Cinnamon Cheesecake Dessert

This recipe was originally called Sopapilla Cheesecake, but the name never stuck at our house.
This dessert was universally liked and was eaten up in one evening.
Photo and recipe from Real Mom Kitchen.

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2-8oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish press the seams together. In a separate bowl blend the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla extract (I also think it would be fun to try other extracts like almond extract?) and spread over top of dough. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter and pour over top layer of crescents. Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. (You can add more, if you wish.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. Cool, slice and enjoy!

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

This recipe is from Lauren's Latest and it may well be the best recipe I have tried all year. Stop by her blog and see her photo tutorial.

1/2 recipe Pizza Dough
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 pound grated mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (with pizza stone inside, if you are using one.)
Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch pizza pan (or on parchment paper if you are using a pizza stone.)
Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired. (Transfer to pizza stone, if you are using one.)
Bake 9-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven and cool 1-2 minutes before cutting. Serve hot, with marinara.

The Very Best Pizza Dough in the World

And I am not kidding. This recipe comes from Lauren's Latest, and you should really go to her blog first as she has a step-by-step photo tutorial. 

Makes 2-12 inch pizzas or approximately 1 lb. of dough.
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey {or sugar}
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 1/2-3 1/2 cups bread flour {depending on the heat & humidity}

In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking. Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn’t stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on and walk away! Resist the temptation to stop earlier than 6 minutes! The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn’t dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Now you can turn this dough into anything your little heart desires.

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

photo and recipe from A Thought Chronicle

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs
1 1/4 cup prepared or refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, divided
1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) (or make your own.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. Take 1/2 cup of the cookie dough and press small balls of it into the crust, especially around the edges. Drop 1/2 cup of the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls into batter. Stir gently.
Pour into crust. Top with level teaspoonfuls of the remaining 1/4 cup cookie dough.
Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or over night. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator

Fresh Peach Pie

You should visit Make Do for their tutorial.

1 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
8 Tbsp. Corn Starch
Yellow Food Coloring
¼ cup fresh Lemon Juice
Pinch of Salt
¼ cup Butter (1/2 stick)
6 Peaches, peeled and sliced
Precooked 9 inch Pie Shell

Combine water, sugar, cornstarch, food coloring, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk until combined. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thick and hard to stir. Remove from heat and add butter, stir until melted and combined. Add peaches and gently fold to coat. Pour into precooked pie shell. Refrigerate for 4 hours to set.
Top with whipped cream and serve.

Watermelon Pie for National Watermelon Day {August 3rd}

For this watermelon-look-alike dessert, I combined the ideas of the Edible Layers of the Earth project and this recipe from Catholic Cuisine.

We used:
Lime Sherbet
Pineapple sherbet (you could use vanilla ice cream instead)
Raspberry Sherbet
Mini chocolate chips

Line the inside of the bowl with a layer of lime sherbet, about 1 inch thick. I am not giving amounts here because the size of bowls will vary.

Place bowl into the freezer for a few minutes until the sherbet hardens a bit. At the same time get the pineapple sherbet out of the freezer so that it can soften a bit while the green layer hardens.

Add a thin layer of pineapple sherbet about a 1/2 inch thick on top of the lime sherbet.

Return bowl to the freezer until hardened, and get out the raspberry sherbet.

 

Once the raspberry sherbet has softened, mix chocolate chips into a small bowl of it so that it looks like the seeds in a watermelon.

 

Fill the cavity that is left with the raspberry-chocolate chip sherbet. Press down firmly.

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze solidly (for a few hours.)

 

When you are ready to serve set bowl in a larger bowl of hot water for a minute to help it slip out of the bowl. Turn over bowl onto a platter or plate and cut slices out to serve.

You can see that it is easy to make the white layer too thick. That layer should be very thin.

Watermelon Sherbet Pie!

Watercress Sandwiches

 Watercress sandwiches are so much fun to make and eat. They are great for tea time or for a light summer lunch. All you need is a bunch of watercress, cream cheese and rye bread. I usually use mini cocktail loaves of rye bread, but this time I just used regular rye bread and cut the sandwiches into quarters. Some people like to cut off the crusts, but I think they are the best part of the sandwiches!

These are so simple to assemble! Just spread two slices of rye bread with a thin layer of cream cheese. Pull the leaves off the stems and top of the slices of bread with the watercress leaves. Sprinkle generously with salt and a sprinkle of pepper and you are done! Cut into quarters and layer on a plate.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This cold pie is so refreshing on a hot day. The natural taste of the strawberries is accented by a strawberry flavored glaze. Freshly whipped cream just makes it so, so good.

1 (8 inch) pie shells, baked

5 cups fresh strawberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch, making sure to blend corn starch in completely. Add boiling water, and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mix, and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Place strawberries in baked pie shells, positioning berries with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture over strawberries. Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream.

Pimento Cheese

We just made a wonderful homemade pimento dip/spread from the recipe at $5 Dinners from Hodgepodge. It only takes a few minutes to make and only three ingredients:

Cheddar Cheese

Mayonnaise or Cream Cheese

Pimentos (We couldn't find the chopped pimentos, so we substituted roasted red pepper from a jar and it worked just fine!)

It is a wonderful summer spread to have in the fridge at those times when it is just too hot to cook! Yum!

Chocolate Chip Pie

Recipe from Best Bites via The Farm Girl Recipes.

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.
2 large eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. white granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. real butter, softened
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Optional: 1 c. chopped pecans, Vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs in large mixing bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.
2. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed. Serve with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Cookie Dough Brownie Layered Dessert

This recipe was modified from the original at The Farm Girl Recipes.
I found her cookie dough to be too mild for this dessert, so I switched it around a bit to make it stand up to the competition of chocolate on either side of it.

Bottom Brownie Layer:
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Middle Cookie Dough Layer:
2 sticks(1/2 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 16-ounce box packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tab. milk
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Top Glaze Layer:
2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cups walnuts, optional

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil & sugar. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa & salt; gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in walnuts if desired.
Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brownies toothpick test done. Cool completely.
For filling, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light & fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Spread over brownies (works best to just press out with clean hands.); chill until firm.

Two layers of the triple layered dessert.

For glaze, in a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and shortening in 30 second intervals, stirring after each time, until smooth. Spread over filling. Immediately sprinkle with nuts, if desired, pressing down slightly. Yields 3 dozen.

Cocoa Kiss Cookies

This recipe is adapted from the recipe at the Sisters Cafe. The only problem with it is that you won't be able to stop eating them!

1 c. (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 c. gold medal all-purpose flour
¼ c. cocoa
1 c. toffee chips ( or you can substitute finely chopped nuts)
Hershey’s Kisses milk chocolates
powdered sugar

Beat butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Add pecans; beat until well blended. Refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates. Mold scant tablespoon of dough around each chocolate, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar

Pretzel Rolls

Recipe from Guy Fieri, Food Network via Cooking With My Kid. These make great sandwich or hamburger rolls. They taste just like pretzels and have the chew of a soft pretzel. It is basiclly a soft pretzel in the shape of a roll.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
vegetable oil for the bowl
cooking spray
8 cups water
1/3 cup baking soda

Put 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F) in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside to bloom, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook on the lowest setting until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough is elastic and smooth, about 8 minutes.
Form the dough into a ball, place in a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with oil. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 35 minutes. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat, coat generously with cooking spray and set aside.
Punch down the dough, then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead just until the dough is smooth and springs back when poked, about 1 minute. Divide into approximately 6-8 rolls the size of a small apple. Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet and cut four 2-inch diagonal slashes across the top of each. Cover with a damp towel or cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and bring 8-10 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat.
Stir the baking soda into the boiling water. It will foam up slightly. Add 2 rolls and poach 2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, remove the rolls, drain and place on the baking sheet, cut-side up. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
Bake the rolls until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet.

The Best Cookies in the World...Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip.

photo from Cottage Sisters

These cookies were declared the best cookies in the world by my son, Sam. He then gave them out to his little brothers and Quentin took a bite and said, "Yes, you are right, they are." So, there you have it.  They are crisp on the edges and soft in the middle -the satisfy everybody.

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart via Cottage Sisters.

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 16-ounce box packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare four baking sheets with parchment paper or silmats; set aside. (I once used greased aluminum foil and they did stick a bit.)

Cream butter until smooth; add sugars, and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Into a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly beat dry ingredients into wet mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop a large ice cream scooper of dough on prepared baking sheets; space dough about 2 inches apart to accommodate spreading. Bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheets then transfer cookies to racks.

Edamame (or Soy) Dip

This recipe is from Suzie J.

1 bag of
frozen shelled edamame*
1 cup silken tofu, drained
1 tablespoon or more salt
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of one lime
1/4 teaspoon or more hot pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon or more of cumin

Cook soybeans in boiling water according to package directions.
Pour soybeans and remaining ingredients into food processor and process until smooth.
Use the minimum amount of salt and spices, and then add more to taste.
Eat with corn chips, pita chips or vegetables.

*You can use edamame in the shell, but you will have to add the time and effort of taking them out of the shell before starting with the recipe.