Ginger Pumpkin Cheesecake

September 26, 2009 at 3:07 pm (Dessert)
Tags: , ,

Source:  Cooking Light December 2008

Make this cake a day ahead, and refrigerate. Large crystals of raw brown Demerara sugar look and taste lovely, but the cake is still delicious without it. To prevent the crust from sticking to your fingers while pressing it into the pan, lightly coat your hands with cooking spray.

Yield

12 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1  cup  graham cracker crumbs (about 7 cookie sheets)
  • 3  tablespoons  granulated sugar
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground ginger
  • 1  large egg white
  • Cooking spray

    Filling:

  • 1  (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
  • 1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4  cup  granulated sugar
  • 1  tablespoon  vanilla extract
  • 2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground ginger
  • 1  (15-ounce) can pumpkin
  • 3  large eggs
  • 1  tablespoon  Demerara sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare crust, combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until well blended. Press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 300°.

4. To prepare filling, place cream cheeses in a food processor; process until smooth. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and next 4 ingredients (through pumpkin); process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 50 minutes or until almost set. Turn oven off; partially open oven door. Cool cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar just before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 194 (28% from fat)
Fat: 6.1g (sat 3.3g,mono 2g,poly 0.6g)
Protein: 7.5g
Carbohydrate: 27.1g
Fiber: 1.3g
Cholesterol: 60mg
Iron: 1mg
Sodium: 254mg
Calcium: 67mg

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Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies

September 26, 2009 at 2:35 pm (Dessert)
Tags: , ,

Source:  Cooking Light, December 2008

You can tint the cheesecake batter with two or three drops of red food coloring to give it a pink tinge, if you like. When swirling the cheesecake and brownie batters in step 4, don’t disturb the bottom brownie layer. Cool these bars completely before serving.

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 bar)

Ingredients

  • Cheesecake batter:
  • 1  (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
  • 1/3  cup  granulated sugar
  • 1/4  teaspoon  peppermint extract
  • 1  large egg
  • 1  large egg white
  • 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
  • Brownie batter:
  • 4.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
  • 1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1 1/2  cups  packed brown sugar
  • 1/4  cup  canola oil
  • 1/4  cup  buttermilk
  • 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
  • 2  large egg whites
  • 1  large egg
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cheesecake batter, place cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add granulated sugar and peppermint extract; beat well. Add 1 egg and 1 egg white; beat well. Add 1 tablespoon flour; beat mixture just until blended.

3. To prepare brownie batter, weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 4.5 ounces flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla, 2 egg whites, and 1 egg in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.

4. Reserve 1/2 cup of brownie batter. Pour remaining batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour cheesecake batter over top; spread evenly to edges. Dot cheesecake batter with reserved brownie batter. Swirl top two layers of batters together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350° for 26 minutes or until top is set. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 213 (32% from fat)
Fat: 7.5g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.1g)
Protein: 4.4g
Carbohydrate: 32.3g
Fiber: 0.7g
Cholesterol: 37mg
Iron: 1.3mg
Sodium: 169mg
Calcium: 32mg

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Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops

January 4, 2009 at 10:33 pm (Dessert)
Tags: , ,

Source:  Food Network
Servings:  Makes approx. 36 squares

cheesecake_peanutbutter_lg

We also made this fun dessert for our New Year’s Eve party.  I did learn it is important to make sure the cheesecake part is very cold, maybe even frozen, before you cut the squares or they will not cut into very pretty squares.  I’m sure being cut in pretty squares will make them taste even better.

Cheesecake:
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
Chocolate:
5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Wooden pop sticks (I used paper lollipop sticks)For the cheesecake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 8 by 8-inch baking pan with foil letting long flaps overlap on each side. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

Break up the brown sugar to remove all lumps. In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until very smooth. Add the cream and beat slowly; then add the yolks and vanilla mixing until just combined. Gently stir in peanut butter. Take care not to over beat the mixture; this incorporates too much air and causes the cheesecake to crack.

Pour and evenly spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Open the oven to release some heat, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees F. Continue to bake the cheesecake until the outside is set but the center is still loose, for about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, and cool cheesecake in the oven for 45 more minutes. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Lift cheesecake from the pan by lifting up the foil. Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into
1 1/2-inch cubes. Stick a wooden pop stick halfway into each bar and freeze for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, put the shortening and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue to heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more.)

Dip the pops into the chocolate mixture, and stand on waxed paper to set, about 5 minutes. Serve cold (straight from the fridge), or freeze up to 2 weeks. Frozen pops make a cool summer treat, or can be allowed to temper for 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

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