Oreo Cheesecake Bites

OMG ~~ these are fabulous. HOLY Cow. I could eat the whole pan. How can a dessert be bad with four packages of cream cheese and a whole package of Oreo's. ... Well, missing two or three.

This dessert went together easy, few ingredients and cut nicely. I made these for a charity event. I also dipped strawberries and made mini Boston Cream cakes. (another day for recipe). My friend Stephanie supplied the Gluten Free Brownies and Gluten Free Carrot Cake Bites. Everything was delicious and people ate all of them.

This dessert made a very full pan. I followed the instructions and used the 9 x 13 pan. I think next time, I will use a 10 x 14 pan. Not so thick, and many more pieces of heaven.

Oreo Cheesecake Bites

adapted by melskitchencafe.com

Ingredients

38 Oreo cookies, divided

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter

4 package (8 ounces each cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 large eggs

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

4 ounces white chocolate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil, with ends extending over sides. Finely crush 26 Oreo cookies. Melt butter, and then mix with crumbs. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of prepared pan.

In a large mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just blended. Chop up remaining Oreo cookies. Add to batter, and gently fold in.

Oreo and Butter Crust

Oreo's and Cream Cheese

Lumps of loving goodness

This is a FULL pan

Bake the cheesecake for 38-42 minutes, or until sides are set and the center is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack in the pan.

Just a bit toooo brown. Should have come out two minutes sooner

When the cheesecake is cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When chilled, remove the cheesecake from the pan using the foil overhangs. Melt the chocolates, in separate bowls at 50% power in the microwave. Stirring frequently. Pour each chocolate into a ziploc bag and drizzle over the top of cheesecake. Cut into small pieces. AND serve.

I did dipped strawberries, mini Boston cream cakes and the Oreo bits. 

The dessert table was just packed with all kinds of delicious morsels

Digging the new dress and shoes. It was a fun night with my wonderful husband.

Hummingbird Cheesecakes

Hummingbird Cake. To coconut or not to coconut, that really is the question. My Mother has made Hummingbird Cake with Coconut from a Southern Living recipe for as long as I can remember. It was always perfect for a party. A three layer cake that tasted FABULOUS. Kind of like a crowning glory. Perfect in presentation. The cake could even be made the day before. If you had any problems, you put the cream cheese frosting on it, coated the sides with coconut or crushed pecans, and no one knew the difference.

So when I came across this recipe, I thought, nuggets of springtime love. 

Perfect for a shower or party

Hummingbird Cheesecakes
Adapted from mangoandpalmtrees.com
Make 5 dozen Mini muffins

Ingredients
Cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pureed pineapple
1/2 cup pureed bananas
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts

Cheesecake
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Directions
Place a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet in the center of the oven's bottom rack, and pour enough hot water into the pan to come up 2 inches up the sides. (THIS keeps the cheesecakes from drying out or over browning.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the Hummingbird Cake batter, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon in a mixing bowl and whisked together until evenly combined. Add the eggs and oil to the dry mixture. Stir until just combined. Add the vanilla, pineapple, bananas and nuts for the mixture. Stir to combine.

To make the Cheesecake batter, place cream cheese in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. Beat until smooth. Add the sugar, beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Turn to low, and add the eggs one at a time. Add Sour cream or yogurt, the lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt. Increase speed to medium and blend for 3 minutes.

Line a mini muffin pan with liners. In the bottom of each cup, place 1 teaspoon of Hummingbird cake batter. Top with 2 teaspoons of cheesecake batter. DO NOT SWIRL.

Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes . Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 more minutes. Then transfer the cheesecakes to a cooling rack.

Allow cheesecakes to cool completely. Garnish with a squirt of frosting, coconut, or nuts. Serve.

This was the first layer of the cake, placed in the mini muffin pans.

The roasting pan with the water underneath really was important. NONE of the cakes cracked.

Plain guy ~~ there is no Coconut in him

Shot of frosting on top

 I really liked these. Very light, perfect for Spring.

April Fooling

Welcome to April. I hope everyone had a great Easter. Mine was wonderful. It was a VERY low key holiday. My Mother is still in Florida. My sister and her daughters went down to see my Mom and my Florida sister. My youngest sister was just happy doing nothing. MY Husband was all for a stress less day. And I was in total agreement. I did make a delicious ham with a fabulous glaze. It was wonderful new recipe.

Over the weekend, my friend and I did some retail and lunch therapy. One of our first stops was Trader Joe's. Always a wealth of fun and delicious items. My cat Black Cherry also likes Trader Joe's (bag).

totally hanging out

My Sweets and Treats business has been taking off. I have had a job every weekend. I am still catering, and working a day job. Life has been a bit crazy. But I am loving it. My business cards look fantastic. The web site is under construction, and with the help of many friends and family, we are marketing the crap out of this business adventure.

I have been making cakes, cupcakes, cookies and bars. And I have done several seasonal items. For Easter, I made a few Carrot Cakes. Pretty Easter Cupcakes and delicious Banana breads. There are so many special occasions coming up. I look forward to trying new recipes that will make these events more memorable.

I have been invited to a Healthy Eating Event. I found some Gluten Free Recipes and Lighter and Healthier Recipes. The challenges we face everyday trying to eat healthy. So many people have dietary restrictions.

Someday's I feel like crawling into a bag, and not coming out. But I realize the challenges we are faced with and try to move forward.  I am so excited about the launching of my Sweets business. I know it will be loads of hard work, but this is something I really want to do. And Life is to short for bad Pastry.