Week 12 - DESSERTS!!!! Cupcakes and Cheesecake

I wanted to change it up this week and since I had baking to do I figured I'd share some dessert recipes the week of Thanksgiving.

The first recipe is for Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes which my mom pulled out of a magazine.

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix plus ingredients to make the batter
• 2 boxes instant banana pudding plus ingredients to make the pudding
• 2-3 bananas
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• graham cracker squares, crushed into crumbs

Bake cupcakes according to package, cool completely

 Made pudding according to package, set aside in fridge while cupcakes are cooling. The recipe had you make your own whipped cream but I went the lazy way and just used cool whip. 

Once cupcakes are cool, cut a deep cone out of each cupcake. Stir chopped banana into the pudding. 

Then spoon a generous amount of pudding into the center of each cupcake, allowing some to come out over the top.

Using either a spoon or pastry bag, top the cupcake with a generous spoonful of whipped cream. Garnish with the graham cracker crumbs and serve. These are best eaten the same day they are made.  

I felt like these are the type of cupcakes you would find in a bakery. Next time we make these we are going to change the filling and cupcake flavor as well. I will let everyone know what we decide!

The second recipe is for Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust from the Chew - http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Cheesecake-Pretzel-Crust-Michael-Symon. Thanks to Eileen for sharing this recipe. This was a big hit, so I'm really glad I tried this it!

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1 1/2 cup Pretzels (ground) - I crushed 

• 1 1/2 cup Pretzels (ground) - I crushed the pretzels in a plastic bag hand
• 1/2 cup Graham Crackers (ground) - I crushed the crackers in a plastic bag by hand
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (melted)
• pinch Salt

• For the Filling:
• 24 ounces Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 5 large Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 10 ounces Strawberry Preserves (to serve)

For the Crust: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the pretzels, graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Add a pinch of salt and then press into the bottom of a 13x9 clear glass baking dish. Set aside while you make your filling.

For the Filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened cream cheese on medium speed, scraping the sides and the beater occasionally. Next, add the sour cream and continue to mix until combined. Next, add the sugar and continue to mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing in after each addition. Add the vanilla. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 1 hour or until the center is no longer jiggly. **This was a bit of a pain since I don't have a great mixer, but it worked out fine.**

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let sit for a few minutes while you prepare the jam.

 In a small sauce pot-melt the strawberry jam over low heat. 

When it is melted, strain in to another bowl if you prefer no seeds. Pour the melted jam over the top of the cheesecake and smooth out in to an even layer. 

Let the cheesecake sit out to cool for another 30 minutes to an hour, then slice in to 24 squares while still warm. Refrigerate for a few hours to chill completely.

 We had a great Holiday weekend! We had a great time visiting with all of our family and got to eat a lot of goodies too!! Our little Giants cheerleader is hoping her team can pull out a WIN! Stay tuned for next weekend and more recipes!