Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I don't exactly need an excuse to bake, but as I am using Easter [Happy Easter by the way] and my co-worker's birthday tomorrow as my reason for trying out a new recipe. I was going to make baklava cups for my co-worker's birthday, but I really do hate working with phyllo dough. And I feel like that is more of a refreshing, summer dessert. But also, I'm really lazy and don't want to work with phyllo dough, especially not on a holiday.

There are always the someecards that talk about going on Pintrest to find a recipe to bake and then you end up spending hours on Pintrest and don't bake anything. For once, this did not happen to me, but I do have a tendency to get off track at times. I found this recipe after my mother asked me what I was going to bake for my grandmother's for Easter. [I happen to be designated family baker.]

I am a huge fan of cookie dough and cheesecake so what better to make than cookie dough cheesecake bars. While very involved, it is a delicious recipe. I did alter it a little because the cookie dough says not to use any egg, but to me, that does not make sense and it is difficult for the dough to keep together, but maybe they wanted it to be like that on purpose. Whichever the reason, mine came out fine so it doesn't matter anyway!

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

[crust]
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
[chocolate chip cookie dough]
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
[cheesecake filling]
10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an eight inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, allowing a little to overhand, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. [I don't like to line my baking dishes because everything comes out looking strangely shaped. I just buttered a casserole dish a per my usual method.]

Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs [I crumbled them in a food processor.] until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooking rack. Do not turn off the oven.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed and mix until just incorporated. Add egg until dough comes together. Mix in the chocolate chips then set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixed, mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low until just incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Smooth out to cover the entire crust. Using your hand to form clumps of cookie dough. Flatten the clumps of dough in your palms to flatten them out a bit. Distribute the cookie dough on top of the cheesecake batter. Be sure to use all of the dough. You will cover most of the cheesecake batter. [To make it a little more chocolatey, you can sprinkle some extra chocolate chips on the batter.]

Bake for about 30 minutes until the top feels dry and firm [the cookie dough layer] and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. [I stuck a toothpick in it to see if the cheesecake layer was done. It will come out clean if it is baked all the way through.]

Just for the record, my house smells absolutely amazing right now. Even when I was baking the graham cracker crust my house smelled like heaven. Add chocolate and cheesecake. Ultimate deliciousness.

 

I will post a picture of them actually cut them. I'm really excited to try one! Yum!



Upcoming Projects

So it's not that I haven't been baking lately. Just all I seem to be baking is the M&M sugar cookie bars that I made in my last entry.

I actually have a batch in the oven right now for my mother. I think this is my new staple considering she usually asks me to make cream cheese brownies, which is a half day project half of the time. What's so great about the sugar cookie bars is that they are delicious but take about 15 minutes to prepare. Though binge watching all three seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix is a food deterrent.

But I figured I would give an update on what is coming up. I still have a few older recipes that still have to be posted, but I have a few new recipes that I'm excited to try. One of the boys I work with suggested I make popovers and I found a great recipe for them along with strawberry butter.

I also plan on making Nutella Rugelach, which is made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling. I also plan on starting this adventure soon: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tashweenali/bite-size-desserts

Bite-sized desserts! Yay! I'm very much looking forward to making baklava cups. I haven't eaten baklava in ages, but it's delicious and very fun to eat.

I have another work friend's birthday coming up soon as well, so maybe I'll make that. Thus ends the random update. New recipes to come soon!

M&M Sugar Cookie Bars

Readers: You know how I said previously that you should drop everything and go make those croissants with Brie and apples? Nope. Seriously drop everything you're doing at this very second and make these. These cookie bars are like a piece of heaven. In fact, I'm convinced there is a special place in heaven carved out for people so they can eat just these. I know because I tried them and it took everything in my power not to scarf all of them down.

I made these for one of the pastor's in the town I cover. I don't believe I mentioned it previously, but I am a journalist for a weekly newspaper and I cover two local towns. The pastor has become a good friend of mine after he helped me out through a particularly rough patch in my life a few months ago. He is a very welcoming, cheerful, and comforting person. And get this. He's a total bad ass who rides a motorcycle. I bet that completely blows your perception of a religious figure right out of the water, eh? But anyway, it was his birthday earlier this week and I texted him to wish him a good one. Like I typically do, I offered to make something delicious for him, especially since he is always very generous with me, such as taking me out to lunch.

I also tossed half the batch in the refrigerator for the birthday of one of my co-workers. Killing two birds with one stone I guess. Her birthday is next week and she isn't in the office on Thursday or Friday and Tuesday night is too hectic. So I'm choosing to be smart about it!

This comes from another recipe found on Pintrest. I have enough things pinned on my baking board that I might as well start actually making some of them. Not to mention Buzz Feed has given me two ideas for a series for this blog [bite-sized treats and different kinds of cheesecake!]. They came out beautifully and are very tasty.

 

M&M Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients:



1 stick butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

M&Ms

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl [I would say to put the butter in the microwave for two 20-second increments]. Stir in sugar. Once it is slightly cooled [around three minutes], beat in the egg and vanilla.

 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Stir this into the butter and sugar mixture.

 

Press into a greased eight-inch by eight-inch baking dish. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Pull the half-cooked dough out of the oven and top the cookie with M&Ms, pressing them into the dough gently.

 

Return to the oven to bakes for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, or until the top is set and the cookies don't wiggle when you shake the pan. They should shouldbe with barely golden edges.

 

Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

 

 

Croissants With Brie

I'm going a little off the beaten path with this recipe, also found on Pintrest. I'm going for savory rather than sweet and I was blown away. These were so delicious! I don't even want to admit how many I ate! And it included one of my favorite kind of cheese, Brie. Yum. I used pre-made croissants, Pillsbury, which are the best, but you can look up a croissant recipe. I'll eventually make my own croissants.

This is also a pretty healthy snack. The weekend I made them, I brought them to my college roommate's house and her mom really liked them as well. I definitely recommend them and they are the best if they are still warm. The minute you're done reading, I'm pretty sure you should drop everything you are doing, go to the store to buy the ingredients, and make these.

Just putting the idea in your head.

 

Croissants With Brie

Ingredients:

croissants

Brie cheese

Granny Smith apples, sliced

pecans

honey

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Roll out the entire container of croissants and separate the dough. Layer the apples, Brie, and pecans at the widest end of the croissant dough. Drizzle a bit of honey over the layers. Roll the dough into a bundle so the layers are covered.

 

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

 

Then eat them all!

 

 



Sea Salt Caramel-Stuffed Snickerdoodles

If the word caramel was not in here, this is a perfect example of alliteration. Wow. I'm a nerd. Anyway. These were an extremely fun cookie to make. Since I've become addicted to Pintrest [it's unfortunate], I have pinned many a-recipe with plans to bake them all. [It's like Pokémon! Gotta bake 'em all!] Forgive me, it was a long day at work and I think I'm a tad loopier than usual.

On to the real story. I decided that I would make cookies for everyone in my office for Christmas. This resulted in four types of cookies. I think I made over 400 cookies and I don't think my kitchen has forgiven me yet for the abuse. At least the house smelled delicious and was nice and toasty since the oven was on all day. I wanted a cookie that deviated from what I normally baked, but still have a cookie that everyone would eat. Thus, the snickerdoodle. Besides it's hilarious name, it is a very tasty cookie and very easy to make. And everyone at work loved them.

 

Sea Salt Caramel-Stuffed Cookies

Ingredients:

[cinnamon sugar coating]

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

[dough]

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened [as always, you can use salted]

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tarter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 packages of Rolo candies [I used around two bags of mini Rolos and I doubled the recipe]

coarse sea salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. For the cinnamon sugar, combine the 1/4 cup of sugar and tablespoon of cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside. [As you go, you may need to make more.]

 

In a large bowl, beat the 1 1/2 cup of sugar and butter at a medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

 

Sift flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, and salt into mixing bowl. [I don't own a sifter any more so I used two mesh colanders. My mother's idea and it's brilliant.] With the mixer on low, mix until thoroughly combined.

 

Working with one tablespoon of dough at a time, place a single Rolo inside the dough and roll into a ball. Roll dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mix and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the dough balls with sea salt.

 

Bake for seven to eight minutes. The cookies should look raw between the cracks and seem underdone. [Trust me, they aren't.] Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Then dig in!

 

 

 

I probably made around 100 of these. Needless to say, it was a good thing I did.



Brownies/Brownie Cupcakes

This is similar to my cheesecake brownie recipe. Actually, it's exactly the same, just without the cheesecake part. You can do it two ways, making an actual pan of brownies or making them into mini cupcakes. I'm a big fan of making brownies. I used to make them a lot because my ex and his father loved to eat them.

Nothing beat the time my mother's dog jumped up and ate half of them. That was a disaster and a half. As I'm sure many of you know, it's very bad for dogs to eat chocolate. We got lucky because our dog is okay.

 

Brownies/Brownie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

[brownies]

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, add cocoa powder and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add sugar and mix together. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the four eggs and mix until combined.

 

Grease a nine inch by 13 inch pan and add batter or a mini muffin tin.

 

Bake for 20 minutes. Stick a skewer in them and make sure it comes out clean.

 

 

 

I don't have a picture of the brownies in a pan, but I'm sure you can imagine how they look. Square. Enjoy!

 

Cheesecake Brownies

Now these I love making. It's definitely a labor of love and a pain in my butt. But they are fun to make and very delicious. Though I've never been able to replicate the first time I made them. I can never get them to marble properly...

Once, I made them for my ex's father for Father's Day and forgot to add another cup of flour. This resulted in me having to mix in the cheesecake layer. They ended up being very delicious still. I made these for Christmas this year. The girls I work with at the office like when I make these.

But they take up a lot of ingredients. Once I doubled the recipe and used up a dozen eggs. I couldn't tell if my mother was impressed or annoyed. But in my defense, I did buy another dozen. I always double the cheesecake part because there is never enough to cover the brownies.

 

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

[brownies]

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

[topping]

2 packages cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, add cocoa powder and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add sugar and mix together. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the four eggs and mix until combined.

 

Grease a nine inch by 13 inch pan and add batter.

 

In a separate bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs until smooth. Spread the cream cheese layer evenly over the brownie batter. Using a knife, marble the brownie and cream cheese mixture.

 

Bake for 40 minutes. [I would really just keep an eye on it. Stick a skewer in to make sure it comes out clean.]

 

 

 

 

 





These are really delicious but very rich, so I would be careful how many you eat! For an added kick of chocolate, you can add chocolate chips. I like to do that because it gives it a bit more.