Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Awww...cheesecake. I feel that nothing can make a busy week of homework, presentations and papers better than cheesecake. I also continue to build my love for cupcakes. There are so many varieties that I have barely touched the surface but boy, am I excited to explore!

These were very tasty and I loved the cherry topping! They start off with such a simple elements but combined it's incredible! Plus...aren't they cute as sin! They just scream summer to me.

Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Source: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Ingredients

Filling:

1 package (8oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 c sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cupcakes:

1 package plain yellow cake mix

1 package (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 c whole milk

2/3 c vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

24 vanilla wafers

Topping:

1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners

Prepare the filling: Place cream cheese in a small mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on a low speed until the cream cheese has softened. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla and continue to beat on low until the ingredients comes together. Set the filling aside.

Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides.

Place 1 vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner. Spoon cupcake batter on top of each vanilla wafer until about 2/3 full. Gently dollop a heaping teaspoon of filling on top of each cupcake. The cup will be very full. Do not shake the pans. Place in oven.

Bake cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when touched, 18-20 minutes. Remove pans from oven and cool on a wire rack. Lift cupcakes from pans and place on wire rack to cool.

Dollop a generous amount of cherry filling on top of each cupcake when ready to be served.

Enjoy!

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Before I discovered the slimming effects of black, I was a pink to the heart kinda girl. My mom would joke that my entire closet, bedroom, locker and car were as pink as one could get. I even remember piling all the stuff I was hauling up to college for my dorm in our living room and only 3 items weren't pink; the totes (they were my mom's and coming home), my textbooks and my toothpaste! You can imagine how excited my husband was when we merged our belongings for our first apartment!

Anyways, with Spring in full force, I have seen all kinds of adorable pink desserts that just scream, "Make me!" Far be it from me to deny them this honor. I made these cupcakes for class treats and was a little worried about bring Champagne to class. Yes I know, we are all of legal drinking age, but I didn't want to be that crazy girl bringing alcohol to class! Luckily everything turned out good and they were well received! These make great little Easter treats as well with the pastel pink!

Pink Champagne Cupcakes

Source: Betty Crockers, "Cupcakes, cakes, and more" pg. 36

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 box Betty Crocker super moist white cake mix

1 1/4 c champagne (cheap will do, I think my bottle was $5 or so)

1/3 c vegetable oil

3 egg whites

4 or 5 drops red food coloring (I used a little pink Wilton color gel)

Champagne Frosting

1/2 c softened butter or margarine

4 c powdered sugar

1/4 c champagne

1 teaspoon vanilla

4-5 drops red food coloring (or pink color gel)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baking liners into 24 regular sized muffin cups.

In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix and champagne. Add oil, eggs and food color. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 17 to 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

In a medium bowl, beat frosting ingredients with electric mixer on medium spread until smooth. Frost cupcakes.

Overloaded Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

So, I got a little excited when making this cheesecake (Hello!?!?! It's cheesecake, I think we have already determined my weakness for this dessert) and proceeded to add the entire package of Oreo's. Upon review, I found out I wasn't suppose to. Result.....Overloaded Cookies and Cream Cheesecake! This made for a pretty rich dessert....very good but very rich. You won't hear me complaining but some 'weaker' people may prefer the original Oreo recommendations ;)

Overloaded Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from Philadelphia Cream Cheese Classic Recipes

Ingredients:

Crust

1 cup chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 12 cookies)

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Filling

3 packages (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened

3/4 c sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

16 chocolate sandwich cookies, quartered, divided

Directions

Crust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and butter in the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes, if using a silver pan or bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes if using a dark pan.

Filling

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs and mix on low just until blended. Fold in 12 quartered cookies. Pour over crust. Place remaining cookies on top of batter (This is where I went wrong and add the REST of the cookies, i.e. the rest from the package)

Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Bake at 300 degrees if using dark pan. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake and cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Cheesecake Cookie Bars

These are my absolute MOST favorite bars of all time. They are easy to make and incorporate my two favorite things; cheesecake and cookies! I have brought these numerous times to potlucks or for class treats and I have left empty handed every time. Yes, they are that good. Rich and good.

Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Source: Pillsbury

Ingredients

2 (18 oz) packages of chocolate chip cookie dough, divided

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let dough stand at room temperature for 15 mins to soften. Press 1 1/4 packages of cookie dough into bottom of a 9x13 in pan. Combine other ingredients in a medium bowls and pour over cookie mixture. Break up remaining cookie dough into small, flat pieces and place over top of cheesecake mixture.

Cook for 35 minutes.

Fudge Ribbon Cake

It is finally spring break and I am so excited to have a few days off! My plans for spring break are pretty uneventful because my partner and I hope to mostly wrap up our thesis! That will be such a good feeling. I do plan to throw some fun into the week though as we have a girls shopping trip planned to the outlet mall (hello, Coach store!) and I have quite a few new recipes I want to try! I haven't been spending much time in the kitchen lately due to school and the hubs has been working out of town during the week, so suppers have consisted of cereal or Jimmy John's.

I began my return to the kitchen in pursuit of filling my craving for cheesecake. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. It was very easy and tasted pretty good!

Warning: Use spray on the bunt pan. I was in a hurry and left out this step...it did not end well and resulted in me remaking the cake. When I was teenager I remember having multiple fights with my mom because I REFUSED to use cooking spray on the pans, insisting that it made no difference. I think it was my attempt to rebel and ever since then, when I cook, I typically do not use cooking spray. Well mom, are you happy?!? I don't think I will forget again.

Fudge Ribbon Cake

Source: Bake Me More

Ingredients for the cake:

1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients called for on the box

1 8oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat)

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the ganache:

3 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli chips)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon corn syrup

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. SPRAY 10 inch bunt pan with no-stick cooking spray

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly over cake batter. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and remove from pan. Allow to cool and apply chocolate ganache.

Ganache directions:

In small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. In separate bowl, combine 3 oz of chocolate and 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour hot cream over chocolate. and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Stir, if not all lumps are dissolved, place in microwave for 10 second intervals. Let ganach sit until think but still pourable. Pour ganache over cooled cake. Let set for 30 minutes or until glaze is set before serving.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Every word of that title makes me go yummmmmm! And yes, the m's are drawn out like that. For Christmas this year, I requested cupcake decorating supplies. Well leave it to my mom to not just buy something simple and basic. In my gift from 'santa' there was Wilton Master Tip set, disposable frosting bags, adorable 'fashion' cupcake liners and the mother of all cupcake cook books by the one and only Mrs. Martha. My mom had set me up for success. Therefore, ever since Christmas morning I had been dying to make these cupcakes. However, I know my ability to resist cupcakes and cheesecake AND oreos, so I waited until I knew I was getting together with friends so I could pawn some off on them! So far the reviews have been great and I am quite a fan myself.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Source: Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Ingredients

42 Oreos- 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped (I used 6 chopped cookies as I only bought 1 package of oreos and wanted to have enough bases. The 6 suited the recipe just fine. I still ran out of bases as this recipe made 36 cheesecakes for me.
2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature (yikes, I know, that's alot of cream cheese)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
3. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
4. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined.
5. Beat in vanilla.
6. Drizzle in eggs.
7. Add in sour cream and salt.
8. Mix in crushed cookies by hand.
9.Divide batter among cookie filled cups, filling each almost to the top.
10. Place in oven, rotating half way through, for 22 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Place in refrigerator (in tins) at least 4 hours. Remove from tins right before serving.

Heath Bits Cheesecake

I have always been a HUGE fan of cheesecake and it's thick, rich goodness. My mom and I have been known to drool over cheesecake and we even have a routine of the proper way to savor cheesecake. Now, I have tried to teach the hubbs this important sequence of events but he doesn't quite get it. He doesn't 'appreciate' the cheesecake. Poor men, they miss all the important things in life.

However, I have been intimidated of making my own cheesecake because of the crust. I don't care for the idea of crushing up cookies, adding butter and hoping it all holds together. But I got an amazing Hershey's magazine and this recipe was calling out to me. It was also very simple and quick to make. The Heath bits really helped cover up any blemishes.

Regrets: I need to perfect my method of cutting cheesecake. I sort of 'butchered' it and as a result, the pieces are choppy.

Hubbs approval rating: " Yeah, pretty dang good. Really rich and filling."

Heath Bits Cheesecake
Take from Hershey's Christmas magazine

Ingredients
Vanilla wafer crust (recipe follows)
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 container (8 ounces) dairy sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (8 ounce package) HEATH milk chocolate toffee bits, divided

1. Prepare VANILLA WAFER crust. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla; beat on low speed until blended.
3. Pour half of cheese mixture into crust. Reserve 1/4 cup of toffee bits for topping; sprinkle remaining toffee bits over cheese mixture in pan. Spoon in remaining cheese mixture.
4. Bake 1 hour or until filling is set. Cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle reserve toffee bits over top; with knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely; remove side of pan. Cover; refrigerate leftover cheesecake.

VANILLA WAFER CRUST: Combine 1 3/4 cups of vanilla wafer crust (about 55 wafers, crushed) and 2 tablespoons sugar; stir in 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter or margarine. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9 inch spring form pan. Refrigerate about 30 minutes .