Easy Mini Caramel Cheesecakes

I make these mini cheesecakes when I want to serve a variety of desserts. I last made these at Christmas along with mini lemon tarts, and mini spice cupcakes with eggnog icing. By making  mini desserts after a large meal like Christmas or Thanksgiving your guests are more likely to try a small treat ... or three :) 


If you can't find dulche de leche condensed milk you can use regular..or learn to make your own here.

Preheat To: 300º F (150ºC)

Serving: 36 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients:

1¼ cups (300 mL) graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) unsalted butter, melted

Or

36 1-inch premade cookies (I like these with homemade ginger cookies)

2 pkgs (250 g each) regular or light cream cheese, softened
1 can (300 mL) Dulche de Leche Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract

¾ c Caramel sauce or another can of dulche de leche to spoon on top (optional)

Instructions:

1. Place about 36 mini foil or paper baking cups in muffin tins. 
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press firmly onto bottoms or simply place one pre-made cookie in each cup.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy - about 4 minutes. 
4. Beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. 
5. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. 
6. Mix in vanilla. 
7. Spoon equal amounts of mixture into prepared cups.
8. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until cheesecakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool thoroughly then refrigerate at least 2 hours.
9. Top with a small spoonful of caramel sauce before serving. 
10. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

One Pot Dinner - Chicken & Vegetables

Our weeknights are busy...swim lessons, soccer practices, hockey games, homework...by the time we finish work, pick the kids up from school, and get them to their activities we don't really have a lot of time to make dinner! I bet it's the same in many of your homes too. Often, I try to make things on the weekend so we are ahead of the curve. Things like meat sauces, pesto, and roast pork can be made on Sunday and eaten throughout the week. 

One of my favorite do ahead meals is also a one pot wonder - chicken and veggies. Everything goes into my dutch oven and baked for 90 minutes. I add a few more veggies and finish it on the stove top. If I go light on the stock it's a hearty meal or if I add extra stock I call it a soup. Whatever I call it, it is easy and delicious!

Ingredients

1 chicken 3-4 lbs 
1 cup stock 
2 cups large diced carrots 
4 stalks celery 
2 medium onions 
3 bay leaves 
2 rosemary sprigs or 1 tbsp dried
1 tsp ground pepper 
1 tsp sweet paprika 
1 tsp dried oregano 
1/2 tsp ground chipotle 
1 head garlic 
2 tsp old bay (or 1 tsp salt) 
3 cups spinach leaves 
1 cup grape tomatoes 
1 cup stock

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 
2. Place 1 cup carrots, 2 stalks celery, garlic, 1 onion, bay leaves, and rosemary in large dutch oven or oven proof pot. 
3. Mix. 
4. Place chicken on top and sprinkle with paprika, oregano, chipotle, and old bay if using. 
5. Cover and place in oven for 90 minutes.
6. Carefully remove chicken and place on a plate.
7. Strain veggies and juice. Squish veggies against strainer with a spoon to get all the juices out. Discard what's left in the strainer.
8. Turn heat on stove to medium.
9. Add the remaining veggies, spinach and tomatoes. Add stock. 
10. Bring to simmer for 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile remove skin from chicken and pull apart being careful not to burn yourself! Add to the pot.
12. Serve!

Foodie Pen Pals - February!

What an amazing Foodie Pen Pal package!!!

Foodie PenPals. Have you heard of it? It's a great program run by Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean. She started it in September 2011 with 30 participants and it has grown to over 1300! Now that's success! In a nutshell each participant receives a foodie pen pal to send a little foodie related package that shouldn't cost more than $15 (not including shipping). It can be home made goods, local  food items, or other foodie related treats. Then each person sending a package also receives a similar package (though not from the person they sent one too). Organizing it must take a lot of dedication and effort and Lindsay does a great job of pulling everything together!

My fourth month of Foodie pen pals and I still love it :) this month my pen pal is Ashleigh from Ontario. 

This is Ashleigh's first month in the program and I have to say she knocked it out of the park!! Everything Ashley sent was a home run. She even shared her own stash of Frazzles - bacon flavoured crisps from Scotland! She also sent Simply Protein Chips - chili flavoured snacks that I must find here in Vancouver! The kids claimed the mint chocolate cookies and ginger snaps and loved them. The chilli and salt chocolate bar I shared with my husband (well just a square of it but still counts as sharing!). I loved that the heat from the chilies are subtle and you  don't notice it until after the chocolate has been swallowed. The chili sauce is amazing and definitely spicy! We had it with some BBQed sausages and were instant fans!   The only thing left to try  is the Mayan hot chocolate from Soma...but trust me I'll be trying it soon. Thanks Ashleigh!

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

-Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. 

You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th!

*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup. 

Spicy Sriracha Shortbread Crackers

Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to use our creativity in making Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

I chose this recipe because a friend saw it in the paper and asked that I make it! I added the sriracha pea crust - I love sriracha! It's a purée of fresh red jalapeños, garlic powder, sugar, salt and vinegar that is very popular in Canada and the United States. I found the sriracha peas at Target - not sure how easily available they are but wasabi peas would work too. For added zing you could also brush some sriracha sauce on the tops of the crackers before baking!

Roll the chilled dough in crushed sriracha peas.

These really are savory short bread cookies. I wouldn't put anything on top on them but they make a great appetizer.

Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 tsp baking powder

14 tbsp (1-3/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced in ½ -inch pieces 

½  minced seeded jalapeño pepper 

¼  teaspoon chipotle chili powder

3 tablespoons ice water

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Fleur de sel or sea salt

½  c Sriracha peas, crushed (or wasabi peas)

Instructions

1. Place the flour, chipotle chili powder, kosher salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to combine. 
2. Add the butter in pieces and continue to pulse until the flour mixture looks like coarse sand. 
3. Add the cheddar, jalapeño and pulse again. 
4. With the processor running, add the water in one dump. 
5. Continue pulsing until the mixture just comes together into a ball. 
6. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and with your hands roll it into a a 14-inch log. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
8. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or silpat.
9. Roll the dough log in the crushed sriracha peas. Press peas into the log to ensure they stick.
10. Cut the dough in 3/8-inch-thick slices (3/4 of a cm). 
11. Place the crackers on the pan with at least an inch between cookies, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the salt. 
12. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. 
13. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. 

Notes:

If you don't have a food processor, whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl and then cut in the butter using two knives or a pastry blender tool. Add the cheese and jalapeño and mix with a fork (don't over work the dough). Add the water and mix until dough forms. Proceed as above.

Serving Size

Makes 32 to 34 crackers

Simply Perfect Mashed Potatoes

A big bowl of creamy and buttery mashed potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods. Depending on my mood I can whip up a pot of garlicky mashed potatoes with skins on, or a casserole dish of super cheesy twice baked yukons or even just salted and slightly smashed fingerlings. The recipe below produces a creamy and smooth mashed potato that almost feels healthy if you use reduced fat cream cheese and just a pat of butter. Using some of the potato water adds back flavour and adds to the fluffiness of the potatoes.What's your favorite way to make mashed potatoes?

Ingredients

3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 2-3 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, skinned and chopped
1/2 - 2/3 cup low fat cream cheese or full fat but NOT no-fat 
1/2 - 3/4 cup potato water 
1 tbsp butter 
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

• Place potatoes in large pot and cover with cold, salted water.
• Add garlic. 
• Bring to boil. 
• Boil until tender enough to easily price with fork. 
• Remove 1 cup potato water. 
• Drain rest of remaining water from pot. 
• Add 1/2 cup reserved water and cream cheese. 
• Mash until smooth. Add extra water if necessary. 
• Season with salt and pepper. 
• Add butter on top, if using.

Chocolate Caramel Obsession Cookies

These are decadent cookies. I used white Callebaut chocolate and chopped it into big chunks but any white chips will do. The disappeared in less than a day so they defintiely got the family seal of approval!

Ingredients

2 c flour

1/2 c cocoa

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 c white chocolate chips, or chopped white chocolate

1 c toffee bits (like Skor (tm) bits)

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 c white sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs, large (at room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy - about 5 minutes.
• Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well.
• Add vanilla and mix well.
• Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and lightly stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and toffee bits. Again mix until just combined. A light touch when mixing the dry ingredients into the wet will result in beautiful, light tasting cookies.
• Using a teaspoon or 1 inch cookie scoop, place cookies on ungreased cookie pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Great cooled and amazing warm!

Mars Bar Brownies

We STILL have Halloween candy sitting in our pantry! The kids usually forget about it about two weeks after Halloween and if it's hidden so do I. Every once in awhile we dig in to satisfy a sweet tooth but the kids had such a big haul this year that there's still a lot left.  

I didn't want to throw it out but didn't want it to go bad either so I decided to bake with it! This is my go to brownie recipe - super fudgy and rich! And let me tell you that when you add 32 chopped up mini Mars bars it even more rich and fudgy PLUS caramelly (hmmm is that even a word?). If you eat them warm they will barely hold together and the caramel drips over your fingers...mmmm. If you can wait until they cool they definitely hold together  better and taste just as good (except no warm caramel). 

In case you haven't realized it yet...they are in no way healthy and your waist line will expand just chopping the chocolate but your taste buds will be dancing all over your tongue!

Mini Mars Bar heaven.

Chop them up!

Spread them out.

Top with brownie batter.

Speechless!

Adapted from a recipe by Michael Smith.


Ingredients:

• 8 oz of good quality dark chocolate
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (preferably pure)
• 32 mini Mars bars, chopped into smaller pieces

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Note: I use extra cocoa instead of flour so there is no white flour color on the brownies when baked.
• Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth and remove from heat to cool.
• Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
• Once melted chocolate mixture has a cooled a bit, add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir well.
• Add the chocolate mixture to the flour bowl and mix until incorporated.
• Spread 1/2 of the batter into the pan.
• Sprinkle mini Mars bars over batter.
• Dollop remaining batter over bars and spread as evenly as possible (doesn't have to be perfect.)
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Cool.
• Enjoy!

A heart cookie cutter and a few pink decorations
gives you an adorable Valentine's Day treat!