Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies

This has been my best creation so far this year. I’ve never had cheesecake in a cookie before, but I now think it is a great idea. It’s not a fancy-looking cookie, but it is very tasty. I has some leftover cheesecake from the Tall and Creamy Cheesecake that I had made a few weeks earlier. I had a bit of cheesecake batter leftover and I baked a very thin cheesecake, with the bare minimum graham cracker crust plus a cheesecake layer just over a 1/4″ thick. While it was still partially frozen, I I cut this into 1/4″ cubes. I then re-froze these briefly. The chocolate chip recipe was the NY Times Recipe with the modifications I previously used, including regular chips, plus I used all-purpose flour. After the chips were added, I mixed in the frozen cheesecake bits, being careful not to break them up. I then chilled the dough for the requisite 48 hours. I once again scooped these at three tablespoons each. I presented these to friends as “mystery cookies” and had them guess the secret ingredient. I received lots of compliments, but it was difficult to determine that cheesecake was the mystery ingredient, since it an unusual item in the cookies. Overall this had rave reviews and the cheescake added a little extra something.

Mini Tall Cheesecakes

The Tuesdays with Dorie group baked this last year and it received mostly positive reviews.

I made 1/2 the recipe but kept the vanilla extract at 1 tsp and also added 1 tsp almond extract.  The key part to the instructions is to really beat the cream cheese well before anything else is added. I made this as mini cheesecakes in my muffin pan. I used paper liners which were a little greasy after cooking, foil liners would have been a better choice.

These were delicious and the mini size made them so cute.  Nd not using a springform pan made them easier to remove from the pan and not cutting is necessary.   I also omitted the water bath, which simplified the baking.

I also baked a very thin sheet in a 9 inch cake pan with just a sprinkle of crust on the that I used in a later recipe, coming soon.

Tall and Creamy Cheesecake
makes 16 servings

From Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two

Procedure
To make the crust:

Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter leftover)—and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.

Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides—this doesn’t have to be a precision job. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.

Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

To make the cheesecake:
Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.

Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.

Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the brim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.

After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.

Serving:
Remove the sides of the springform pan— I use a hairdryer to do this (use the dryer to warm the sides of the pan and ever so slightly melt the edges of the cake)—and set the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a serving platter. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.

Storing:
Wrapped well, the cake will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to defrost the still-wrapped cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

I’ve made basic vanilla cupcake multiple times and frosting, I keep coming back to it since it is a good combination. I am always looking for another variation, I still feel like I haven’t found the perfect one yet.  The cupcake recipe is based on the one in Cupcakes: Luscious bakeshop favorites from your home kitchen by Shelly Kaldunski. Overall I like the book and appreciate the fact that most recipes are for 12 cupcakes.  I doubled the recipe to make 24 this time.  The chocolate cupcakes from the book were fine.  The vanilla buttercream is a basic recipe using the swiss meringue technique and uses a bit less sugar than many recipes.  The amount is enough for 24 cupcakes.  The pictures for these were disappointing so I am not including any.

Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski (exact original)
This makes 24 cupcakes (original was 12)

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• seeds from one vanilla bean
• 1 cup whole milk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil cupcake liners.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Reduce the speed to low; add the egg and egg white separately, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat on low speed to incorporate. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed.

Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, beating on low speed until just combined and alternating with several additions of milk; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 30 seconds or just until no traces of flour remain. Do not overbeat.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until they are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and cool for 1 hour.

Vanilla (Swiss Meringue) Buttercream Frosting
based on many sources
This makes enough for 24 cupcakes, reasonably frosted

• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 200 grams granulated sugar (about 1 cup)
• Pinch salt
• 12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• food coloring (optional)

Combine the egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl (or a large heatproof bowl). Set the bowl over (but not touching) an inch or two of boiling water in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Heat the mixture for about 2 minutes, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Remove the bowl from the saucepan.

Beat the egg white mixture on high speed for 6 minutes, until it is fluffy, has cooled to room temperature and holds stiff peaks. The mixture should not look dry.

Reduce the speed to medium-low; add the salt and then the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition. If the frosting appears to separate or is very liquid after all the butter is added, increase the speed to high and beat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract; beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add food coloring, if desired.

Chocolate Cookie Cutouts

These are from Martha Stewart’s Cookies with some slight modifications.  I had a little more cinnamon, a little more vanilla and the addition of chocolate extract.  These were fairly easy to work with for cutout cookies.

I used a 3 inch football cookie cutter and from my Roshco 100-Piece Cookie Cutter Set.  This particular shape works better with cookies that are slightly thicker, closer to 1/4 inch while many of my cookies were 1/8 inch thick due to the embossed design.  Only some of the cookies had the football design (and of course I selected the best ones for the photo!).

Chocolate Cookie Cutouts

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract
Nonpareils, for sprinkling (optional)

Procedure

1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Put butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. mix in egg and extracts.  Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or overnight.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Chill in freezer 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter, quickly cut out shapes from dough (if dough begins to soften, chill it in freezer 3 to 5 minutes). Reroll and cut scraps. Transfer shapes to prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Brush flour from shapes. Sprinkle with nonpareils, if using. Chill in freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake cookies until crisp, about 9 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Cookie can be stored betwween layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Peach French Tart

I made the Peach French Tart that the Tuesdays with Dorie group recently made.  The recipe is originally for a Pear French Tart and was chosen by Dorie Greenspan herself. I happened to buy canned peaches and I just went with it.  It was absolutely delicious and I would definitely make this again with pears or another fruit.  The crust had an appealing cookie-like texture.  The almond cream was amazingly smooth and flavorful.  I did add both rum and vanilla to flavor it.  I didn’t fan my fruit as nicely as other examples, but the taste is fine.  I’ll call this rustic presentation.

Very Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are from Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini via a post by David Lebovitz.   I’m always drawn to chocolate recipes and the more chocolate-y the better.  This certainly did not disappoint and I particularly like the salt sprinkled on top.  I did need to flatten them out a bit before because because they didn’t seem to spread as well as I thought they should have.   I didn’t bother with two kinds of flour, I just stuck with the all-purpose flour.    And the cacao nibs are a a definite must in this recipe.  I used the chocolate extract in addition to the vanilla.  These were a big hit and I would definitely make them again.

Lady Baltimore Cake

I made the Lady Baltimore Cake from the Cook’s Illustrated Holiday Baking Issue.  I remember reading about this cake as a kid and this is the first chance I had to make one.  It apparently became popular after the book Lady Baltimore by Owen Wister was written in 1906, although it dates before that .     I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cake, but it was pretty with the layers.   This started falling apart a bit when I started cutting it, perhaps I did not build this as well as I could have.  I really enjoyed this cake.  The frosting was exactly as I remembered for a seven minute frosting, it reminds me of marshmallows.   I should have made a companion recipe to use all the leftover egg yolks. I didn’t quite use all the sugared pecans, but they were good on their own.  This was a tall cake and my cake stand cover was too short and I had to improvise a covering.

Lady Baltimore Cake
from Cook’s Illustrated Holiday Baking, Holiday 2008

If you’ve ever forgotten to bring the milk and egg white mixture to room temperature, set the bottom of the measuring cup containing it in a bowl of hot water and stir until the mixture feels cool rather than cold, around 65 degrees.  The cake may be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.  When preparing the icing, you can speed up  the cooling process by transferring the hot egg white mixture to a stand mixer and beating on medium-high speed until thick and stiff, about 5 minutes.  

Cake
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) cake flour, plus extra for dusting pans
1 cup whole milk, room temperature (see note)
6 large egg whites, room temperature (see note)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, but still cold

Icing
1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) sugar
4 large egg whites
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1 cup mixed dried fruits (any combination of cherries, dates, figs, pineapple, and raisins) (I used ~45% raisins, ~45% cranberries, ~10% apricots)
1/4 cup pecans (about 1 ounce), toasted
2 tablespoons rum, bourbon or water
1 recipe Sugared Pecans (recipe follows)

1. For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray, dust with flour, and tap pans to remove excess flour. Mix milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in 2-cup measuring cup.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer fitted with flat beater at low speed. Add butter and beat at low speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
3. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and, using rubber spatula, scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
4. Divide batter evenly among 3 prepared cake pans and, using rubber spatula, spread into even layer. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on upper-middle and lower-middle racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 21 to 25 minutes.
5. Rest cakes in pans 3 minutes, then loosen from sides of pans with paring knife. Invert cakes onto large plate, then reinvert onto wire racks. Cool cakes completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
6. For the Icing: Bring 1 inch water to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk sugar, egg whites, water, cream of tartar and salt together in medium bowl large enough to rest on sides of saucepan, but not deep enough to touch simmering water inside. Place bowl over barely simmering water and, using hand-held mixer, beat egg white mixture on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 6 to 8 minutes.
7. Remove bowl from the saucepan, add vanilla, and continue to beat until mixture is cooled to room temperature and icing is very thick and stiff, about 8 to 10 minutes, set aside.
8. For the Filling: Process dried fruits and pecans in food processor until finely chopped, about 20 seconds. (Alternatively, fruits and nuts can be chopped very fine with knife.) Transfer mixture to medium bowl and mix with rum. Stir 2 cups icing into fruit and nut mixture.
9. To assemble the cake: Place 1 cake round on serving platter. Spread half of fruit and icing mixture over cake. Repeat with another cake round and remaining fruit and icing mixture. Top with remaining cake round. Spread remaining plain icing over top and sides of cake, using back of spoon to create attractive swirls and peaks. Decorate with sugared pecans.

Sugared Pecans
Makes 2 cups
Depending on how many pecans you use to decorate the cake, you may have some left over. Nuts can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. Choose pecan halves that are not broken.

2 cups (10 ounces) raw pecan halves
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon rum, bourbon, or water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in even layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake, tossing nuts occasionally, until fragrant and deepened in color, 6 to 8 minutes.
2 While nuts are toasting, stir sugar and salt together in medium bowl.
3. Bring rum, vanilla, brown sugar, and butter to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Stir in toasted pecans and cook, stirring constantly, until nuts are shiny and almost all liquid has evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes.
4. Toss pecans in bowl with sugar and salt mixture and return to baking sheet to cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Pecan Logs

I have no idea where this recipe originally came from but it has been something in my family for many years.  They are tasty and also festive with the green and red sugars.  They could easily be adapted for other times of the year by changing the color combinations.  They go together very quickly and can be stored in the freezer for several months.  Pecans are my favorite (baking) nuts is pecan and I have a bias to using them and tend to favor recipes that include pecans.

Pecan Logs

1 c. butter
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. water
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans (toasted)

Cream butter and sugar.  Add water and vanilla, mix.  Stir in flour.  Add nuts and mix well.  
Shape into logs (D ~ 1 1/2″) and roll in colored sugar.  Freeze.  
To Bake:  Preheat oven to 325.  Slice into approximately 1/4 inch discs.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Roll in confectioners sugar while still warm.

Neapolitan Cookies

This recipe originally came from the Ladies Home Journal some time in the early 1950s and was passed down in my family as a Christmas cookie that was made almost every year.  I like it because of all the stuff in it.  The biggest problem for me is finding the candied cherries at the store.  I sent this off as my recipe for Operation Baking GALS for December, I hope they survive the trip.

Neapolitan Cookies

Dark Dough
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
6 oz. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Light dough
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 T water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 t salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup finely chopped raisins
18 candied cherries, finely chopped

Prepare each dough separately.  Cream butter, sugar and eggs.  Mix dry ingredients.  Mix dry and wet.  Add walnuts and chips to dark dough and raisins and cherries to light dough.    
Line bottom and sides of a loaf pan with wax paper.  Put in 1/2 dark dough, all of light, 1/2 dark.  Cover with wax paper.  Chill in freezer.  Remove from pan.  Cut into four strips.  Slice each strip for cookies.  Strips may be frozen for later baking.    
Bake at 350 deg. for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

I received the book Cupcakes: Luscious bakeshop favorites from your home kitchen by Shelly Kaldunski and was very excited to make a recipe from this.  I like that most recipes made only 12 cupcakes.   I tried the chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.  The chocolate cupcake was good.  It reminds me of cake-y brownies and had the slight hard crust on the top.  It was not overly chocolate-y.   I might add some chocolate extract next time to heighten the chocolate flavor.  The amounts were slightly inconvenient (i.e. the recipe specified 3/4 plus 2 tbsp) and I would personally have preferred everything by weights.  This was very easy to mix together.  The vanilla buttercream went together fairly easily, I used my KitchenAid bowl on the stove and hand mixed while it was on the stove and let my stand mixer do the heavy whipping.  I piped the frosting, which was a little loose and practically dripped out of the pastry bag, perhaps I needed to beat it a little longer.   This was a nice, light buttercream and not too sweet.   I added some chocolate sprinkles for decoration.  I am looking forward to trying some of the other recipes in this cookbook.

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liner

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and set over but not touching simmering water in a saucepan; stir frequently until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let the chocolate mixture cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until combined. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until no traces of flour remain; do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 22 to 24 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cupcakes to the rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Frost the cupcakes with the buttercream, garnish with grated chocolate and serve. (The frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving.)

Basic (Vanilla) Buttercream

• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean)

In a large, clean heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar.  Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160 F on an instant-read thermometer), about 2 minutes.  Remove the bowl from the saucepan.  Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg white mixture until it is fluffy, cooled to room temperature , and holds stiff peaks (the mixture should not look dry), about 6 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the salt and the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition.  If the frosting appears to separate or is very liquid after all the butter is added, continue to beat on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes more.  Add the vanilla flavoring and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Use right away.