Easy Mini Cheesecakes

Easy Mini Cheesecakes

Servings:Makes 8 servings.
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
These luscious cheesecakes are gently flavored with Vanilla and Almond Extract. Sized just right, they can be garnished with fresh or canned fruit topping.
4th of July Cheesecakes: Top cheesecakes with strawberries and blueberries.

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Pure Almond Extract

8 vanilla wafers or chocolate wafers

Fresh or canned fruit

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg and extracts; beat well.
Line 8 muffin cups with paper baking cups. Place a wafer in bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon batter into each cup, filling each 1/2 full.
Bake 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cook in pan on wire rack.
Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Serve topped with fresh or canned fruit.

Zucchini Bread

 2 cups of shredded, unpeeled zucchini (do not drain the liquid off) 3 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup of vegetable oil, 1+1/4 cup of sugar, 2 +1/4 cups of self-rising flour, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, generously spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and dust the pan liberally with flour. Place the shredded zucchini, eggs, oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix with a mixer on medium speed until the ingredients are combined. Add the cinnamon to the flour, stir to combine, then gradually add the flour to the zucchini mixture and continue to mix on medium for about 3 minutes. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about an hour or until a butter knife inserted into the middle of the zucchini bread loaf comes out clean. ( for chocolate bread add 1/2 cup cocoa ... for banana 1 cup mashed banana )

WhOOpie do WhOOpie Pie Recipe

                                                                                             The latest craze in recipes seems to be Whoopie Pies. I attribute this craze to the rise in popularity of "Amish  based" novels. ( Being that some claim the origin of the whoopie pies stemmed from the Amish people. ) My favorite author of "Amish  based" story lines happens to be Beverly Lewis. If you get the chance give her a read. You won't be disappointed. Also if you get the chance try out this delicious recipe for WhOOpie Pies, you won't be disappointed in it either. Whoopie Pie Recipe: Mixture Ingredients Needed: 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of butter softened, 1 tsp. of vanilla, 1/2 cup of cocoa, sifted, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup buttermilk Filling Ingredients Needed: filling: 3/4 cup of butter, softened, 1 cup of confectioners' sugar, sifted, 1 1/2 cups of marshmallow creme, 2 tsps. of vanilla, 1/4 tsp. of salt Preparations are as follows: Preheat oven to 375 °F. With an electric mixer, beat the sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla until light and creamy.
In a seperate bowl, mix the cocoa, baking soda, salt, and flour, then blend with buttermilk into the creamed mixture. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons full onto greased baking sheets and bake 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the baking sheets and cool on wire racks. Makes 30 mini-cakes. Directions for filling are as follows: Mix together all ingredients well. To assemble, sandwich a heaping tablespoon of creamy filling between two mini-cakes, dividing the filling evenly between the 15 whoopie pies.  Enjoy! ( An alternative to this recipe happens to be Betty Crocker Whoopie Pie Mixture which can be purchased from your local grocery store. Although I'd have to say , in my opinion and I am entitled to state my opinion, the filling isn't as delicious.)

Sticks & Stones Chocolate Treats

What with it being Halloween time, and with Thanksgiving and Christmas time just around the corner, I thought I'd share a recipe for a sweet chocolate treat that's great to share through these holidays. Ingredients needed: 11 oz of butterscotch chips, 1 1/2 c of semi-sweet chocolate chips,1/2 c of creamy peanut butter,
2 c of thin pretzel sticks, 2 c of dry roasted peanuts, 10 oz of chocolate-covered raisins. Preparations are as follows: BUTTER the sides and bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. MICROWAVE 1 1/3 cups butterscotch morsels, semi-sweet morsels and peanut butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH  for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. ADD pretzels, peanuts and chocolate covered raisins; stir well to coat. Spread into prepared baking dish. PLACE  the remaining butterscotch morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on MEDIUM-HIGH for 30 seconds; knead bag to mix. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over candy. REFRIGERATE for 1 hour or until firm. Break into bite-size pieces. Enjoy.

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle

This chocolate raspberry dessert not only is delicious to serve to family and friends, but also a wonderful way to add coloring to your place settings. Ingredients needed For Chocolate Custard:  3 Tbs. of cornstarch, 1 Tbs. of granulated sugar, 1/8 tsp. of salt, 2 cups of milk, 3 egg yolks, 2 cups of Nestle® Toll House® Milk Chocolate Morsels, divided Preparations for Chocolate Custard are as follows: Combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt in medium heavy saucepan. Gradually add milk. Whisk in egg yolks until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 cup of chocolate morsels; stir until melted and smooth. Press plastic wrap on surface; chill.  Ingredients needed for Trifle: 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbs. of granulated sugar, 1 ( 10 3/4 oz. ) of frozen ( or homemade ) pound cake, thawed, 2 Tbs. of creme de cacao, divided, 1/4 cup of seedless raspberry jam. Preparations for Trifle are as follows: Beat whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Cut cake into 1/2-inch thick slices. Cut one slice into thin strips; reserve for top. In a 2-quart straight-sided bowl, layer half of cake slices, half of creme de cacao, half of jam, half of chocolate custard, and half of whipped cream. Repeat cake, creme de cacao, jam, and custard layers. Top with reserved cake strips, 1/4 cup of morsels, remaining whipped cream, and remaining morsels. Chill and enjoy.

Yummy Yam Dessert

This yam ( sweet Potato ) dessert is fantastic to serve to guests after dinner parties, or for a  family get together. Ingredients needed: 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup of confectionery sugar, 1/3 cup of chopped pecans, 7 Tbs. of butter or margarine, 1 8-oz. package of cream cheese,  1 8-oz. container of frozen whipped topping ( divided ), 2 cups of fresh yams, cooked and cut into chunks ( 2 15-oz. cans of purchased sweet potatoes works fine as well ), 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon  Preparations as follows: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup of confectionery sugar, pecans, and margarine, mix well. Press into bottom of 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. In mixing bowl, whip together cream cheese, and 2/3 cup of confectionery sugar until creamy. Fold in 3/4 cup of whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust. In mixing bowl, beat sweet potatoes, sugar, and cinnamon until smooth. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate to cool.