Cheesecake Challenge #4: Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait

This week's experiment was the Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait:

From 2Stews

I kind of had to make this one, since we now have Girl Scout Cookies and they don't last very long in our house. In fact, my husband bought them at work, promised me my own box, and then came home with a single sleeve for me. So I hid it until I had time to make the parfaits.

The end result? About par for the course-pretty good!

This will probably make the cookbook. It was different and good. I did have two critiques, though. The first, and it's first because my husband made the same critique, was that some mint extract or something to make the cheesecake bit a little more minty would have been good. There just wasn't quite enough mint from the cookies. So that would have been a nice touch.

The other thought? I thought it was a little grainy, and I'm pretty sure it happened when I put the gelatin in. Maybe I needed to let it cool a little more before putting it in cool cream cheese mixture, because it lumped up a bit and I just couldn't quite smooth it out.

Overall? Fairly successful! Here's the recipe:

Thin Mint Cheesecake Parfait


18 Thin Mint cookies
16 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 oz Plain Powdered Gelatin (1 packet)
2 T. Hot water
1 cup Heavy Cream

1. Whip cream cheese, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice.
2. Mix gelatin and hot water until gelatin is mixed without lumps. Add to cream cheese mixture.
3. Add heavy cream and whip until light and fluffy.
4. Break a cookie into the bottom of each cup (4-6). Spoon the cheesecake mixture halfway, then break 2 more cookies. Spoon the remaining mixture over the top.
5. Refrigerate about 2 hours. Sprinkle one more cookie on the top before serving.

Cheesecake Challenge #3: Grandma's Pecan Tasties

I made these ones last night:

From Source

Yum! I liked these a lot. And I'd provide a photo of my own, but they weren't pretty. Yummy, but not pretty. They didn't pull out of the cupcake liners well (paper, not foil), and I would double the cheesecake batter part next time because mine were buried in topping (again, yummy, but not pretty). It is good enough for the book!

Okay! Here is the recipe, which I found at Your Cup of Cake:

Grandma's Pecan Tasties


Dough:
1 stick butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. almond extract

Filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 T. melted butter, cooled
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 cup pecans


1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix dough ingredients--I recommend doubling the recipe--until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate up to 10 minutes as needed to make easier to handle (firmer).
2. Press into cupcake liners, preferably foil.
3. Mix filling ingredients. Spoon over dough and bake for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cheesecake Research

An important part of any cooking challenge should include research, right? So, of course, I'm always doing my own research. Here are two recent discoveries:

Surprisingly, the Chick-Fil-A cheesecake is REALLY good. Just don't get anything on it. I got chocolate sauce on it, and it's just Hershey's syrup--so declasse.

And, on a less surprising note, I had the most amazing cheesecake this weekend while in Vegas. We went to the Factory and I tried the Kahlua Coffee Cocoa Cheesecake and it is AWESOME. Delish.

Might have to try this recipe!

Failure - Crock Pot Cheesecake

I'm an avid fan of Pinterest, and I found this recipe while browsing one day:

From Source, Crock Pot Ladies

It looks delicious, right? Creamy, fluffy, white, beautiful...

So even though it wasn't on my list of recipes for the Challenge, it was easy and I decided to whip it together one night. Here is mine, in the crock pot:

Eeek! Already doesn't look so good, right? It's so... yellow. And lumpy looking.

Well, I persevered. And then the next day, after it had cooked and cooled, I tried it. Again, I say, Eeek! Actually, it wasn't that it was so horrible tasting. In fact, it tasted okay. But it was still AWFUL! The texture... oh, the texture. It was, I repeat, AWFUL. I tried to eat it but I just kept seeing the calories I was forcing on myself. It was grainy and rough. It was terrible.

Now, I'm not saying this recipe sucks, because it sure LOOKS good. But it didn't work for me and I won't be trying it again. Ever.

Cheesecake Challenge #2: Praline Crumb Caramel Cheesecake Bars

About a week ago, I made these:

From Source

I made them as a treat for my visiting teaching, since I hadn't gotten around to doing it. So I only kept a few at home and took the rest out and about. My reaction to the treats? They were good, but a little too sweet for my liking (I prefer more rich). However, I did get glowing praise from the adult kids of one of the women on how much they loved them. So...

Ultimately, I have to give these a 3 star rating.

But apparently others would rate them a lot higher...

Here is the end product and the recipe:

Praline Crumb Caramel Cheesecake Bar


1 Pouch Sugar Cookie Mix
1/2 cup cold Butter
1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup Toffee Bits

16 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sugar
2 T. Flour
1/2 cup Caramel Topping
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9 inch pan.
2. Cut butter into cookie mix. Reserving 1.5 cups for later, press into the pan and bake 10 minutes.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, 1/4 cup caramel, vanilla, and egg until smooth. Spread over the based crust.
4. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs, pecans, and toffee bits. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Cool 30 minutes. Drizzle with remaining caramel and refrigerate.