Desserts

Desserts

Tips:

unless otherwise noted, use unsalted butter for baking

use pure vanilla extract

bring ingredients to room temperature before use

*I have found a lot of these recipes on the internet, but I have modified many of them slightly to where I think they taste best and sometimes to make them healthier without sacrificing taste (e.g. using Neufchatel cheese vs. cream cheese).

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies
Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Tip: When letting cheesecake cool after baking, leave in oven (turn off oven heat, but let cake sit there for several hours so it gradually comes to room temperature). I also let the cake chill overnight.

1 ½ cups crushed chocolate graham crackers
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup melted butter
2 (8 oz.) packages Neufchatel cheese, diced
2 cups sour cream
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp. white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix cookie crumbs with 2 tbsp. of the white sugar and the melted butter. Press firmly into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9" springform pan. Bake at 350 F for ~8 min.
To make cookie dough: In a bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter with 1/4 brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar. Sitr in the water and 1 tsp. of the vanilla. Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until combined.
To make cheesecake: With electric mixer, beat together 1 cup of the white sugar and Neufchatel cheese. Add 1 cup of the sour cream, eggs, and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Mix well and pour into prepared crust.
To make topping: Mix the remaining 1 cup sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, and the 2 tsp. white sugar until smooth. Spread over HOT cake.
Drop cookie dough in 2 tbsp. portions over top of cake and then push dough beneath surface. Bake at 350 F for about 40 min (cake will still be slighly jiggly in center, bake longer than 40 min. if most of cake is still jiggly on top. BUT, better to slightly underbake than to overbake!) Spread topping over hot cake. Let cake cool, then chill in a refrigerator until cold, at least 4 hr.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've tried so far (other recipes always turned out too cake-like for me).

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semi-sweet choclate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease cookie sheets or line with foil or parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In medium bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Mix in the siftened ingredients until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips by hand (I mix in sifted ingredients and chocolate chips by hand with a wooden spoon).
Drop dough onto cookie cheets (make sure to space cookie dough apart by a couple inches); depending on how big you want your cookies, drop cookie dough from 1 tbsp-1/4 cup size balls, and press down slightly.
Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven or until cookies look slightly golden. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Oatmeal Cookies

Best oatmeal cookies! Chewy and cripy at same time.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats
semi-sweet chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and/or walnuts, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease cookie sheets or line with foil or parchment paper.
In large bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and eggs. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl; stir into the creamed mixture using wooden spoon. Mix in oats and whatever goodies you want (This is where you can have fun--I love *white chocolate chips + cranberries* and *raisins alone* but *semi-sweet chocolate chips + walnuts* is also very popular).
Drop dough onto cookie cheets in rounded tablespoons (space cookie dough apart by a couple inches); press down slightly.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven or until cookies look slightly golden. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

This is a great bundt cake with lots of apples. I saw this made on a cooking show, but when I made it, I found it too sweet and too buttery, so I modified the recipe but I've included the original amounts in parentheses in case you like things richer.

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ baking soda
¾ cup butter, softened + ¼ cup applesauce (you can leave out applesauce entirely if you don't have any) (original recipe: 1 cup butter)
1 ¼ cups packed light-brown sugar (original recipe: 1 ½ cups packed light-brown sugar)
4 large eggs
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Optional glaze: 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1-2 tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
In large bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth (electric mixer). Gradually beat in dry ingredients until just combined (do not ovemix). Using a rubber spatula, fold in apples. Spoon batter into a nonstick Bundt pan and smooth top. Bake until a tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 50-60 min. Cool in pan on rack 15 min. Invert onto rack to cool completely.
Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar and enough water to form a thick glaze. Set cake over a piece of wax paper and drizzle cook cake.