Blackberry Cheesecake
Today is National Cheesecake Day!
I love cheesecake. Growing up I would go blackberry picking in my neighborhood. There was always some area with overgrown blackberry bushes. Picking up my childhood sandbox bucket I would set myself to the task of bringing home a bucketful of blackberries. Not many would make it home and the evidence would be all over my face.
INGREDIENTS
40 Crushed Vanilla Wafers
6 Tablespoons Melted Butter
16 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unbleached Flour
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Creamed Cottage Cheese
1/4 Cup Cherry Brandy
3 Eggs
4 Cups Fresh Blackberries
Preheat your oven to 375° F. In a medium size bowl stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch spring form pan and set aside. In a large bowl stir together cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, flour and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low until smooth and set aside. Place the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend until smooth. Incorporate into the cream cheese mixture. Next, stir in the 1/4 cup cherry brandy. Beat in the eggs on low speed until combined. Don’t over mix as you don’t want to incorporate too much air into the batter. Pour half of the cheese cake mixture into the crust lined pan. Spread 1 cup of the blackberries on top. Top with the remaining cheese cake mixture and 1/2 cup of the blackberries. Place in a shallow baking pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until center appears almost set. Remove from the oven. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Loosen the sides and cool completely. Cover and chill for 2 hours. To serve cut the cheesecake into wedges and top each with the blackberries. Serve with additional blackberry sauce if you like. Serves 10
Peach & Blueberry Crisp
Peaches and blueberries? What could be better? You could serve this dessert with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or English clotted cream.
INGREDIENTS
8 Ripe Peaches (Sliced)
2 Cups Fresh Blueberries
1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 Cup Unbleached Flour
1/2 Cup Chopped Almonds
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
Preheat your oven to 400° F. In a large size baking pan place the sliced peaches. Add the blueberries to the top of the peaches. Set aside. In a medium saucepan melt the butter over a low heat. When the butter has melted turn off the heat. Stir in the oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread the oat mixture over the top of the blueberries. Place into the oven for 35 minutes. Remember that each oven heats differently so check at 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve warm or cold. I served mine warm with English clotted cream, but you could serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or plain. Serves 4 to 6
Blueberry Cookies
If you’re tired of the same old chocolate chip cookie then give my scrumptious Blueberry Cookies a test run. I wouldn’t quite put them in the “healthy” category, but close enough.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Cup Softened Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Dried Blueberries
Preheat your oven to 375º F. In a small size bowl combine the flour, baking soda and kosher salt. In a large size bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after adding each egg. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the blueberries. Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment paper line baking sheets. Place into the oven and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Remember every oven heats differently and if you like your cookies soft then you may want to take them out just a bit early as they will continue to cook for a bit after leaving the oven. Remove from the oven and let cool for 4 minutes on the baking sheet. Remove from the baking sheet and transfer them to wire racks and let cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Peachy Peach Crisp
This ridiculously easy Peach Crisp recipe is just peachy. Take advantage of all those delicious peaches out there. Farmers’ markets are a great place to get local peaches or take a day and find a pick your own place.
INGREDIENTS
6 Cups Sliced Peaches
5 Tablespoons Sugar
1/2 Cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Unbleached Flour
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Butter
Preheat your oven to 350º F. In a large size bowl combine the peach slices and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside. In a separate large size bowl combine the rolled oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter. You will want the topping to look like coarse crumbs. Pour the peaches into a rectangle baking dish that holds about 2 quarts. Sprinkle the topping over the peaches and place into the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the topping is golden. Remove from the oven and let cool or serve warm. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6
Oatmeal Cherry Cookies
Over the weekend I was in the mood for oatmeal cookies. I looked all over my pantry for the box of raisins that I could have sworn was in there, but couldn’t locate them. BUT I did see a container filled with dried cherries. The jury is in and I must admit that I like oatmeal cookies better with cherries. Just sayin’.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
3/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
3 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 Cup Dried Cherries
Preheat your oven to 350º F. In a large size bowl, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar on a medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat well. In a separate medium size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and kosher salt. Mix well Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix well. Add the oats and dried cherries and mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat until you have baked all of the cookies. Makes about 4 dozen.
Blueberry Shortcakes With Whipped Cream Cheese
These shortcakes are super easy to make and delicious as either a dessert or a brunch dish. The shortcakes are best the day they are made however.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 Cups Unbleached Flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Cold Unsalted Butter (Cut into Small Pieces)
2 Ounces Cream Cheese (2 Ounces Cold & 6 Ounces Room Temperature)
5 Ounces Blueberries
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
Extra Blueberries for Garnish
Preheat your oven to 425º F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and coat the parchment paper with cooking spray. In a large size bowl combine the flour, sugar, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda. Incorporate the butter and the cold cream cheese with a pastry cutter. You could also use your fingers or two forks. Incorporate until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove the mixture from the freezer and add the blueberries. Gradually stir in the buttermilk. Gently fold with a rubber spatula until a sticky dough forms. Make sure not to overmix. Divide the dough into 8 even mounds and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely. While your shortcakes are cooling in a large size bowl beat together the remaining cream cheese and powdered sugar. Gradually add the heavy cream beating just until for 1 minute until the mixture becomes smooth and thick. Make sure not to overbeat. Serve alongside the shortcakes and add extra berries if you wish. Makes 8 Blueberry Shortcakes.
Red White & Blueberry
Red, White & Blueberry or in other words “Watermelon Goat Cheese & Blueberries” is so different and very refreshing. Easy to make too.
INGREDIENTS
4 Watermelon Rounds
4 Goat Cheese Slices
1/4 Cup Fresh Blueberries
Slice the watermelon so that it is large enough to work with. Take a round cookie cutter and cut out 4 rounds in the watermelon. On individual small plates place the watermelon rounds. Place a slice of goat cheese on top of the watermelon. Place a few blueberries on top of the goat cheese. Top with another watermelon round and top with another goat cheese round and garnish with a few blueberries. Place in the fridge and serve cold. Serves 2
Nutella Pound Cake
If you like Nutella then you will like this pound cake recipe. It’s easy to make and can be eaten for breakfast or as a dessert.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
3 Room Temperature Eggs
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
1 1/2 Cups Unbleached Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Nutella
Preheat your oven to 325º F. Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In a medium size bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside. In a large size bowl beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and beat for 30 seconds until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl frequently. Alternately add the flour mixture and whipping cream to the butter mixture. Beat on low after each addition just until combined. Pour half of the batter into the parchment paper lined loaf pan. Place 1/2 cup Nutella on top of the batter and swirl with a knife. Pour the rest of the batter and place the remaining 1/2 cup Nutella on top of the batter. Swirl the Nutella with a knife. Place into the oven and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remember that ovens heat differently so check at 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan (by pulling out by the parchment paper) and cool thoroughly on the rack. Makes 1 Nutella Pound Cake.
Beer Brownies
Make these Beer Brownies for your father this Father’s Day! He’ll love you for it unless he hates chocolate!
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
2 Cups Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Cup Softened Butter
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs
1 Cup Beer (I used Ale)
1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Frosting
Preheat your oven to 350º F. In a large size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cocoa powder. Set aside. In a separate large size bowl beat together the butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time beating in between each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for 20 seconds. Gradually add the flour mixture alternating with the beer until both are added. Beat on slow until smooth. Pour into parchment paper lined 13x9x2 baking pan. Place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until done. Remember that all ovens heat differently so make sure to check at 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. Remove from the pan by lifting the parchment paper. Set onto the counter and frost with the chocolate frosting. Cut into brownies squares. Makes 24 brownies depending on how large or small you cut the brownies.
Chocolate Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
2/3 Cup Cocoa
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Place the softened butter into a large size bowl and beat with a mixer for 30 seconds. Add the cocoa and beat for another 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract and beat on high for 2 minutes. You will want the consistency to be very creamy without lumps. Makes about 2 cups.
Park Avenue Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
I came up with this recipe while walking on Park Avenue two weeks ago. If you’re a fan of the humble PB&J then you’ll be a fan of these unique cupcakes. Most recipes have you piping in the peanut butter and jelly. You could even serve these cupcakes for breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 Cup Softened Butter
3 Room Temperature Eggs
2 1/2 Cups Unbleached Flour
2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 3/4 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 Cups Milk
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 Cups Strawberry Jam
1/2 Cup Peanut Halves For Garnish
Preheat your oven to 350º F. Line 1 large muffin tin with large muffin liners or the special parchment paper liners. Set aside. Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a medium size bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside. In a large size bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed after each addition just until combined. Pour the batter into the muffin cup just so it reaches 1/2 of the way up the muffin cup. Place 1 Teaspoon of the creamy peanut butter on top of the batter in the muffin cup. Then add 2 teaspoons of the strawberry jam on top of the peanut butter. Finish pouring the rest of the batter in the muffin cup (about 3/4 of the way to the top). Continue until the entire muffin cups are filled the same way. Place into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remember that all ovens heat differently so make sure to check at 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish the tops with the peanut halves. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and place the cupcakes on the wire racks to cool completely. Transfer to a serving platter. Makes 12 large cupcakes.
