Monday, December 19, 2016

Cheesecake Bombs

  • 8oz (1 cup) cream cheese, room temperature 
  • 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature 
  • 1/2 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs 
  • 4 cups powdered sugar 
  • 10 oz (1 1/4cup) chocolate chips 
DIRECTIONS 
  1. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter together until combined. 
  2. Add in the graham cracker crumbs and mix well. 
  3. Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until it is all mixed in. 
  4. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. I usually let it sit overnight. 
  5. Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and remove batter form the fridge. 
  6. Scoop into balls and roll in between palms if necessary. Place on wax paper. 
  7. Place in fridge for 10-20 minutes if they are too soft to dip. 
  8. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds to make sure it doesn’t harden up. It should take about 1 minute for the chocolate to completely melt. 
  9. Dip balls into chocolate, covering completely. 
  10. Place back on wax paper and let cool until chocolate has hardened. 
  11. Store in the fridge for the best taste.

Optional
  • Substitute Oreo crumbs for graham crumbs
  • Add single cherries or other fillings to the center of the cheesecake ball before dipping in chocolate
  • Mix cinnamon and brown sugar into cheesecake batter

Pineapple Dream Squares

  • 2 1/2 cups graham crumbs (2 sleeves) 
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (for crust) 
  • 2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted 
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (for filling) 
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened 
  • 8 oz container Cool Whip 
  • 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained well 

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 F. 
  2. Melt butter in the microwave and allow to cool. Combine the crumbs and butter and toss together until incorporated. Press 2 cups of the crumb mixture firmly into an 9×9 square pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. 
  3. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Turn the mixer down to low and add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until incorporated. Turn up and beat well for a minute or so. Add a heaping tablespoon of the drained pineapple and stir in with a rubber spatula. Spread the cream cheese and pineapple mixture over the crust. 
  4. Fold the remaining pineapple into the Cool Whip and spread on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the remaining graham cracker crumb mixture on top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight