Cream Cheese

I was feeling kind of lazy in doing any major baking this week, so I wanted to make something that would not be so much work, just mix, put it in the pan, and bake. Since this week was about cream cheese, I went to Kraft's Philadelphia Cream Cheese website, where it holds hundreds of recipes and meal ideas. From that site I found Oreo Mini Cheesecake. It was easy to make, and does not take much effort to do, which was great. The web site's intention is to encourage consumers to use their products in their recipes, but generic brands are just as good to use in this recipe. I've changed the ingredients and the directions a bit, but to get the original recipe just visit http://www.cookingwithphiliy.ca/

-Ann

Oreo Mini Cheesecake

2 package (250g each) brick cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)

12 Oreo Cookies (or any other chocolate sandwich cookies)

3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips,) melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed. Add vanilla and continue to blend.

2. Place 1 cookie in bottom of each of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Fill evenly with batter.

3. Bake 20 minutes or until centres are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

~Serves 12

-------------------------------------~.~.~.~.~.~.-------------------------------------

I am a passion fruit freak so of course I enjoyed these little squares. They are creamy and tangy. Yum, yum! To give an extra tanginess to them I made a passion fruit syrup ( In a small saucepan, add 100ml of concentrated passion fruit juice, plus 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar and a tiny amount of water -1/2 tablespoon. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Let it cool down a little and drizzle over the squares.).

Taken from here.

-Ana

Passion Fruit Cheesecake Squares

250g plain sweet cookies

180g unsalted butter, melted

250g ricotta cheese

250g cream cheese, softened

½ cup (100g) caster sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

3 eggs

¾ cup (180ml) passion fruit pulp - I used concentrated passion fruit juice

Directions

Place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process until they resemble fine breadcrumbs - mine weren't so fine. Add the butter and mix to combine. Press the mixture into the base of a 20x30cm lightly greased rectangular pan lined with baking paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm and cold.

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF. Place the ricotta, cream cheese, caster sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth – I used an electric mixer.

Gradually add the eggs, processing well after each addition. Fold through the passion fruit pulp and pour mixture over the base. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set - mine took 55 minutes (!!), maybe because I had a thicker layer of cream.

Allow to cool completely; carefully slice to serve.

~Serves 8, or more.