These bars are surprisingly simple to make and require zero oven time. Since I had all burners blazing at the time, this was a relief. This is another gem from Castsugar, although she calls them bars I consider this a cheesecake. They’re perfect for summer and I would imagine they’d be the first thing to go had the bake sale not been rained out. You must try these for your next barbeque or summer celebration!
Crust:
30 Oreo cookies
2 oz white chocolate
Filling:
6 oz white chocolate
1 pint whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp key lime zest
1/3c confectioners sugar
I recommend using an aluminum cake pan instead of a traditional one for this recipe. If you don’t have access to this, line a 8x8 pan with foil.
Melt all the white chocolate in a double broiler. Crush your oreos by hand or in a food processor, and combine them with 2-4 tbsp of the melted chocolate. Press into the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
Beat 1/2c whipping cream until peaks begin to form. Add cream cheese, lime, zest and sugar to a separate bowl, and beat well. Beat in remaining white chocolate. Fold in gently with the whipped cream and spread mixture over the crust. In a clean bowl, pour the remaining whipping cream and confectioners sugar and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Make sure to not overbeat or you’ll wind up with sweetened butter! Spread the whipping cream over the lime layer, and voila! No bake cheesecake! Allow it to chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
June 2008
I had been looking forward to making these ever since I found the recipe — cheesecake, cherry, AND brownie?! All of my favorite things! While these did turn out well and I’m sure would be a hit at any bake sale or party, it seemed that it was almost too much of a good thing. There were so many flavors going on that none of them could really sing; I would have preferred the cheesecake and cherries over a plain ol’ chocolate crumb crust. But these are worth a try!
Cheesecake:
16 oz cream cheese
1/2c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Brownie:
1c unsalted butter
6 oz baking chocolate
2c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/4c AP flour
21 oz. cherry pie filling + 1 tsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
Melt the baking chocolate in a double broiler. Cream together the butter and sugar for the brownie layer, then add the eggs. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate and mix well. Stir in flour and salt and pour into the baking pan.
For the cheesecake layer, beat all ingredients together until smooth. Drop it by the tablespoon over the brownie layer, and follow by dropping tablespoons of the cherry mixture over it. Use a butter knife to swirl the layers, but do not mix them together. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the edges of the brownie begin to pull away and the edges of the cheesecake begin to turn slightly brown. Keep in mind that this brownie will still seem gooey when you first take it out of the oven, let it cool completely and chill for at least 4 hours (I let mine go overnight and am glad I did). Try serving these in cupcake liners, they’re super gooey!
I ran across this recipe in Castsugar’s blog - my mom is a fan of gingerbread so I had originally planned on making it for her birthday. I wound up doing a “test batch” for the bake sale, and WOW. This is possibly one of the better things that has come out of my kitchen.
It literally warms your throat when you eat it, but isn’t sharp or spicy like so many recipes that call for chili powder. You can taste each ingredient when you take a bite, which is rare for recipes that call for so many complex flavors in one dish. I was skeptical of Castsugar’s raves about this cake but I’m a true believer now. If you bake nothing else from this blog, try this recipe. It will blow you away. This one is going in the green box — the old tin box where all of my great grandmother’s favorite recipes are kept. This is where I turn when I need something utterly original and delicious that no one was expecting but everyone loves. You simply gotta try it!
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp. white sugar
3/4 c. light syrup
3/4 c. molasses
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp warm water
2 eggs
1 c. milk
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chunks
Preheat the oven to 325 and line 3 loaf pans with tin foil.
Meld the sugars, syrups, and butter together over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Add your spices and allow to cool very slightly.
Combine the milk and eggs together. Mix the water with the baking soda and add to the egg mixture. Add the syrup mixture and stir well. Finish by adding the flour and cocoa. Finish by adding the chocolate chunks.
Pour into loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes. This will still appear liquidy on top; allow it to cool completely, as this creates a very moist cake. I find that this is just as good, if not better after a day or two of maturation time. You could add a glaze or frosting, but I find it to be perfect plain.
For the last week I’ve been working on a major bake sale, so I’d been keeping my eyes out for anything unique to contribute. I found that I need not go any further than Castsugar. True to form, these peanut butter and jelly bars are different from anything I could have found in my current collection of cookbooks. It’s a very rich shortbread crust with a smear of jelly in the center; imagine a PB&J sandwich cookie, only as a brownie.
I made a few changes to the recipe, but these are still very rich and very sweet. I couldn’t eat a whole bar by myself, which speaks a lot after all the spicy chocolate gingerbread I’ve scarfed! But more on that later. I used more peanut butter and less real butter, I also used the chunky variety. Instead of full octane jam I used a reduced sugar version. I would not recommend using anything containing a sugar substitute though; aside from messing up the perfect taste, the lack of real sugars would prevent the jelly from setting. Anyways, here’s my recipe, with pics soon to come:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/4c chunky peanut butter
3c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
18 oz jam (I used blackberry)
Preheat the oven to 350, and grease a 9 x 13 pan.
Cream together the sugar, butter and PB. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt in small additions, mixing well in between. You should be left with a crumbly but malleable dough. Spread 2/3 of it on the bottom of the pan.
Spread the jam on top of the first layer. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbles on top, taking care to not mix them with the jam too much. Bake for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool completely before cutting into chunks, otherwise you’ll get a gooey mess instead of a bar. Enjoy!
This is a classic Southern recipe for buttermilk pie. Most people who haven’t tasted it before will give you strange looks when you combine the words “buttermilk” and “pie”. It’s actually quite delicious and goes over well especially on holidays.
This recipe comes from Natalie Moore at NPR. Growing up, one of my neighborhood friends’ mothers made this and Natalie’s recipe comes the closest to hers (although that South Carolina touch can’t be replicated). There are many variations of this recipe; it’s similar to chess pie, creme brulee and a South African dish called “melktert”.
I used a chocolate graham cracker crust since I couldn’t find regular pie crust. After my adventure with the apple pie, I wasn’t quite ready to dive back into those waters. While the graham crust made it really interesting, it was a bit sweet. I’m posting the reduced-sugar version of the filling for that reason. Also remember to let this pie cool for at least twenty or thirty minutes before serving, it gets VERY HOT!
Buttermilk Pie:
1 graham pie crust
4 eggs
1c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2c melted butter
1 1/2c buttermilk
1tsp vanilla extract (I tend to go heavy on this, so you can use up to 1 tbsp)
Beat the eggs with sugar. Add flour and beat well. Add buttermilk and vanilla. The filling will be liquidy, so carefully pour it into the crust and load it into the oven. Bake at 400 for the first 10 minutes and reduce to 325 for 50 more minutes.
This is a specifically modified version of the original breakfast tart, which is usually made with a combination of apples and jellies or jams. White peaches are especially popular in Japan for their light, delicate taste and aroma. This is another recipe where I add rosewater; if you don’t like the effect this brings feel free to leave it out or replace with vanilla extract. The olfactory taste of roses combined with fruit is especially decadent; soft and sweet without a hint of tartness. The yogurt takes the place of richer alternatives like whipped cream.
Tart crust:
about 2 tbsp butter
2 eggs
1/8tsp kosher salt
1/2c flour
1/2c milk
2tbsp sugar
Grease cake pan with butter. Combine remaining butter with other ingredients, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Filling:
4 oz container vanilla yogurt
4 oz can white peaches (check Asian markets)
2 tbsp peach preserves
a few drops rosewater if desired, use sparingly
1-2 tbsp confectioners sugar
Heat peaches, rosewater and preserves over medium-low heat. Spread vanilla yogurt over tart crust. Once fruit begins to simmer, remove from heat and pour evenly over yogurt layer. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and either serve hot or chill until ready to eat.
I made this when I was having a pizza craving but didn’t want to order delivery — it’s heavenly with homemade marinara!
3.5c bread flour
1c warm water
2tbsp yeast
1/4c olive oil
1tsp salt
4 oz fresh mozarella
1/2c marinara sauce
1/3c shredded asiago cheese
Combine the warm water and yeast. Add half the olive oil, salt, and flour; let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Once dough has risen, roll out either by hand or with a pin. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the crust and brush thoroughly.
Spoon the marinara onto the crust and top with cheeses (plus other toppings if you want them).
Bake until the crust is browned and the pizza bubbles; this should take around 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and slice.
Spoon the marinara onto the crust and top with cheeses (plus other toppings if you want them).
I LOVE sai fun! Also known as bean threads, mung bean noodles, glass noodles, or Chinese vermicelli, these are delicate clear noodles that cook quickly and absorb flavors fabulously. They can be used in darn near anything — as noted, I love to use them in spring and egg rolls. This could also be called “everything” stir fry, since the concept originated in a rush of leftover fried rice and precooked sai fun.
This can be made with or without rice. I definitely wouldn’t advocate making a fresh batch of it just for this recipe; it can spruce up the texture if you have some leftovers though.
Vegetable Sai Fun:
3 nests sai fun (apx. 1 1/2c cooked)
1/2 lb extra firm tofu, cubed
2tbsp olive oil
1/3c chopped water chestnuts
1/3c peas
1 grated carrot
1c raw chopped cabbage
4 oz can bamboo shoots
1/4c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/2c cooked rice (optional)
Boil sai fun for 3-5 minutes or until soft. Strain and remove from heat. Steam cabbage and onion until softened, apx 5-10 minutes. Saute tofu with olive oil, garlic and tamari until lightly browned in a large skillet or wok. Add cooked sai fun and all other ingredients over medium heat, toss with spatula every few minutes until noodles start to become crispy and brown, apx. 15-20 minutes. Serve hot with tamari or schezuan sauce for a spicier taste.
