Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

A New Year and a new cheesecake to try. And this cheesecake is delicious. Some people use New Year's Day to begin clean eating. I prefer to start the year with a decadent cheesecake. This cheesecake features a swirl of chocolate and vanilla accompanied by a delicious graham cracker crust. This cheesecake is a great way to celebrate a new year, or just any day of the year.

I like all cheesecakes, but I might like baked cheesecakes better than no-bake cheesecake. (But I rarely if ever say no to any cheesecake.) It might be that baked cheesecakes are more like cake. No matter what kind of cheesecake you usually prefer, you will find this cheesecake is worth giving a try. This baked cheesecake appears fancy, but is so easy to make.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake 

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs

Preheat oven to 325. Melt the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup sugar until mixture is smooth. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press into a 9-inch pie pan or springform pan, covering the bottom and 1 1/2 inch up the side. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the 3/4 cup sugar. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Divide the batter in half. Stir melted chocolate into first half and pour chocolate batter into the pie pan. Cover with the plain batter. With a knife, swirl the plain and chocolate batter to create marble pattern. Bake for 50 minutes or until a two to three inch circle in the center will shake. Cool at room temperature; refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Xmas Cookies

Christmas cut-out cookies are classics. Mom always made these cookies and would put us kids to work in rolling out the dough, cutting out the cookies, and carefully lifting the cookies onto the cookie sheet. Then, Mom would further occupy our Christmas break by making us frost and decorate these cookies. But these time-consuming cookies are so delicious, that it is worth the time to make them.

This recipe is quite similar to this one. But one important difference for this recipe is that it uses confectioner's sugar, resulting in a lighter cookie. The dough needs to be made ahead and chilled for a bit. The chilled dough is overall easier to work with, so if the dough becomes too sticky, put it back in the refrigerator for a bit. The recipe calls for self-rising. To make your own self-rising flour, add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt for each cup of all-purpose flour.

Xmas Cookies 

• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• Confectioner's Sugar Icing 

Mix the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond extract well. Blend in flout. Cover and chill for 3 hours. Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half to 3/16 inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Make the icing by combining 2 cups confectioner's sugar with 3 tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to get desired consistency. Add food coloring, if desired. Frost and decorate cookies. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pixies

For me, Christmastime means lots of delicious cookies. Chocolate Pixies are a classic. A simple google search reveals many websites with this exact or near exact recipe. So I cannot tell where or when this cookie originated. Some recipes call them chocolate crinkle cookies. Some recipes leave out the walnuts. But the recipe below seems to be a popular version of these cookies.

These Chocolate Pixies should not be confused with the Fannie May Chocolate Pixie candy, which consist of pecans, caramel and chocolate. The cookies are somewhat a mix of cookie and brownie. The recipe itself is easy and the resulting cookies look so nice. The Chocolate Pixies are a great choice for holiday parties or cookie exchanges.

Chocolate Pixies 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• confectioner's sugar

In a saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar. Gradually drizzle in the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add walnuts. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Shape into one-inch balls and roll in confectioner's sugar. Place on a cookie sheet leaving some space for cookies to spread. Bake at 300 for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Gingersnaps

When December rolls around, it is time for Christmas cookies. Mom has an entire separate recipe box filled with just cookie recipes. Mom's gingersnaps recipe caught my eye this year. When I was a kid, I did not like gingersnaps. I was not used to molasses, so maybe that is the flavor that was hard to like. Or maybe it was the ginger that was too much for me. But now that I am an adult, I love all the flavors found in gingersnaps.

Gingersnaps are an old-fashioned cookie, but are so easy to make. And, they come out so perfectly that others will ask you if they are purchased from a store. The dough does need to chill, so it is best to make the dough the day before and let it chill in the refrigerator overnight. Mom's recipe calls for cloves, but since I did not have any, I simply left it out of the recipe.

Gingersnaps 

• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• sugar for coating the cookies

Blend together all the ingredients except the sugar for coating. Chill the dough overnight. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat. Place on a cookie sheet about two inches apart. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Pineapple Casserole

My niece-in-law, Christen, makes this delicious casserole for family parties. Because she and Rich host the entire family for Thanksgiving, I have come to think of this dish as a new classic Thanksgiving dish. The picture below is the recipe as it appears in Christen's recipe book. This year, instead of hoping that there will be leftover Pineapple Casserole to take home, I just made it myself.

I don't know what it is about casseroles, but I just love them. Maybe it is the seemingly incongruous ingredients all thrown together into a pan that usually results in a delicious dish. Maybe it is because casseroles are so easy to make. Whatever the reason, I usually love casseroles. This Pineapple Casserole in no exception. It is sweet and salty, crunchy and creamy all at the same time. It is almost a dessert. Because it is so easy to make, give this casserole a try. Next time I make this casserole, I might even add some nuts, such as macadamia nuts, to the topping.

Pineapple Casserole 

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 20 ounce cans chunk pineapple
• 1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
• 1 stick (8 Tbsp.) melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a casserole dish. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour and sugar together. Blend in the shredded cheese.  Reserve the juice from the canned pineapple; blend the pineapple with the cheese mixture. Pour the contents into the dish. 

Combine the Ritz cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 6 tablespoons of pineapple juice. Spread on top of the casserole. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Day of the Dead Bread

Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2, when offerings are made to deceased relatives. The holiday is primarily celebrated in Mexico and coincides with Halloween and All Souls' Day. The food offerings are meant to honor the dead, and families often hold picnics at their family member graves. There are a variety of traditional foods, including candy skulls, tamales, and other treats. But I personally love Day of the Dead bread, known as Pan de Muerto. I usually buy some at a local Mexican bakery. It is always delicious, but I thought I would try making it myself this year.

Day of the Dead bread is a sweet egg bread. It is often covered in colored sugar, but I skipped the sugar. I made a single large loaf, but smaller individual sized buns could be easily made. During the second rise, set aside some of the dough for the decorative elements on top of the bread. I attempted to make crossbones, but sometimes the extra dough is shaped into a skull. I used anise and orange zest. The anise is what makes this bread special. Sometimes cinnamon is added to the dough.

 Day of the Dead Bread 

• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk 
• 4 Tbsp. butter, softened 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 2 tsp. instant yeast 
• 3 large eggs, divided 
• 3 cups flour 
• 1 tsp. anise seed 
• 1 tsp. orange zest

Combine all the ingredients except one egg white. Set aside the egg white in the refrigerator for the egg wash. When all the ingredients are blended, knead the dough for a few minutes until the dough is smooth. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about two hours. The dough will increase in size, but will not quite double. 

Break off a piece of dough a little larger than a golf ball and place that dough in the refrigerator. Shape the remaining dough into a ball, place the dough into a greased 9-inch round pan, and flatten the dough. Allow the dough to rise, for about two hours.

Heat the oven to 350. Using the egg white mixed with a tablespoon of water, brush the top of the bread with the egg wash. Using the set aside dough, form a decorative shape, such as crossbones and place on top of the bread. Brush the entire top of the loaf with the egg wash. Bake the bread for about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Although this recipe is not from Mom, it has become a family favorite. I love just about all things pumpkin. I found a variation of the recipe somewhere that I can no longer recall the source. Since I first made this recipe, I made several adjustments to suit my preferences. These delicious cookies are now popular at family parties, especially in the fall when pumpkin is everywhere. Even people who don't particularly like pumpkin like these cookies.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies. Fortunately, these cookies freeze well, so they can be enjoyed for a long time. And the cookies stay soft and moist, even after being defrosted. I prefer using milk chocolate chips, but use any kind of chips you like. I really like the combination of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and you can use more or less of each spice to suit your preferences.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the over to 350. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Add vanilla and pumpkin puree. Mix in baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix in the flour until fully blended. Stir in the chips. Scoop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack. Enjoy!