Cheesecake!

Of all the things I love to eat...cheesecake is probably my favorite! My in-laws visited before Thanksgiving, so I decided to make a dessert for dinner. I also baked an entire turkey and a lot of sides...and failed to take pictures of any of it! Oh, well.

This is a perfect fall dessert - Pecan Pie Cheesecake! It combines two of the best desserts...pecan pie and cheesecake. And, it's actually pretty easy to make.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake (courtesy of Southern Living)

Ingredients

• 1 (2lb, 4oz) frozen Pecan Pie
• 2 cups graham crackers crumbs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/4 t ground cinnamon
• 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 T all-purpose flour
• pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325°. Thaw pecan pie according to package directions. Cut evenly into 20 thin slices, keeping wedges intact, and set aside.

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and next 3 ingredients; press mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 10-inch springform pan.

Arrange 10 pecan pie wedges in a spoke design in prepared pan, placing 1 cut side of each wedge on crust with narrow end towards center of pan. Reserve remaining pecan pie wedges for another use.

Beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add sour cream, half-and-half, and vanilla; beat until blended. Fold in powdered sugar and flour. Carefully pour cream cheese mixture evenly over pecan pie wedges in pan, making sure wedges remain in place. Arrange pecan halves evenly around edge and center.

Bake at 325° for 50 minutes. Turn off oven, and let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Chill at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.

Breakfast Baking

I've been dying to bake for a while now, but have opted not to because I really don't need to eat it! However, this weekend the in-laws will be in and I like to have a breakfast-type thing around for us to eat instead of resorting to cereal!

This recipe came from my great-aunt. My mom and I made it a few times, but the problem is that you can't really just eat a little of it. Well, we can't. I would eat anything with almond extract in it, so I have a hard time limiting myself when it comes to this recipe!

Almond Danish Puff

Preheat oven to 350. Cut 1/2 cup butter (softened) into 1 cup flour. Sprinkle in 2 T water and mix. Round into a ball and divide in half. On a baking sheet, put each 1/2 in strips of about 12*3" each. Heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly add 1 cup water and 1 t almond extract. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and beat in 3 eggs, until smooth and glossy. Divide in 1/2 and spread over other dough strips. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until the top is crisp and brown. Cool and frost with glaze of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 T butter, 1 1/2 t almond extract and 1-2 T water (as needed).

I honestly did not intend on baking anything else, but...I left a stick of butter on the stove to soften and instead ended up with very melted butter! After digging around for something that called for only 1 stick of butter and other stuff that I actually had, I found the following recipe

Pecan Pie Muffins (Southern Living)

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix butter, eggs and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans and bake 8-10 min. Makes either 1 dozen regular muffins or 2 dozen mini-muffins.