tarts in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until edges become golden in color. Cool and remove tarts from muffin tins. These tarts will be filled later. I stored mine in an airtight container overnight.



No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Filling:
-2 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cooled to room temperature
-The zest and juice of one lemon
-3/4 cup granulated sugar

Place room temperature cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl. In a small sauce pan, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar together. Heat this mixture on medium heat until it JUST bubbles. The sugar should be dissolved at this point. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer and slowly stream in warm lemon simple syrup. Mix until smooth and creamy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight.

Assembly:
-Baked tarts
-Chilled lemon cheesecake filling
-About 1/2 cup black cherry jam

Spoon chilled cheesecake filling into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Heat jam in the microwave or on the stove top until warm and pourable. Place teaspoon-sized dollops of jam into the bottom of each tart. Pipe cheesecake filling on top of jam. Chill tarts for several hours. Dust confectioners sugar over tarts before serving.