snickers bar cheesecake pie

I found it a little bit by accident.  See, I was having some friends over for dinner and realized at the very last second that I needed a fabulous dessert.  I remembered that I had just gotten Lori’s book so I thumbed through to the dessert section.  There (among some other pretty fabulous options) was this sweet concoction.

As you can imagine, I was instantly drawn to the decadent flavors.  Snickers is my second favorite candy bar of all time, so you can imagine how excited I got when I saw it was paired with Oreo crust and cheesecake.

Then topped with whipped cream, caramel sauce, hot fudge and MORE snickers?  I was in HEAVEN.

Truth be told, I made two of these in 48 hours.  And I don’t regret it for one single second.

The whole fabulous experience begins when you get to cut up 16 snack size snickers bars.  It just so happens that there were 19 bars in the bag, which was the perfect amount for the filling of the cheesecake and then to garnish the top.

This was NOT the perfect amount if you have zero self control and just HAD to snack on one or seven of those sweet little bites as you were slaving away over the cutting board.

Just buy two bags.

snickers bar cheesecake pie

Ingredients

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 16 "fun size" snickers candy bars, chopped (2 cups total)
• 2 6-ounce Oreo Pie Crust
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Instructions

1. Place cream cheese into bowl of stand mixer. Mix on medium-low speed for 30 seconds. Add in sugar and eggs and beat until smooth.
2. Remove bowl from stand and stir in chopped candy bars.
3. In a small bowl combine the Oreo pie crusts and the butter gently with a fork.
4. Prepare a 6-inch spring-form pan and then press the Oreo mixture into the pan and up the sides.
5. Pour the filling into the pan and bake until set, 35-40 minutes at 325 degrees.
6. Set the pie on a wire rack and let it cool completely.

PUMPKIN SAGE SCONES WITH SPICY CHERRY JAM

That time of year is here again. That obnoxious time, that I secretly love, where anything and everything is pumpkin spice flavored. And I hear both sides of the coin all the time. There are the people that are totally into it. All out pumpkin eeeeeverything. And they tweet and instagram and facebook it all. “First pumpkin spice latte of the season ya’ll!” You know the kind. Maybe you are the kind. I’m not judging. But then there are those that mock that side. They’re all, “Why is everything pumpkin flavored? Pumpkin sucks!” And you guys are right. Pumpkin completely on it’s own isn’t really all that exciting flavor wise. But pumpkin hating peeps, here is the deal: It really isn’t about the actual pumpkin flavor. It’s about the spice! The cinnamon, the nutmeg, the allspice, the ginger. All of those things that go into pumpkin pie spice is what we associate with the flavor of pumpkin. And I secretly love it because those spices scream that Fall is coming and things are about to get a whole lot more cozy.

After writing all that, I feel like I just became an advocate for pumpkin season. That really wasn’t my intention. But since we’re going that way, pumpkin is actually pretty awesome especially as a substitution in baking. Similar to mashed banana, pumpkin can often be used as a substitution for eggs or oil in baked goods. For instance, a scone recipe typically calls for one egg. But since I am making pumpkin scones, I don’t even need a replacement for the egg. The pumpkin will do the trick in binding the scones together. And pumpkin works similarly in this pumpkin pecan bread, thesepumpkin cinnamon rolls, and pumpkin chocolate coffee cake.

Probably the most important thing to keep in mind when adapting or writing recipes for alternative baking methods is what the purpose of each ingredient is that you are substituting. In a traditional scone recipe there are typically three components that need to be adapted for a vegan version.

The Egg: Because of the amount of other leaveners in a scone recipe (baking powder and baking soda), the egg is mostly used for binding the scone together and for a bit of moisture. The pumpkin in this recipe replaces both. Other options could be banana, non-dairy yogurt, chia egg, or flax egg.

The Fat: Often cold butter is the fat in a scone recipe, though shortening is seen at times. The fat gives richness to the scone but also serves as an important part of the rising process. The fat needs to be cold so that when it heats up in the oven the water will start to evaporate and the steam helps the scone to rise. This cold solid fat is easily replaced with vegan butter, or vegetable shortening. I prefer the flavor, or lack there of, and texture that vegetable shortening brings to the party.

The Milk or Buttermilk: Plain milk or cream in a recipe mostly serves the purpose of moisture and richness and can be easily replaced with non-dairy milk. Buttermilk, on the other hand, is acidic and brings some tang into the batter and usually serves an additional purpose of activating the baking soda. (Because as we know, if you’ve read my science of baking soda and baking powder article, baking soda needs something acidic to balance it’s alkalinity in order to serve the purpose of leavening the batter.) So non-dairy milk on it’s own will not be a good substitute. We need to add some acidity, and vinegar (or lemon juice) will do the trick.

And now, I leave you to gawk at the scones. The lovely orange colored, and beautifully earthy flavored, scones. Not to toot my own horn, but the idea of the spicy cherry jam to pair with these was a pretty damn good idea. In fact the jam all on it’s own is a pretty amazing idea. Toot, toot.

Welcome to Fall. Welcome to pumpkin spice season. Here we go!

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Pumpkin Sage Scones (vegan)

Yield: 12-14 scones

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 TBSP vinegar
• 4 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup packed fresh sage leaves, chiffonade (thin strips)
• 10 TBSP cold vegetable shortening (or vegan butter), cut into small pieces
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Instructions

1. Combine the non-dairy milk and the vinegar together and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and sage.
3. Add the shortening and use a pastry blender or a fork to cut it into the dry ingredients until it is the consistency of peas.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add in the pumpkin puree and non-dairy milk/vinegar mixture.
5. Stir together just until combined. Knead the dough over itself in the bowl about 4 times.
6. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.
7. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
8. Flour a clean work surface and pat out the dough to 3/4" thick. You can cut out with a circular cutter, or cut into squares or triangles.
9. Place in a greased cake pan or cookie sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes. Do not open the door to check on them for at least the first 8 minutes or you will release the steam and they will not rise as high.
10. Serve with spicy cherry jam.

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Spicy Cherry Quick Jam

Ingredients

• 1 lb frozen tart cherries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir occasionally while the sugar is melting and the cherries are thawing.
3. Once the cherries become soft begin to mash them down with a spoon or a potato masher.
4. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.
5. Remove from the heat and let cool.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups - Lasagna Noodles rolled with a ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheese and spinach filling, topped with spaghetti sauce and sprinkled with some more mozzarella.

I'm having Internet issues.

Big time.
And it's so completely frustrating, as I'm sure you can well imagine or have probably experienced it yourself in the past.
It's taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to load and sort of reminds me of the days of dial-up.
Many of you are probably too young to even know what that is.
That darn annoying dial tone when we'd want to get on the Internet.
Those were the days, hunh?
Yikes!

So, I'm hoping that it will be kind enough to allow me to post this tonight, or at least not post, then SAVE it, so I can post in the morning before I'm off to work.
Fingers crossed. Here's to hoping!

I made these roll-ups today.
They didn't exactly go as planned as you can see from my pictures, so go off the amended recipe, not from what you see in the pictures.
Too many noodles + not enough filling = a really good dinner that the Mr. and son loved, but it just needed more in the middle.

The noodles.

 The spinach filling. Put 3-4 tablespoons on each noodle.

Ready to be rolled.
See, not enough filling on each noodle. Use the 10 noodles and you'll have enough filling and cheese.
Besides, if I'd used the 4 cups of Ricotta as I was originally planning, they would have been tough to roll because they would have been TOO thick and I would have had to use TWO 9 X 13-inch baking dishes instead of the one because as it was, they all just barely fit.
Follow the recipe, not my lead. haha
I'm only human.

Lotsa noodle, needs more UMPH in the middle.

Ready to be baked on Day 8.

This is what happens when you are baking every single day and you're attempting to make up your own recipe (even though I know there are plenty of spinach lasagna roll-up recipes out there. I didn't want to reference one, so made some errors and of course, was not able to revise because the post has to go up today.
I do believe that what I'll write in the recipe will work just fine though.
If not, here's my disclaimer...If you make it and it doesn't turn out or feed 4 people as I think it should, I take no responsibility. hee hee

Oh, and when you serve this, make sure you have a salad and some bread to eat with it, and make sure you tell your guests to save room for dessert (just to make sure there really is enough for 4 people should you have some very hungry eaters)!

Oh, and my video editor fell asleep this afternoon and when I went to wake her for dinner she wanted to sleep some more and she still isn't up, so we'll see about getting the video up tomorrow after we all get home from work.


Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups - serves 4
Ingredients
10 lasagna noodles (are about 20 in the package - save for another dinner)
2 cups part-skim Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon parsley
1 9 ounce package chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup reserved for topping
1 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
Cook 10 lasagna noodles according to directions in salted boiling water.
Drain and place flat on wax paper sprayed with cooking spray until ready to roll.
In a medium bowl, beat egg and add Ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, and parsley. Mix until well combined.
Add spinach and thoroughly mix.
Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into the prepared baking dish and spread to evenly coat the bottom.
Place 3-4 tablespoons of filling on each noodle and spread evenly to coat.
Sprinkle the 1 1/2 cups of Mozzarella cheese over the noodles, dividing it evenly among them.
Beginning at a short end, roll the noodle up and place into prepared baking dish.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and uncover. Sprinkle remaining Mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 5 minutes more,  or until cheese has melted.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
The men in my life thought they were truly delicious, and I even screwed them up.
I had boiled the WHOLE package of lasagna noodles and therefore there wasn't enough filling, so as you saw from the picture above, it looked like there was much more noodle than there was filling.
True that.
So, I amended the recipe to reflect what I thought should be fixed.
I do believe I already told you this though.
I'm tired and now I'm starting to lose it. haha
Also, when I baked them, I didn't cover them with tin foil.
Do that.
My noodles got a little hard and the cheese in the middles hadn't completely melted as I thought it should.
I just stuck the pan with the Mozz. on top and baked it for 30 minutes.
Follow the recipe.
Don't do as I did. I'll save you the trouble.
It's not that they weren't edible or really good. They just needed some minor adjustments.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Recipes For A Skinny Valentine

What can be more romantic on Valentine's Day than sharing a special home cooked meal with your sweetie.

For those of you not making reservations for Valentine's Day I thought I would compile some elegant yet simple skinny dishes your sweetie will enjoy, and you won't be spending hours in the kitchen. Hope you enjoy!!




Crock Pot Bolognese
Because you don't want to spend your Valentine's Day cooking, let the crock pot work for you! Vegans can use veggie crumbles instead of beef.

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana
If it's chicken your significant other craves, you can't go wrong with this simple yet elegant dish.

This fabulous Herb Crusted Rib Eye Roast is coated with sour cream, horseradish, herbs de provence and breadcrumbs, perfect for the beef lover in your house!

For a quick seafood option, try the Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Sauce. The shrimp is cooked with tomatoes, a touch of cream, white wine and a hint of lemon. The whole dish takes under 20 minutes to make and it's delicious.

And what's a Valentine's Day without a sweet ending. Here are some great options...

Skinny Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Skinny Strawberries Romanoff

Chocolate Covered Strawberries