Vanilla Crème Pumpkin Cheesecake

So...I was cruising through all of my recipes when I realized that I hadn't posted very many desserts! A few afternoons ago I decided I was going to do a little baking. While it was very time consuming (and gave me a HEAP of dirty dishes!) it was definitely worth the work. I decided to try out Hungry Girl's Pumpkin Cheesecake and I must say...Hungry Girl has won me over once again!

Vanilla Crème Pumpkin Cheesecake
Adapted from the Hungry Girl 200 under 200 Cookbook

Ingredients:

For Crust
2 cups Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
1/4 cup light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Smart Balance Light or Brummel & Brown), melted & mixed with 2 tbsp. water
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tsp. cinnamon

For Filling
32 oz. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/4 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For Topping
3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine all crust ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spray a springform pie pan (about 9" wide) lightly with nonstick spray -- make sure to get the sides as well as the bottom. Then evenly distribute crumb mixture, using your hands or a flat utensil to firmly press and form the crust along the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients. Using an electric mixer set to medium speed, mix until completely blended and lump-free. Pour mixture into the pan.

Bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, until set. Allow pie to chill in the fridge for at least 3 - 4 hours (overnight is best).

Once pie has chilled, carefully release and remove springform top. In a small bowl, mix all topping ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Spread topping evenly over the pie.

Return pie to the fridge until ready to serve. Cut pie into 12 slices.

Fried Oreos

These didn't turn out exactly how I wanted them to...but they tasted fantastic...so who cares!

Fried Oreos

Ingredients
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup pancake mix
1 (18 ounce) package cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreo®)
Directions
1.Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Whisk together the egg, milk, and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the pancake mix until no dry lumps remain. Dip the cookies into the batter one at a time, and carefully place into the hot frying oil. Fry only 4 or 5 at a time to avoid overcrowding the deep fryer. Cook until the cookies are golden-brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

Summer Shortcakes

I was feeling particularly crafty this evening and decided I would create a dessert on top of dinner. I was breezing through some magazines when I found this recipe from Good Housekeeping. I had all of the ingredients...so why not? These are a delish little after dinner dessert as well as pretty quick to create. Yum!

Summer Shortcakes
Adapted from Good Housekeeping

Shortcakes
1/2 cup(s) old fashioned oats
1 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) baking soda
3/4 cup(s) low-fat buttermilk
3 tablespoon(s) canola oil
1 large egg

Berries
1 pound(s) strawberries, hulled into quarters
1 cup(s) blackberries
1 cup(s) blueberries
1 cup(s) raspberries
2 tablespoon(s) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lime juice

Filing
4 ounce(s) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1/3 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
1 cup(s) nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon(s) grated fresh lime peel

Directions

1.Prepare Shortcakes: Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray large cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place oats in blender and blend until finely ground.

2.In large bowl, with wire whisk, combine ground oats, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until blended. Break up lumps of brown sugar with fingers if necessary.

3.In small bowl, with wire whisk, mix buttermilk, oil, and egg until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to oat mixture and stir just until blended.

4.Spoon dough by 1/4 cups onto prepared cookie sheet, 3 inches apart, making 8 mounds. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, or until firm when pressed. Transfer Shortcakes to wire racks to cool.
5.Meanwhile, prepare Berries: In medium bowl, combine berries, granulated sugar, and lime juice. Makes 6 cups. Set Berries aside.

6.Prepare Filling: In another medium bowl, with mixer at medium speed, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and 1/2 cup yogurt. With rubber spatula, gently fold in lime peel and remaining yogurt.

7.To serve, split Shortcakes in half. Place bottom half of a Shortcake on each of 8 dessert plates. Top with Filling and Berries; replace Shortcake tops.

The Jean Greene Chocolate Pie

This recipe is not for the instant dessert enthusiast...it takes a lot of tedious time but the outcome is absolutely phenomenal!! My mom has been making these pies for YEARS and just recently I got the recipe and got to watch it from start to finish a few times to get all of the techniques she uses to make it happen. We were invited to a dinner party/reunion and we were asked to bring the dessert and my mom said we could do the pies and once she mentioned it...there was no way we WEREN'T going to take the pies. They were nearly demolished...I may be taking my hand at it this weekend for Jason's family weekend...I hope I can keep up this fabulous recipe for many years to come!


Jean Greene's Chocolate Meringue Pie

Pie Ingredients

1 Frozen Pie Crust such as Mrs. Smith, thawed
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick margarine
1 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
1¼ cup milk (I wouldn't get too skimpy here...we use 2%)
Dash of salt

Meringue Ingredients

Sugar
4 egg whites


Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Thaw 1 Frozen Pie Crust and using a fork, poke several holes. Place in the oven and bake for just a few minutes. The holes in the crust keep it from puckering and bubbling. Once pie crust is warm, take it out of the oven and set on counter.

Don't turn off oven and increase heat to 400 degrees

Beat egg yolks until smooth. In a thick stainless steel dutch oven, combine milk, butter, salt, eggs and vanilla extract. Turn to medium/medium-high and allow butter to melt and the mixture to get hot.
**The more melted you get the butter mixture the quicker the next part begins**

Combine sugar, flour and cocoa in a large bowl, mix well.

Fold in the mixture while using a whisk, stir stir stir.

You will need to continuously stir or else the mixture will scorch or will cling to the bottom of your pan. Don't stop stirring until the mixture is nearly too thick to stir anymore. This does take a while so just be patient.

Once your mixture is super thick, pour into your pie crust.

Next move on to the meringue. Make sure that you don't drop even the smallest piece of yolk when making your meringue or else you will not be able to fluff the meringue.

Using a mixer, whip your egg whites, folding in sugar (no exact measurement...I'm guessing we used around a half a cup per pie). You will whip...and whip...and whip until you get the desired "height" for your meringue. After baking the meringue tends to go down so make sure you have plenty of "fluff" for the top of your pies. We fluffed until we had almost a whole medium mixing bowl full of meringue.

Spoon the meringue mixture onto the pie, swirling to create little tips all across the pie. Make sure you cover the entire pie leaving no spaces showing.

Place pie into the oven and when you start seeing the meringue brown up around your swirls...your pie is done! Let cool and serve!

You will be the new fan favorite if you make this dessert. I will have to let you know how it goes when I try it solo!

Cheesecake Brownies

So for several weeks I had been craving sweets...and I always seemed to be missing ONE ingredient necessary to fix most of the healthy desserts I wanted to try. This one was a SURE winner! The texture was more "cake-like" than brownie but never the less it satisfied exactly what I was looking for!

Cheesecake Brownies
Adapted from Hungry Girl 1-2-3 Cookbook

18.25-oz box devil's food cake mix
15-oz can pure pumpkin
6-oz fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 t Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1/4 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix adn pumpkin, stirring until completely blended. Batter will be very thick.

3. Spray a large baking pan (9x13) with nonstick spray. Spread batter into pan and set aside

4. Place powdered creamer in a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 T warm water and stir until creamer has dissolved. Add cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla extract. Using a whisk, mix vigorously until completely blended, smooth, and lump free.

5. Spoon cheesy mixture over the brownie batter and use a knife to swirl it in.

6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely.

Makes 16 servings that are HUGE and only around 150 calories! Score!

Holy Moly Cannoli Cones

If you thought that the breakfast cannoli stuffed french toast looks delicious but breakfast is too early...this is a quick cannoli fix to satisfy the sweet tooth. We LOVED these! They are going to quickly become a weeknight favorite! Thank you Hungry Girl for another delicious meal from your new cookbook!


Holy Moly Cannoli Cones

1 Cup + 2 T Fat-Free Ricotta Cheese
2/3 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
2.5 T Splenda granulated
1 T sugar-free fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix
1 T powdered sugar
2 T mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
6 Sugar Cones (The box was titled Old Fashioned Sugar Cones)

Place all ingredients except chocolate chips and sugar cones in a medium bowl Using a handheld electric mixer set to high speed, mix until fully combined and fluffy. Fold in half of the chocolate chips.

Transfer mixture to a large plastic bag, squeezing it down toward one bottom corner of the bag. Snip that corner off with scissors, so that you have a makeshift piping bag

Gently squeeze the ricotta mixture into the cones, evenly distributing it among them.

Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly on top of the filling in each cone.

YUM!

Banana Bread

If you've been following my 365 Project...you will see I had a special shout out recipe. Tammi sent me over a loaf of banana bread that DF and I devoured quickly...typically with every meal and inbetween. Its a healthy recipe and we loved it! I had to share it already! Thanks Tammi =)

Banana Bread ala TP

In large bowl combine:
1.5 Cups Mashed Ripe Bananas
1/4 Cup apple juice, undiluted
1/2 Cup Sugar (TP used Splenda)
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla
1 t orange peel (rarely used)

Add:
2 c whole-wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t coriander
1.5 t cinnamon

Mix well. Spray 9 x 5 x3 inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray. Cook at 350 for 45-50 minutes

Tips from TP: If you're looking to increase your fiber intake, add Benefiber Powder; The "kids" box of 100% apple juice works well and one box makes 2 loaves. Freeze your bananas when they become ripe. Unthaw the bananas, cut off one end and squeeze them directly into the measuring cup. Make several loaves at a time and freeze so you always have bread!

Diet Soda Cake

Its been a lazy few days...and you will see it only gets lazier.

When I was attending weight watchers meetings I was introduced to the "healthier" cake. I've been making it and surprising people left and right. I did these as cupcakes but one form that I do love to do is use a large triffle bowl and layer crumbled cake pieces with fat free cool whip. Not only does that produce an awesome presentation our dinner guests have loved them!

This is a simple one! Enjoy!


1 Can Diet Soda
1 Box Cake Mix
1 Tub Fat Free Cool Whip as topping


Mix your one can of diet soda with your one box of cake mix and place into pan and cook as you would normally. Top with Fat Free Cool Whip. My most popular combinations have been White Cake Mix + Diet Cheerwine and White Cake Mix + Diet Sunkist (I do miss the Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper...that was my favorite!)