Berry Cheesecake Cookies

Cheesecake and cookies--two of my favorites. Combining the two is something I should have done sooner, I think. These are seriously delectable little cookies. They’re petite and look all ready for Spring, with their pretty jewel-like dried berries showing through. I used a dried berry mix from Trader Joe’s that has strawberries (yes, really!), cherries and blueberries. If any dried fruit could be described as “juicy,” it’s these. They’re not hard or dry, they’re soft and tender. I decided to go for a not so commonly used nut in cookies--toasted pine nuts. If you can’t find them or don’t want to splurge on them, use your favorite.

The taste is just like a bite of cheesecake on your taste buds. They’re not crispy, and not cakey--but in between. A soft cookie, but they also hold up very well in storage. I’m not kidding--I had them in a Ziploc bag that was getting moved around from place to place in the kitchen, and they didn’t break apart. They’re also not a hugely sweet cookie--just enough.

Berry Cheesecake Cookies

Adapted from  About.com
Makes about 5 dozen

1 cup butter, softened
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 -1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
2 tbsp half and half or milk
2 cups flour
8 oz dried berries (I used a mix of dried strawberries, cherries and blueberries from Trader Joe's.)
1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, or a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar, salt, and extracts. Add the egg and the half and half (or milk), mixing well. Add the flour to the bowl and blend in. With the mixer on low, stir in the berries, chocolate, and nuts.

A note on the dried berries. The strawberries were a little large, so I went ahead and chopped those up to make them smaller, since these cookies are fairly small.

Drop batter on to a parchment covered baking sheet using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon. My small scoop has a 2 teaspoon capacity. Bake for 15-16 minutes (The cookies will be pale on top, but golden brown around the bottom edges.) and let the cookies cool for one minute on the baking sheets before removing to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

• These would be lovely on your Easter table, or perfect for baby and bridal showers!
• How about with your afternoon tea? Having a ladies lunch? Add these to the menu!
• If you can’t find the dried berries I used, go ahead and use what you’ve got. I don’t recommend raisins, though--they’re just not cheesecakey.
• These improve with age--they were great the first day, but in the following days, they really got their "cheesecake thing" going on. 

Cherry Nut Pound Cake

I admit it, one of my guilty pleasures has always been maraschino cherries.  I love them like crazy!  I don’t even want to know what’s in them--it’ll ruin all the fun.  They’re so pretty, all bright red and shiny--I love shiny!  If we’re out for ice cream, and one of the kids doesn’t want the shiny cherry on top?  Fork it over, kid--I’ll take care of that for you.  I’ll even let it sink to the bottom sometimes, carefully eating around it, so I can enjoy it last.  

Here’s another super simple recipe that you can serve for the holidays, or any time of year.  Coincidentally, there are maraschino cherries in it--how lucky is that?  My mom gave me the recipe quite a few years back, and I made it right away, because, you know--cherries?  Yeah.  My husband loves this, too!  He’s not a a huge fan of desserts (I know!), but he adores this cake.  By the way, I really do mean “super simple.”  It’s all in one bowl--no mixing wet, mixing dry, blending and alternating.  Easy! 

Since it’s a pound cake, it improves every day.  Like shortbread cookies.  Now, I don’t really know why this is, and I’ve even looked into it--but can’t find a good reason for it.  I’m assuming it’s something about the butter?  Maybe the Butter Gods shine their golden buttery light down on buttery baked goods and demand they get better with each day that passes.  Same thing with the Bacon Gods, I assume--except they demand that you eat all of the bacon in one damn sitting.  But don’t quote me on that.

Anyway, you could make this in the next couple of days, and it would be perfect to serve for Christmas.  In fact, I made mine on December 13th, and we’re still enjoying it this week, seven days later!  Just keep it covered, on the counter.  Unless your kitchen is super warm--mine’s on the cool side this time of year, so it’s ok.  In warmer climates, store it in the fridge.  The Butter Gods don’t approve of warm weather.

Cherry Nut Pound Cake

makes one 10 inch round cake

1/2 pound (2 sticks) of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (totally optional)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries, stems removed! (I used one 10 oz. jar, plus half of another to get the 1 cup chopped cherries)

Heat oven to 350F.  Grease 10 inch round cake pan, set aside.

In a standing mixer, or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and blend well.

Add the yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla, vanilla powder (if using), flour and baking powder.  Blend just until moist.

Fold in the walnuts and cherries.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for one hour--cake tester should come out clean. 

Cool in the pan, on a cooling rack.  Run a knife around the edge, and remove the cake: plate inverted on top of the cake pan, turn the cake out on to the plate, then flip it right side up on to your serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Devilish Cherry Chocolate Mice

Well, wouldn’t you know-here I was, all happy to be getting rid of zombies, and they went and left behind some devilish little chocolate mice. 

These aren’t your cute little furry mice, hanging out and eating your cheese.  These are demony devily mice.  Look at their red horns and blood red eyes! 

I must also mention one more thing--they’re so freaking tasty!  Yes, seriously.  You don’t need mousetraps to enjoy these freaky little mice.  With just a few simple ingredients, you too can be eating these truffle-like vermin.

How great would these be on your Halloween party table?  You could scatter them around the table, or serve them up on a plate.  Because who doesn’t like a plate of fresh mice?  Especially the ones with a juicy red heart that bursts in your mouth?  Mwahahaha!!!!

I used a bit of red cookie icing here for the pool of blood.

It’s still #GreatHallowTweet week!  Thanks to Renee from Flamingo Musings for starting this super fun tradition for Halloween ideas!

Let’s get started on these super simple treats!

Cherry Chocolate Mice

adapted from Taste of Home

-1 cup chocolate chips (I always use Ghirardelli Bittersweet)
-3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs, DIVIDED *SEE NOTE
-1 tsp espresso powder
-2/3 cup sour cream
-1 (10 oz.) jar of maraschino cherries w/ stems, drained and set to dry on paper towels
-slivered almonds
-Wilton Red Cookie Icing  **SEE NOTE

-Melt the chocolate chips, either in the microwave or on the stove top.  Stir until smooth.

-In a medium sized bowl, mix the melted chocolate, 2 cups of the cookie crumbs, espresso powder and sour cream.  When completely combined, chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

-Make the mice:  Take some of the crumb mixture and roll it into a ball the size of a walnut.  Continue doing this until you've used all of it.  You should end up with 15 or 16 balls.

-Take a ball and flatten it in your palm, then take a cherry, pointing the stem out of the flattened disk (for the tail). 

-Shape the dough around the cherry, using your fingers to shape it into a teardrop mouse shape; the warmth of your hands will allow you to sculpt it around the cherry--and be sure to leave the cherry stem sticking out the back.  Set aside, and do this with the rest of the balls of cookie crumb mixture.

-Roll each mouse in the remaining cookie crumbs for that "fuzzy mouse" look.  Poke 2 slivered almonds in at the front for "devil horns," and decorate them with a bit of the red cookie icing.  I also used the red cookie icing in small dabs for the eyes and mouth. 

-Chill in the fridge, and store any leftovers in the fridge. as well.

NOTES
*It took 6 cups of cookies to get 3 cups of crumbs.  You can spend a small fortune on the chocolate cookie wafers (why are they so pricey?!), or use chocolate animal crackers, like I did, or even chocolate graham crackers.)
**Feel free to use whatever you like for decorating--these are only guidelines.

• When working the dough around the cherry, don’t get discouraged.  Like I said, as you work it, the warmth from your hands and fingers will soften it up and allow you to close any gaps and work it into the right shape.
• Your hands will get messy, but that’s part of the fun, and clean up is a breeze.
• The mice are nice and fudgy and there’s a nice burst of flavor from the cherry. 
• The kids will love to help with these!
• Don’t forget about these at Christmastime!  Just use sliced almonds instead of slivered for the ears--no devil horns.  I also think you could use white chocolate and light colored cookies for white mice. 

I promised you Brownies! And look--two different kinds!

Mmmmmmm, broooooownieeees. Whether you like them cakey or fudgy... fudgey (I've GOT to get a correct spelling on that. Firefox is telling me that those are both wrong, hehe.), everyone loves brownies. I usually go for fudge-like (that works! woo!), but I won't turn a cakey brownie away, either. I'm an equal-opportunity-brownie kind of girl. Give me a brownie and a glass of milk, and I'm happy!

In the last couple of weeks, I've tried two new recipes, and come across so many more I want to try. Who isn't always on the lookout for the perfect brownie recipe, right?

The two that I ended up choosing were not for their sinfully-bad-for-you and chocolate-loaded qualities, but for their "Hey, this looks interesting, let's see what they're like" qualities.

And guess what? They're both fantastic brownie recipes! Both rich and chocolatey, but not so bad for you that you'll feel guilty indulging in one or two.

First up was Whole Wheat Brownies from Made Healthier. We've really been trying to get more whole grains into our diets and into our kids, hehe. They were really good! I'll definitely make them again! They were cakey, moist and very chocolatey. They didn't taste like whole wheat, either, and the kids liked them--that was the most important test!

I knew I wanted to get more chocolate into them, so I melted some chocolate to add to the batter. I also keep some instant coffee on hand just for brownies. Never. For. Drinking. Ever. But add some to brownie batter, and it makes them have a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor. Geez, I'm getting hungry just thinking about them! I also doubled the recipe because we're a big family, and an 8x8 pan will be gone faster than you can look at a brownie and yell "I call that one!" The recipe calls for 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and since I was doubling it, I melted 1/3 cup of butter, along with between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate. You can see the original recipe here. And I'll post it here with my changes:

Whole Wheat Brownies

1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup butter
scant 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate
2-3 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Melt the butter and the bittersweet chocolate together in the microwave. Start with about one minute, then 15 second increments, stirring after each 15 seconds until the chocolate is melted.
Stir the coffee granules into the butter chocolate mixture.
In another bowl, combine the oil, butter mixture, milk, water, eggs and vanilla.
Add the wet stuff to the dry stuff, stir in the chocolate chips, and combine.
Pour into 2 greased 8 inch square pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Cool (if you can wait), and cut into squares. They tasted even better every day, too. Until the end of the third day--then they were all gone. ;)

Being served next: Raw Vegan Brownies

I was so intrigued when I saw this recipe. I read it over at 28 Cooks--another great blog! It has only 5 ingredients, and no baking--hence the name Raw Vegan Brownies. ;)

My husband loves bars and things made with dried fruit, so I knew right away he'd love these. I mentioned the recipe to him and he hounded me until I made them, hehe. They are fabulous! Really. I can't even believe how chocolatey they are. They're like a little miracle brownie! I don't think you could make these without a food processor, though. You've got to process it all together until you have the dried fruit chopped ultra fine and mixed thoroughly with the other ingredients. I should add that I doubled the recipe, planning to make 2 pans, but pressing half the mixture into one 8 inch pan was going to give us really thin brownies, so we put all of it into one square pan and got what you see in the photo.

Raw Vegan Brownies

1/2 c dried pitted dates--not the sugary coated chopped ones--you're using a food processor anyway, get the whole pitted dates
1/2 c dried cherries
1/4 c cocoa powder
1 c walnuts
3 tbsp agave nectar

(you can use carob powder and honey in place of the cocoa and agave, if you prefer)

Add all ingredients to food processor and process until everything is thoroughly combined and chopped. Press into a square pan, and freeze for one hour. (To make it easier to cut them into bars, I lined the pan with plastic wrap and then lifted the whole thing out after freezing. Peel off the plastic and cut into bars.) Remove from freezer, cut into squares, and store in the fridge. Deelicious, and rich, so cut them into small squares.

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