Caramel Cheesecake

This was a special dessert I made especially for my wonderful boyfriend. He loves cheesecake and all things caramel. When I said why not make a caramel cheesecake, he starting basically worshiping me. Apparently he didn't think it was a doable thing to make? Oh well, it make me look like a hero! So I took over his kitchen and made it. He was a fabulous sous chef though=) And, whenever I needed to return home and the cake was still in the oven, he took direction very well and made it through the multistage cooling process. This so fun for us to do together and I'm sure we'll be baking more together in the future!


I had it for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and for a bedtime treat. See how versatile this can be???? Also, I used a different crust recipe than provided because he won't eat nuts. "It's not the flavor, it's the consistency". Ughhhh. I used cinnamon graham crackers for mine which was a subtle yet nice hint.

The cake may have been a tad undercooked, but I like a lot of my baked goods that way. Hehe. I was luscious and creamy and to die for. King Arthur wouldn't steer you wrong, and neither would I!


Caramel Cheesecake
from King Arthur Flour Blog

Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup pecan meal or ground pecans
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Filling
1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 /4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Pralines and Cream Flavor, optional (I omitted)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup cream or half & half

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9" spring form pan.
2) Mix the crust ingredients till crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 1" up the sides of the prepared pan; prick with a fork.
3) Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, till light golden brown. Remove it from the oven; reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
4) Mix the cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and flavor at low speed until smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
5) Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.
6) Stir in the caramel sauce and cream.
7) Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300°F and bake 15 minutes more, until the edges of the cake are set, and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2" from the edge reads 170°F.
8) Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 hour.
9) Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it at room temperature for 1 hour.
10) Refrigerate for 8 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Yield: 12 servings.

Happy Halloween! with Caramel Toffee Dip and Baked Cinnamon Chips

At the ripe old age of 16, it's hard to find too many people to go trick- or- treating with you. My sister (who's 21) said she'd come, but then she fell asleep (???!). So I eventually dragged my neighbor and her younger brother along with me. She (Julia), played her ukulele, and her brother brought his African drum. So while we went for candy, we also entertained the masses. Needless to say we attracted a lot of attention. We didn't go for long, so my stash this year isn't too great. But, I'd honestly prefer a lovely fresh baked goodie than processed sugar in a bag.

After trick- or- treating, my family went over to my aunt's for a relaxed after Halloween party. So basically it was an excuse to eat a ton of food. There were so many appetizers: cheese and crackers, guacamole and chips, cold veggies and dip, and a really great cheesy spinach bacon dip! I brought a dip too but it definitely was more on the sweet side. Then, after we thought we'd eaten enough for the rest of the month, egg rolls, mozzarella sticks, and chicken wings were served. The wings didn't make it out, but then a cookie cake and sugar cookies did along with apple cider throughout the night. We laughed, played trivial pursuit and had a great time. And thanks to gaining an hour this weekend we felt it justified to stay until 2 in the morning (well, really 1).

So here is the dip recipe along with how to make cinnamon chips because they pair perfectly together. Both recipes are from one of my new favorite sites, Our Best Bites. The recipes are always practical and easy enough to do, yet so creative. Don't be surprised if you see a ton more recipes on here from that site.

Cinnamon Chips (In Halloween shapes)
from Our Best Bites

Flour Tortillas (I used the biggest size and was able to get twelve Halloween cut outs out of just one tortilla)
Melted Butter
Cinnamon Sugar

Preheat oven to 350. I first took the tortilla and used my Halloween cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Then I buttered and cinnamon sugar-ed them. I recommend doing it in this order because sometimes the cutouts get a little hard to use and the butter and cinnamon sugar topping could get messy and all over your fingers (then you might just have to lick it off...) Plus, you're not using every inch of the tortilla so there will be waste. So, I'd definitely cut out your shapes first, then brush on your butter and sprinkle cinnamon sugar.

Place them on an ungreased baking sheet and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes. I did 10 minutes because I don't like when they are overly crisp, but they were not flimsy either at that time. It's all up to your preference, but ten minutes is a good guideline. When they're the right crispness for you, remove from oven and let cool. I then placed mine on a cooling rack but you could leave them on the pan.

Now this dip seriously took less than five minutes to make! It is so tastey and is a perfect fall sweet treat.

Caramel Toffee Fruit Dip
from Our Best Bites

1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (you can add more to taste)
Toffee bits
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. (about a pinch) nutmeg

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. I found it pretty easy to mix without dirtying up any equipment, except a spoon. When ready to serve, stir in about 1/2 a bag of toffee bits with more sprinkled on top.

Yes, it's that simple. I served mine with the cinnamon chips, some honey pretzels, and apple slices. The apple slices work great because it's basically a caramel dip, what a classic! You of course can use anything you'd like to dip in. Get creative!