Individual Oreo Cheesecakes

Ever have one of those days when you want to binge on an entire box of Oreo cookies? Yeah, me too... However, I held back for the sole purpose of wanting to binge on these little Oreo cheesecakes. 

This all came about when I found a coupon for Oreo cookies in the Sunday paper. I was so excited when I actually remembered to take the coupon with me when I went to the grocery store. Then I realized that in order to get the discount I had to buy three boxes...Hmmm, worth it? I'm a sucker.  Then when I got home and began to unpack the groceries (and proceeded to eat a row of cookies) I realized that I had about six packages of cream cheese sitting in one of my refrigerator drawers and then *ding* I remembered that I had an awesome recipe! ...and that helped me to stop eating the cookies.

These mini cheesecakes are rich and creamy with a delicious Oreo crust. They are a great make ahead dessert and impress everyone who gets a bite!

INGREDIENTS:

(makes approx 30-36)

56 Oreo Cookies, (36 left whole, 20 coarsely chopped)

2 pounds of cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Salt, just a pinch

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Place one whole Oreo in the bottom of each paper cup, set aside.

Coarsely chop approx. 20 more cookies, set aside.

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides of your bowl as you go. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Scrape down bowl and then slowly drizzle in your lightly beaten eggs; mixing until incorporated. Next mix in the sour cream and salt. Once well combined stir in the coarsely chopped cookies by hand. 

Divide the batter evenly among the cups, filling each of them to the top. Bake 22 minutes, rotating  the pan halfway through the cook time (11 minutes). Cool completely then refrigerate for at least four hours until filling is completely set.  Serve cold. 

Notes: If you can't wait to eat one of these little cakes pop a couple in the freezer and check back in about an hour - Mmmm... totally worked.

Recipe: slightly adapted from Just Cook Already

Brown Butter Plum Upside Down Cake

I have a plum tree at my home that is HUGE. I have never been a big fan of eating the fruit raw and my sweet neighbor always makes plum jam from our tree and gives us a jar. So, I searched the  inter-web for a delicious plum recipe and boy oh boy did I find it!

The original recipe calls for black plums. I used the plums from my tree which has 3 different varieties and it turned out wonderful! I'm so glad I found a good plum recipe so I can make good use out of all the free produce I have!

The cake itself is a light and fluffy cinnamon cake (YUM) and the fruit is sweet and caramely (that's a word right?) with a hint of tart freshness. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs black plums, ripe but firm enough to cut easily

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter (1 stick for the cake, 1/2 stick for the brown butter sauce)

3/4 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Slice the plums 1/4 inches thick. Set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, heat four tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick). Melt butter and continue to brown. Click HERE for Eat Live Run's tutorial on brown butter. Once butter is browned immediately add in brown sugar and stir. Cook butter and sugar, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Then pour the sugar and butter mixture into a greased 9 inch cake pan. Spread evenly over the bottom of the cake pan. 

*FYI when I was finished mixing the brown butter and sugar "sauce" it didn't seem like much of a sauce to me. I tried it twice and both mixtures turned out the same; a glob of molten goo that I spread on the bottom of my pan. I was worried how this would turn out. It was delicious. When the cake is baking it melts and creates a caramel sauce, so, the glob of goo turns out delish - no worries* 

Arrange the sliced plums on top of the brown sugar and butter mixture. You should be able to get about 3 rows of plums, overlapping if necessary.

Next, cream together the remaining stick of butter with the granulates sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one by one, mixing constantly. Then add the vanilla and mix until combined.

In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture alternating between dry ingredients and milk. Beat until light and fluffy.

Spread the cake batter right on top of the plums. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool for 3 minutes. As Jenna from  Eat Live Run  says: say a quick prayer and flip the cake plan onto a large serving plate. Amen! 

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

NOTES:

See * for brown butter sauce.

Recipe from a wonderful blog Eat Live Run

Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

I made this for the first time last week and I can already tell that it will be making it again soon! The cake was moist and dense and the blueberries and lemon zest gave off a ton of flavor. One word... KEEPER!

INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups fresh blueberries

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar*
2 - 3 tbsp milk*
1 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft
Juice of 1 lemon*

*In the original recipe there is no lemon juice, however, I feel that it lightens the cake and adds more lemon flavor. I added at least 1/2 cup extra of powdered sugar just to get it to the consistency I liked.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (reduce heat to 325 if using dark, nonstick pan). Grease and flour a 10 - cup bundt pan; set aside.

In a bowl whisk 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

In a large bowl use your fingers to rub together the sugar and the lemon zest until the zest is completely incorporated and the sugar is moist. Add the butter and cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time; mixing for a minute after each addition then scraping down the bowl.  add the vanilla and mix until combined.

With the mixer still on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating until just barely combined, then add 1/2 the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and the remaining flour.

In a large bowl combine blueberries and the remaining two tablespoons of flour. Toss together so the blueberries are evenly coated. Use a spatula to gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Spread batter into the bundt pan and bake for 55 - 60 minutes, until the cake tester comes out clean.  Cool the cake on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving platter and let cool completely.

When the cake is cooled, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk and butter until smooth. Frost and enjoy!

NOTES: If you don't have unsalted butter at home salted works fine, just cut the salt down to 1/2 teaspoon in the cake. For the glaze, if you are using salted butter it turns out just fine.

Recipe: The Brown Eyed Baker This is an excellent recipe I suggest you follow the mixing instructions to the tee because it turned out perfectly.