New York Cheesecake

Pretty tasty cheesecake. Good texture. Rich, but not too rich. Very flexible recipe. Next time I'll try an Oreo crust and strawberries on top. Yummm. Also might add more vanilla. Make sure it's not too close to the top of the oven or the rack above it, because it will puff up quite a bit. Ended up sinking in the middle when it cooled, but I had zero complaints.

Ingredients

2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

5 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 tsp finely shredded lemon zest (I used lemon juice cause it's what I had)


Directions

1) Combine cracker crumbs with melted butter until well combined.

2) Press the mixture into the bottom and 2 1/2 inches up the sides of a 9 x 3 inch springform pan.

3) In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, and vanilla. Beat til fluffy(ish).

4) Add eggs, and yolks, beating on low until just combined.

5) Stir in whipping cream and lemon peel.

6) Pour into the springform pan.

7) Place springform pan into shallow baking pan in the oven.

8) Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, or until center appears nearly set when shaken. (Mine was pretty wobbly when I took it out and it turned out just fine.)

9) Cool 15 mins, then release outer ring.

10) Cool completely, then chill 4- 24 hours. (Mine was still slightly warm when I put it in the fridge, and it didn't make a bit of difference.)

Pineapple Marshmallow Fruit Salad

My Gramma has made this recipe for years and years. It's super simple and just so good. Nice and light. Perfect as a side item to take to a potluck.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag miniature marshmallows
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed pineapple UNDRAINED
• 1 tub cool whip

Directions:

1. Mix marshmallows and pineapple together in large bowl.
   
2. Refrigerate until the marshmallows have absorbed the pineapple juice, preferably overnight.
3. Mix in cool whip and serve.
   
4. Can be refrigerate for a couple of hours after mixing in cool whip, but it's not necessary.
   

Rich Chocolate Truffle Pie

This recipe is from allrecipes.com. Holy wow. Unbelievably rich and chocolatey. I served it with fresh whipped cream. Easy and so good.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 (9 inch) chocolate cookie crumb crust

Directions:

1. In microwave safe dish, combine chocolate chips and 1/2 of the heavy cream. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Cool to room temperature. (edit: Stir in sugar & vanilla. Set aside.)
2. In small bowl, beat the rest of the cream until soft peaks form. Beat in chocolate mixture on high speed 1/3 at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Pour into crust.
3. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tbsp confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Whip heavy whipping cream on high with chilled beaters until it begins to thicken.
2. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form.

Andes mints Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar (white)
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon salt
• about 1/4 cup (or however much you please, really) of chopped Andes mints
• An additional package of whole Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 x 13 pan. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Once melted remove from heat and add sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Blend together. In separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet and mix well. Add chopped Andes mints. Pour into greased pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

RIGHT when the brownies come out of the oven, layer the top with the whole package of Andes mints (or however many it takes to cover the surface). Let them stand for a minute or two, until they are smooth enough to spread. Using a frosting spatula or a flat knife, spread the melted Andes mints evenly over the brownie to cover. Cool, cut and enjoy.

**OMGosh these things are freaking amazing! Seriously make them now! What I did differently is I used the andes mints from the cookie aisle next to the chocolate chips. I used about 1/2 a bag in the brownies and then used the other half to melt on top. I did it this way so the chocolate layer wasn't as think :) They looked pretty and taste amazing!**

ONE BOWL Million Dollar Fudge

What You Need
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4-1/2 cups sugar
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
3 pkg. (12 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks
1 jar (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
3 cups chopped PLANTERS Pecans
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Make It

BRING butter, sugar and milk to full rolling boil in large saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil an additional 5 min., stirring constantly.

REMOVE from heat. Gradually add chocolate chunks, stirring until chocolate is completely melted after each addition. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

POUR into 15x10x1-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cool completely.

**I like this recipe cause its super easy and yummy. I never add nuts though cause I'm not a fan of them in my fudge. I also use a slightly smaller pan but it just means my fudge is a little thicker. I will def be making this again sometime in the future. Prob around the holidays :)**

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

Ok so I stole the idea of this recipe from our friend Tiffany. We had it this past year at their house for Easter and I had forgot about it until I was looking for a dessert recipe! It is really good and I would def recommend you trying it!

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

What You Need!

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 qt. (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F.

MIX pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.

BEAT cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Triple Layer Chocolate Pie

We made this as one of our Christmas desserts and it was super yummy!

Triple Layer Chocolate Pie

What You Need!

2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 OREO Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Make It!

POUR milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. (Mixture will be thick.)
SPOON 1-1/2 cups of the pudding onto bottom of crust. Gently stir half of the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spread evenly over pudding layer in crust. Top with remaining whipped topping.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until set. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Dump Cake

Okay this is seriously one of the best cakes I've ever tried! I was kinda worried about it when I was putting it together and wasn't really sure what the consistency would be but it turned out wonderful! I highly recommend this to everyone! Oh and you can use any two cans of fruit that you choose and and flavor cake. This is just our favorite combination so far (we're trying a third one this weekend).

1 can crushed pineapple (20 oz)
1 can cherry pie filling (20 oz)
1 yellow cake mix
1 1/2 sticks of butter

In a 13x9 greased pan pour entire can of pineapple in and spread evenly. Next add cherry pie filling on top of the crushed pineapple and spready evenly. Then sprinkle the cake mix (yes the dry mix) evenly on top of the fruit. Then lastly slice the butter evenly over top of the dry mix.
Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.