Tag Archive for Cinnamon

We’ve Been on a Cheesecake Kick

The birthday cakes for three of our families’ 2015 birthday celebrations have all been cheesecakes.  We’ve had a couple of the Snickerdoodle variety, and then one Lemon Ricotta cheesecake.  The birthday peeps in my family have been on a cheesecake quest, and we have had some great results.

For my oldest son’s birthday this past December he had requested a Snicker Doodle cheesecake.  We found a recipe on Pinterest that sounded good, and it turned out fantastic!   We topped this cheesecake off with some Cinnamon Whipped Cream. Ooh, la, la.

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Then for the January/February birthdays we had a Snicker Doodle repeat because my Mom had not been at the party when the first one was created.  Once again, fantastic flavor great recipe.  I highly recommend it if you’re a cheesecake, snicker doodle, or cinnamon lover, or a lover of all three!

SnickerDoodle Cheesecake Recipe-

Source: Better Homes and Gardens

Makes 12-16 servings (depending on how you slice it)

Ingredients:
  • 1 10-ounce package shortbread cookies, finely crushed
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • (2), 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3 eggs
  • 8-ounce carton sour cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
Directions:
  1. Allow cream cheese and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. For crust, in a medium bowl stir together crushed cookies and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir in melted butter until combined. Press mixture onto the bottom and 1½ inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
  3. For Filling– In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, the 1 cup sugar, the flour, vanilla and ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon with an electric mixer on medium to high-speed until smooth. Using a fork, lightly beat eggs. Stir eggs into the cream cheese mixture.
  4. In a small bowl, stir together the 1 tablespoon sugar and the remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust-lined pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place spring-form pan in a shallow baking pan.
  5. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a 2½-inch area around outside edge appears set when gently shaken. Cool in spring-form pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
  6. Using a small sharp knife, loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove the sides of pan; cool cheesecake completely on wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.
  7. To Store: Place cheesecake in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

 

For our March birthday celebration I baked a Lemon Ricotta cheesecake for my daughter Hilary’s birthday.  I’m pretty sure Hilary and I also found this recipe on Pinterest.  It was a luscious, lemony, delight and we would definitely repeat this recipe.  The zesty lemon flavor was just amazing.  It is an extremely rich and decadent dessert.

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Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe-

Source: Bettycrocker.com

Makes 12 -16 servings (depends on how you slice it)

Ingredients:

  • 1 10-ounce package shortbread cookies, finely crushed
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • (2) 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1-¼ cups sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons grated lemon peel (1 large)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 (15oz) container whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 3 eggs

Garnish: (optional)

  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • 16 candied lemons

Directions:

  1. Allow cream cheese and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. For crust, in a medium bowl stir together crushed cookies and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir in melted butter until combined. Press mixture onto the bottom and 1½ inches up the sides of a 9-inch spring-form pan; set aside.
  3. For filling, beat cream cheese in a large bowl on medium speed until fluffy.  Add the sugar; beat until very soft and creamy.  Add lemon peel and lemon juice; mix well.  Beat in ricotta cheese.  Be sure you are using the whole milk ricotta for that extra special touch of decadence!
  4. Add the eggs, on at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Pour mixture into the crust-lined pan.
  5. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until sides of cheesecake are set and puffed, but center still moves slightly when pan is tapped.
  6. Cool cheesecake in pan on wire rack for 1 hour.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.
  7. Garnish with whipped cream and candied lemons, if you wish.

What cheesecake will we be making next?  I am not really certain, but 2015 could definitely be proclaimed as “The Year of the Cheesecake” here at The Party House.  And by the way the serving of these cheesecakes for our crowd lasted approximately 2.3 minutes.  I’m pretty sure at each birthday celebration within 5 minutes of serving, all of the cheesecakes were devoured.  Let me know what your favorite cheesecake flavor is. Enjoy, I’d love to hear some new thoughts and ideas.

 

This post linked to the GRAND Social

Oh I had fun making Cinnamon Rolls

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Now I know everyone is busy this week setting goals for the new year, maybe trying to cut back on the sweet treats and what you are eating, but the next time you have a sweet tooth and need a great sweet treat, you need to try this recipe.

Over the holidays I created the cinnamon roll recipe from my Pioneer Woman cookbook.  Oh and what fun I had.  I’m  pretty sure this was the last treat I put together for my 2012 Christmas baking season.  First of all you need to understand the I am a bread-head.  I love anything breadalicious.  Bread, rolls, French bread, sweet breads. ,yum, yum.

I actually haven’t made anything along the lines of a bread recipe since October when we had a homemade pizza party.  So I gathered the ingredients, made the dough as directed, and voila here’s what it looked like after is had risen for about an hour.  Beautiful isn’t it?

1-photo-001Whenever I see a bowl full of poofy dough like this I just want to punch it down and smell the sweet bread flavors, and I did.

Next was rolling out the dough into a semi-rectangle, and adding the toppings.  butter, cinnamon, sugar, butter, cinnamon, sugar.  It was wonderful.

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Then came “The Roll”!!  Starting at one end and rolling as tightly as you can, but uniformly until you end up with your rectangle of dough looking like this…

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This recipe makes two long rectangles for the cinnamon rolls.  The first rectangle I rolled was a little bit loose, and I probably could have rolled slightly tighter.  By the second rectangle I had my system in order and it turned out great.

Then you cut the rolls, place them into your baking pans, and let them rest and rise again.  I used foil pans, since most of these were going to friends and family for a Christmas treat.

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Once they rested, they go into the oven for 20 minutes, frost and you are ready for some seriously sweet noshing.  But make sure you include a good cup of coffee with your treat.  Then it becomes spectacular.

I had so much fun rolling the dough and putting the rolls together.  The texture of this dough was fantastic, and made the assembly process all the easier.

My taste testers here at the house have proclaimed that this recipe must be a new Christmas tradition.  I agree.  I will add this to my annual Christmas baking arsenal for many years to come.

What’s your favorite baking recipe?

>> Photo credit for this post goes to my Travel Man…

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