Lemon Cherry Cheesecake

FOUND IT: A google search led me to a website called "Fleur de Sel."

We made this recipe for my mother in law's birthday. I had been saving it to make again once we had fresh cherries, but this year there wasn't much of a cherry season. I'll save it for next year, I guess.

Ingredients:

• Nine graham crackers
• 1 cup toasted almonds
• 4 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 3 ounces of white chocolate, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• juice and zest of one lemon
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar

Combine the graham crackers and almonds in a food processor, then add the butter. Line an eight inch springform pan with this mixture, including the sides. Bake it at 325 until golden, about ten minutes.

In another bowl, combine the cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. Once they're combined, add the melted chocolate. Pour this mixture into the crust and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes, until " the edges are set but the middle still jiggles when you give it a shove."

For the sour cream topping combine the sour cream, 3 tbsp sugar and vanilla and allow to rest at room temperature until the cheesecake has baked.

Combine the cherries and 1/3 cup sugar and wait for a few minutes, then add the cornstarch and cook over medium heat for about five minutes or until the juices start to thicken.

When the cheesecake comes out of the oven let it rest for 5-10 minutes, then spread the sour cream mixture on top. Return it to the oven and bake for five more minutes. Once it's cooled again, spread the cherry mixture on top. Allow to cool overnight.

Lemon Squares

FOUND IT: In the August 2012 issue of Cooking Light

The same night we made the BBQ chicken sandwiches, we served these lemon squares as a light, somewhat summery dessert. Our guests had also brought dessert but pretty quickly set theirs aside and had seconds of these.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a 9x9 pan in a single layer and baking them at 350 for five minutes or so.

Place the toasted pine nuts, the 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, the 3/4 cup flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and oil and process until the mixture "resembles coarse meal."

Coat your 9x9 dish from before in cooking spray and press the processed mixture into it. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine the 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, lemon rind, lemon juice, eggs and egg white in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour this mixture over the crust and bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then cover and chill them for two hours. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining powdered sugar before serving.

Chocolate Beet Cake

FOUND IT: My friend Liz was kind enough to share it.

This is the only way I've ever cooked beets. It's certainly not healthy, but having the beets in there probably makes it a little better than a normal chocolate cake.

The frosting was also Liz's suggestion, but the two recipes don't have to be tied together. Frost it with whatever you like, or just serve it warm with ice cream.

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3-4 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3 cups shredded beets (this was about a bunch and a half of beets for me, peeled and then shredded)

Ingredients for frosting:

•  1 stick of butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Grease two nine inch cake pans (I used a 9x13). Combine dry ingredients. Melt the chocolate slowly, either stirring every 30 seconds in the microwave or using a double boiler, then set the chocolate aside to cool.

Once the chocolate has cooled, combine it thoroughly with the eggs and oil. Add half the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stir, then add half the beets. Repeat this process with the other half of both. Pour the batter into your cake pan (or pans).

Bake at 325 until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean, around 40-50 minutes.

To make the frosting, melt the butter and stir in the cocoa. Add half the powdered sugar, then half the milk, then repeat with the other halves. Add milk if you'd like the frosting to be smoother. Stir in vanilla, then spread over the cooled cake.

Grapefruit Pound Cake

FOUND IT: My wife tore it out of an issue of Cooking Light.
MODIFIED IT: I accidentally included a couple of extra ounces of cream cheese, but that was it.

I'm frequently skeptical of Cooking Light dessert recipes, since they're often healthier but also not very appealing. They usually look great but you can tell the good stuff is missing. This cake is different from their usual in two ways: First, it's better than you'd expect. Secondly, it's not actually very healthy. 1/16th of this cake is a pretty small serving and still contains almost 300 calories.

With that said, I'll probably make this again because it's good. One regular sized grapefruit is likely more than enough for both the grated rind and juice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt plus a dash, divided
• 1 2/3 cups sugar (some could probably be replaced with Splenda or another substitute)
• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 6 ounces cream cheese (I used a full eight ounce package. You only live once.)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 tbsp grated grapefruit rind
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder and all but a dash of the salt in a bowl. Cream the butter, sugar and cream cheese with a mixer in a large bowl, then add the eggs, oil, grapefruit rind and vanilla in that order.

Add half the dry ingredients to this mixture carefully, then half the milk. Repeat that process with the other half of both, finishing with the milk. Be careful not to overbeat the batter.

Spoon the batter into a greased 10 inch tube pan and bake at 325 for an hour and ten minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out "with moist crumbs clinging."

Allow the cake to cool for ten minutes in the pan, then tip it over onto a wire rack and allow it to finish cooling there.

To make the glaze, heat the grapefruit juice to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow it to cook this way until about a third of the liquid has boiled off, then put it in the fridge to cool. Once it's cooled about 10-15 minutes, stir in the powdered sugar and the dash of salt from earlier. Drizzle this mixture over the cake and serve.

Raspberry Strippers

FOUND IT: My sister-in-law directed me to this recipe at myrecipes.com.

These cookies might look complicated, but they're quick and easy. Also, the ingredient list is pretty easy: I was able to make them with stuff I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup raspberry preserves (I used peach. Almost anything would probably work.)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice (the juice of one small lemon)
• 1/4 tsp almond or vanilla extract

Beat sugar and butter until well combined. Add the vanilla and egg white and mix again, until well combined.

In another bowl whisk flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Combine with the wet ingredients and mix until stiff dough forms.

Lightly flour a work surface and your hands, and turn the dough out onto the surface. Form the dough into three 12 inch long logs, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Form a 1/2 inch indentation with your finger or a wooden spoon the full length of the logs, then fill the indentation with the raspberry preserves.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. While they're still warm, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla/almond extract, and drizzle it over the logs. Slice the logs into 1 inch slices immediately, but let them cool for about 10 minutes before you separate them.

Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake

FOUND IT: In an ad my wife tore out of a magazine. We think it was Real Simple, but we're not sure.

Ingredients:

• 40 Nilla Wafers, crushed (We used organic lemon cookies instead).
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 4 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar, separated
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp vanilla, separated
• 3 eggs
• 1 tub cool whip

Combine crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a springform pan.

Beat 3 packages cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp vanilla, mixing until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed until well blended. Pour over crust. Bake at 325 for 50 to 55 minutes or until set. Allow to cool completely in pan.

Beat remaining cream cheese, cool whip and vanilla in a large bowl until blended. Spread over cheesecake.

Refrigerate for four hours before serving. Garnish with berries if desired.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

FOUND IT: At Cooks.com

My wife needed a dish to pass for a work Super Bowl party, and requested these. I still have a ton of pumpkin in my freezer, so I was more than happy to use a little bit of it for this. The recipe could still use a little tweaking - the filling is a little plain.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
5 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (I ran mine through the food processor)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. softened cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat version)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg

Combine flour and brown sugar in medium bowl, then add butter to make a crumb mixture. Stir in nuts. Set aside 3/4 cup of this mixture for topping.

Press remaining mixture into bottom of 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 inch basking pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Put it in the fridge to cool while you make the filling. Don't remove it until you can handle it without burning yourself.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla and nutmeg in large mixer bowl. Blend until smooth. Pour over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake an additional 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Pecan cranberry tart

FOUND IT: At Foodnetwork.com, where it was linked from a pecan pie recipe I've also mentioned recently.

I love pecan pie, and this is a great twist on it. The crust is a fair amount of work, but it's worth it as an alternative to a normal pie crust. You can also simplify a fair amount here. For example: The recipe calls for a tart pan, but I don't own one. A pie plate worked fine in its place.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3 tbsp water

Filling:

• 1 cup pecan halves, divided into two 1/2 cups
  
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  

Coat a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick spray.

To make crust: Spread oats in another pie pan and bake, stirring occasionally, until toasted, 6 to 12 minutes at 375. Let cool. (I didn't.) Place the oats in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Leave the oven on and set at 375.

Stir together oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Drizzle oil onto dry ingredients and use a fork or your fingers to blend until crumbly. Using a fork, stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough just comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 7 to 8 times. Roll the dough out to an 11-inch circle, dusting with flour if necessary. Transfer the dough to prepared pan, pressing to fit. Trim edges. (If necessary, use scraps to patch any holes in crust.)

To make filling & bake: Spread 1/2 cup pecans on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs, egg whites, corn syrup, vinegar, butter, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. By this point your pecans should be cool-ish, give them a coarse chop. Stir in dried cranberries and the chopped pecans. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange remaining 1/2 cup pecans on top of the filling.

Bake the tart until filling is set and crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Pecan pie

FOUND IT: At FoodNetwork.com.

Pecan pie is one of my favorite foods. Last winter I had a recipe that I made over and over again until my wife complained so I put it away for a while. This winter I wanted to make one again, but the recipe was gone. This one is also pretty good, so I'm filing it away before I lose it again.

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 cups chopped toasted pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 pre-baked pie crust (follow the link above for a recipe for that)
  

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and, stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts and the vanilla. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. (If the crust has cooled, return it to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through.) Whisk the beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Put the pie shell on a sheet pan and pour the filling into the hot crust.

Bake on the lower oven rack at 400 until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, about 40 to 45 minutes. If the edges get very dark, cover them with aluminum foil half way during baking, or use a silicon cover for the edges, like I do.

Double Decker Pumpkin Pudding

FOUND IT: At Thriftyfun.com

This is a great, easy, relatively simple recipe. Top it with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and you'll love it. It's also better the second day.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pumpkin puree, or a 15 oz can
  
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 small can evaporated milk (5-1/3 oz.)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp ginger
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I skipped this)
  
• 1 package spice cake mix (1 layer size)
• Whipped cream, optional

Mix pumpkin, sugar, milk, eggs, butter and spices in a large bowl. Beat until well mixed. Fold in the nuts. Pour into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Spread cake batter over pumpkin mixture. It might look like it's sinking in, but it'll rise to the top during baking. Bake at 325 until cake tests done with a toothpick, about 45 minutes.

If desired, top with whipped cream or Cool Whip.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pie

FOUND IT: At Thriftyfun.com.

This is a nice variation on pumpkin pie. The little bit of peanut butter in it goes a long way.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin(or 2 cups pumpkin puree)
  
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup light cream, you may substitute half and half (I use skim milk)
  
• (9-inch) unbaked deep-dish pie crust

In large bowl, beat eggs, then add pumpkin, sugars, peanut butter, seasonings and salt. Gradually add light cream, beating until blended; pour into pie crust. Bake 65 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. On wire rack, let cool. Garnish, if desired, with whipped cream.

(Note: I used skim milk and that might be part of it, but this took much longer than 65 minutes. I didn't time it exactly, but it might have been closer to 90-100. It also produced nearly a cup more filling than I needed, so the "deep dish" part of the pie crust is important.)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

FOUND IT: On Allrecipes.com, with a reference from my friend Erin.

Yes, another pumpkin recipe. Maybe I should change the name of the blog. Give me ideas for something that'll alliterate with both pumpkins and mac and cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin pureee
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Splenda
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I skipped them)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in to wet ingredients. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

Stir in vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm. These are soft, fluffy cookies so they won't get really dark or firm.

Oatmeal Raspberry Bar Cookies

FOUND IT: On Cooks.com

I was recently given some raspberries from the first picking of the season, then needed a recipe to make some kind of dessert for a barbecue. This one was pretty easy and not bad.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, soft
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. fruit only seedless raspberry jam (I used a cup of fresh raspberries in the food processor, and didn't remove the seeds)

Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil and then spray the foil with cooking spray or butter. Mix all the ingredients together, except the raspberries. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the fruit to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top and lightly press it into the jam. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350 and allow to cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

FOUND IT: In a Penzey's catalog.

I had been waiting for the first rhubarb of the season to try this recipe. I made it last night to rave reviews.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup oatmeal, uncooked
1 stick butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar (can be replaced with Splenda)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups diced rhubarb (2-3 good sized stalks)
2 cups strawberries (I used more, because I had more)
1 cup water
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp Vanilla

Combine flour, both sugars, oatmeal, butter, and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix until crumbly. Press half of that mixture into the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Spread the strawberries and rhubarb over that. In a small saucepan, combine the water, cornstarch and vanilla over medium-low heat until mixture becomes clear and thick, stirring constantly. (The recipe says this takes five minutes, it took me much less). Pour this mixture over the strawberries and rhubarb, then cover with the remaining crumb mixture, and bake in a 350 oven for 60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Red Velvet Cake Truffles

FOUND IT: At my friend Jay Wagner's North by Northwest blog.

Making truffles is much easier than I expected, and I've tried several recipes lately, but this is the best one.

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

After cake is cooked, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. You can use your hands for this, if you don't mind getting messy. It'll be easier if you do it while the cake is still somewhat warm. Then, put the mixture in the fridge and let it cool for an hour or so.

Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50.) Chill for another hour, at least. Overnight wouldn't be the worst thing.

Melt chocolate in microwave, stopping to stir each minute until it's completely melted. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Bread pudding

FOUND IT: At the NY Times' Bitten blog, which, as I've previously mentioned, is my favorite place to go to find new things to try.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
6 cups white bread, cut or torn into 1-inch chunks (Be picky about the bread - bread that's too heavy will ruin it.)
2 cups half-and-half (I use skim milk)
4 eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup or sugar (Splenda works here, knocking off about 500 calories)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt (I omit this)
(I add about half a cup of chocolate chips, which puts the calories back in from before, but the chocolate adds a lot)

Butter an 8-inch souffle or baking dish, and add bread. Cut remaining butter into bits, and combine with all other ingredients; pour over bread. Submerge bread with weighted plate, and turn oven to 350 degrees.

When oven is hot, remove the plate and bake until pudding is just set, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve with or without whipped cream.

Chocolate crepes with peanut butter and banana filling

FOUND IT: It's loosely based on my homemade manicotti recipe, and the peanut butter part of the filling is from an Ina Garten recipe.

Ingredients:

Crepes:

3 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

(You can also use this recipe to make regular crepes if you remove the cocoa, or use it to make homemade manicotti if you remove the vanilla too and add some italian seasonings.)

Filling:

World Market has an awesome Dark Chocolate spread. Use that if you can get it. If you can't, Nutella should work too.
2 bananas, sliced thin
Peanut butter frosting

Here's the pb frosting recipe:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk, maybe a little less.

To make the crepes, beat the eggs with the milk. Then add all the other ingredients and whisk it until you have no more lumps. Spray a small frying pan over medium-low heat and pour 1/4 cup of the batter into it, tilting the pan around to cover as much space as possible. Cook them about 30-45 seconds on one side, then flip and cook about 15 seconds on the other. Then spray the pan and repeat. Set the crepes aside on a plate. This recipe will make about nine of them.

To make the peanut butter frosting, place the sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the milk and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Then, take a crepe, make a stripe of chocolate spread down the middle, place 5 slices of banana on top of that, and some frosting on top of that. Roll them up and enjoy.