Black Cherry Cheesecake

This is the first year at this house that we were able to get some cherries off of our cherry tree. AND to our pleasant surprise we figured out they were black cherries! The tricky thing was getting them off before the birds ate them all and before the black cherry aphids destroyed it.

But we did get 1,500 lady bugs to help us out with the aphid situation. They did a great job!

In the end we were able to get about 5 gallons of cherries. Which was turned into delicious cherry syrup (which we've tried on and in everything we can think of!) and was used for this amazing cheesecake recipe.

A very special thanks to my neighbor for letting me use her cherry pitter, which made for quick work at getting a gallon of those cherries pitted!

If you don't happen to have a cherry tree in your backyard or can't get your hands on some fresh cherries, you could always use cherry pie filling on top, or any other delicious fruit topping you prefer! Enjoy! :o)

Ingredients:

• For the crust:
• 12 whole graham cracker rectangles
• 5 Tbsp butter, melted
• For the filling:
• 2 lbs cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• For the cherry topping:
• 1/2 cup cherry syrup (recipe below)
• about 2 cups cherries, pitted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat or spray a 9 or 10 inch spring-form pan with butter or oil. (Optional: wrap the bottom of the pan with two strips of foil, if planning on doing the water-bath method).
Make the crust: using your food processor, crush the graham crackers until they form fine crumbs. Slowly add melted butter until fully incorporated and graham cracker crumb resembles wet sand. Transfer to your prepared pan and press evenly onto the bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool.
Make the filling: beat cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down sides. Add sugar, corn starch and sour cream. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides after. Add eggs, lemon and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated. Pour over cooled crust.
If doing the water bath method (this will result in a prettier, less cracked cheesecake): find a roasting pan or casserole dish larger than the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake (with the foil wrapped around the edges) in the center and pour 1-2 cups of boiling water around the cheesecake in the roasting pan (the foil should help keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake while baking). Fill to about an inch or so that it's just below the foil.
Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Cheesecake is done when the edges are set and golden brown but the center is still a little jiggly.
Remove from oven and let cool (Optional: let cool in oven with oven turned off and door slightly opened).
Chill cheesecake for at least 8 hours (overnight preferred) before topping.

Cherry Syrup: (makes 1 cup of syrup)
3 cups cherries (1 pound) can leave pits in.
3/4 cup sugar
In a medium saucepan over medium heat mix the cherries and sugar with a rubber spatula. As it starts to warm up mash with a potato masher. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes, mashing a few more times. Remove from heat and using a strainer, strain syrup into a bowl, pushing down with a spoon to get all the juices out. Discard pulp and store syrup in an airtight container in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

This is by far my favorite cheesecake ever! The cheesecake is super creamy and the caramel sauce that's drizzled on top, it's to die for.

• One 9 inch graham cracker crust:
• 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
• For the Cheesecake:
• 2 pkgs (16oz) cream cheese
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 4 eggs
• Salted Caramel Sauce:
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blend the melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs. Press onto the bottom of a 9" pan. You can use a spring form pan if you want it to come out nicer. Bake for 10 minutes. Take out and let cool. Turn oven down to 325. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar, sour cream, whipping cream and maple syrup and beat until blended. Scrape down the sides and add your eggs. Scrape again and beat until there are no lumps. Pour the batter into your pan. If you are using a spring form pan cover the bottom and sides with aluminum foil. Put your pan into a larger oven tray or pan that has sides at least 1 inch. Place pan and tray in oven and carefully pour boiling water onto the oven tray until the water reaches about half way up the pan. Bake for about 70 minutes or until set in the center. Remove from oven and leave in water bath for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Chill in fridge for at least 8 hours, or better yet, overnight. 

To make the salted caramel: pour all of the sauce ingredients into a heavy 4 quart pot. Bring to a boil and then turn to low and let simmer for 18 minutes or until it has thickened slightly, stirring occasionally. Let cool before putting on your cheesecake.

Recipe adapted from:

http://bitterbaker.com/salted-caramel-cheesecake/

S'more Cookies

These are fantastic and unique cookie! I love the graham cracker crust and chewy marshmallows inside the cookie dough and then when you bite down into that chunk of chocolate...heavenly. In the first batch I made the graham cracker burnt, but I really liked it, tasted like a burnt s'more, which i happen to love. The second batch I used a little less cookie dough and that seemed to do the trick. 

Make some today! 

• 11 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 3 regular sized Hershey's bars, broken into pieces (I used the fun size Hershey's)
• 1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

In your stand up mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine on low. Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in fridge for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Line your cookie sheets with parchment papers (marshmallows will stick to your cookie sheet so don't skip this step!) Lay out your graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible, they should be touching. Place a scoop of cookie dough (about a tablespoon full). Bake for 5 minutes and then remove from oven and top each cookie with a Hershey's. Bake for another 6-8 minutes or until the cookies edges begin to turn a golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool. To cut, make sure cookies are completely cook and cut down the seam of the graham cracker squares.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Recipe from:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/06/smores-cookies.html

My Favorite Pumpkin Pie

If you have been searching for the best pumpkin pie recipe, then search no more! This is it. I promise. You'll love it. :o)

• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 9" pre-made pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Add the pumpkin, eggs, cream and milk and whisk to combine. Pour the filling into pie crust and bake until the center is set. About 65-70 minutes. Cover the edges with foil if crust begins to brown too quickly. Let cool about 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Freezer directions:  let baked pie cool completely. Then freeze up to 6 months. Thaw and bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through.

You can also just freeze the pie filling by pouring into a freezable container and freezing. Then just thaw an pour and bake as usual.

Harvest Muffins

I love Fall and the cool crisp mornings that come with it. I found this muffin recipe while looking for a pumpkin recipe that used apples as well (see previous post). I love these muffins. They're all the flavors of Fall all in one little muffin.

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups apples, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Streusel Topping:

• 2 Tablespoons flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside. In a large bowl mix the eggs, pumpkin, and vegetable oil until well blended. Add the flour, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Fold in the apples, pecans and cranberries. Scoop into liners, filling them about ¾ full. Set aside. Make the streusel: in a smaller bowl mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with 2 knives, pastry blender or with your fingers until the mixture resembles small pebbles. Top batter with a small spoonful of streusel. Bake muffins at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until muffins bounce back when lightly touched.

Makes about 2 dozen muffins.

Caramel Apple Egg Rolls

We recently moved to a new home and have been blessed with not one, but two Apple trees! And they produce the most amazing red apples, and a few of them are even worm-free. I've been trying to figure out different ways to use up the many apples we pull off the tree every week and came up with this eggroll recipe. Super easy and so delicious! 🍎

• 2 medium apples, cored and chopped (I left the skin on)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 egg roll wrappers
• Caramel sauce for dipping
• Powdered sugar for dusting

In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until well blended. Add apples. Cook until apples have softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Fill egg roll wrappers with about ¼ cup of the apple filling. Follow the egg roll packaging directions for rolling and frying. Let cool on paper towel lined plate. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and serve with a side of salted caramel.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Apple Cider Buttercream

These are one of my favorite cupcakes and they're perfect for any fall dessert table.

• 3 ¾ cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup chunky applesauce: (I've also just bought chunky applesauce and that works too)
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and choped
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ caramel sauce (store bought or make your own, recipe here)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• Apple Cider Frosting:
• 2lb bag of powdered sugar
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ to ½ cup apple cider

Place applesauce ingredients in small saucepan over low heat and cook until apples are tender. Drain remaining water. Put aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease 2 dozen muffin tins. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl beat the sugar and oil together until well combined. Add applesauce, caramel sauce, and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds. Then add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture in slowly, alternating with buttermilk. Pour 2/3 full into muffin cups. Bake for 18 -20 minutes.

Make frosting: Beat butter, cinnamon and powdered sugar on low until incorporated. Add apple cider slowly using only as much as needed to get desired consistency. Adding more powdered sugar if the buttercream gets to runny.

Let cupcakes cool before icing. Once cool top with frosting and drizzle with extra caramel.