Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

With cream cheese on sale for $1/each here in town, I've been stocking up.  As you know, I'm always looking for an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Not sure what kind of effect I'd get using cream cheese in a cookie recipe, I thought I'd give it a shot.  Why not!? Right?  They are very soft and chewy.  I like them a lot! ...And so does everyone else in my family....  I've made these cookies several times in just the last week! (oy.)  They definitely taste best when hot, right out of the oven, with chocolate oozing out of each bite.... mmmmmm.  The recipe is adapted from Bake or Break.

So, not only does my Dear Husband not want my beloved French Silk Pie for his birthday, but he wants these cookies and Chocolate Eclair Dessert instead! Wow.  What a change in plans!  He's always had French Silk Pie for his birthday, 'cept for that time back in '07 when we had a power outage from an ice storm for 3 days in December!  We had no heat, no electricity, no generator, but we did have a fireplace! I don't remember how we ate, or what we ate...our stove was not gas.  I remember buying overpriced luxurious wood at about 6 a.m. at Lowe's in place of regular firewood...they were out of firewood!  We all camped out in our family room with blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, etc during those long 3 days, even Grandma stayed with us.  Pockets of our town had electricity, like only one in a whole neighborhood would have electricity, while everyone else would be in the dark for days.  Fortunately, we were not trapped in our neighborhood from downed trees or power lines.  I remember storing my refrigerated items, like milk for my little boys, outside in the cold...just to be safe! Ice Storm Pictures

Ingredients:

1 stick butter softened

8 oz cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar homemade

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

If you bake like me, in a large microwave-safe bowl, I soften the butter and the cream cheese in the microwave for about a minute.  Then, I added 2 cups of plain sugar with about a tablespoon of molasses.  ( I do this when I don't have any brown sugar made and don't feel on making any.)  Whip it all together with a mixer until nice and creamy.  Beat one egg at a time, mixing well after each egg.  Then, stir in the vanilla.  

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir well.  Then, stir in the chocolate chips.  ( I always love to taste the batter....mmmm... the cream cheese tastes sooo good!)

Drop the dough by teaspoons on the parchment paper.  Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes.  12 Minutes normally works fine in my oven.

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

If you looked in my freezer, don't be surprised to find a large stash of frozen bananas!  Just like laundry or dishes may multiply, my bananas multiply!  I think I "waste" more bananas during the school year, than any other time of the year!  My boys will only eat a certain color of banana, yellow without much bruising/dark spots.  All the browned bananas get tossed into freezer bags for the freezer.  Does this happen to anyone else!?  While banana-flavored foods (like banana bread for example) are my least favorite, I gotta clear out my freezer and make room.  My kids, on the other hand, love, love, love banana bread!

The recipe is adapted from Sugar & Spice by Celeste.  While I added an extra 1/2 cup of bananas to get rid of a whole bag of frozen bananas, it tastes really good! .....The cream cheese must be the key ingredient???   I could not wait for it to cool to slice and neither could my boys!  Before I put it in the oven, the batter tasted, "Mmmmm."

This recipe appears to be a success, even my DH loves the taste; his favorite is the crust.  Meanwhile, Momma's doing the "Happy Dance" over here, even though half the recipe has already been eaten, there is still another half to go towards my 4 boys' lunches for tomorrow.  That's important!!!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter softened
8 oz cream cheese softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups mashed bananas
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 loaf pans with a nonstick cooking spray coated with flour.

Slightly melt the butter and cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds or have it already softened.  Cream the sugar with the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Beat one egg at a time until well blended.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well.  Then, add the bananas, lemon juice, and extract.  Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to an hour.  Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Bars

After seeing so many recipes with crescent rolls online, I figured it was time for me to make a batch of the dough in my bread machine, as the tubed crescent rolls are overpriced for my grocery budget.  I have always loved these bars.  My mechanic at Aspen Auto Clinic get these goodies today, as they take care of my car.  I love that the dough recipe gives me 32 rolls, equivalent to 4 tubes at the grocery store; what a savings!  I have part of dinner worked out with the remaining dough. :)  The recipe for the Cinnamon Bars is adapted from The Recipe Link.  I also love that this recipe has half the cream cheese of other recipes; now I don't have to go buy more cream cheese, just to make this work.

Ingredients:
2 tubes crescent rolls (or 1/2 homemade dough)
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter melted
cinnamon and sugar mixture


Directions:
As stated earlier, I used the homemade dough.  It should be separated into half.  You will only use one of the two halves.  Just halve one of the halves for the crust and the top layer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with a nonstick cooking spray.

Smooth out dough to fit inside 9x13 pan.  It was pretty easy stretching it as for "pizza crust."

Whip together the softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Spread over the the dough evenly.

With the remaining dough, place over the cream cheese.  Pour the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Bake in oven for about 25 minutes.  The toothpick should come clean when tested in the middle.  Cool before cutting.

Chocolate Cheesecake (1st Attempt)

Many years ago, I got some springform cake pans for a gift.  They have sat in my kitchen mocking me, every time I looked at them.  I was intimidated to use them to make my own cheesecake.  Yesterday, I conquered that fear!  While the appearance is not perfect, the taste is de-li-cious!  

The recipe I used did not educate me enough about how to prevent cracks in the cake...I did not know that would even be an issue!  Needless to say, I will try these tips later to get my perfect cheesecake.  My husband was very skeptical about me baking my own cheesecake vs. buying one.  As rich and full of flavor, it was everything he hoped and expected from a store-bought dessert, but from Angela's Kitchen, aka Me.  The recipe is from Allrecipes.com.  (Please make note that this is my first time to make this cheesecake.  If you are apprehensive, please read the tips posted earlier in the paragraph.)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

1 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

24 oz cream cheese softened

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups chocolate chips

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mash together the butter, crumbs, and sugar.  Spray your springform pan with a nonstick cooking spray.  Press the mixture evenly in the bottom of a 9-inch pan or a 10-inch pan,   if you don't want as tall of a cake.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually, add the sweetened condensed milk, until nice and creamy.

Add your melted chocolate.  I melted mine in the microwave for 1- minute, stirred, then for another 30 seconds.

On low, mix the chocolate with the cream cheese.  Add the eggs and vanilla, but do not overmix.  

 Pour the "dreaminess"into the pan.  I've heard that placing the springform pan in a water bath helps prevent the cracks.

Bake for about 50-65 minutes.  When the middle is tested, it will still be creamy.  I read that if the center 3" seems wobbly, it's ready and that it will continue baking as it cools.  The toothpick should not come out "dry" when tested.  Let cool until at room temperature, then place in refrigerator.  Garnish with chocolate syrup.

Cream Cheese Chicken Pot Pie

A few years back, I stocked up on cream cheese when it was a loss leader.  I got them almost free after a coupon.  My family loved the flavor with the cream cheese for the Creamy Chicken Pot Pie.  I stretch the dish out a little more to feed my family with a 9x13 pan and just one layer of crust.  The recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup or homemade (2 cups) *
8 oz cream cheese (room temp/softened)
5 cups mixture of diced carrots, peas, corn, and diced cooked potatoes
1/4 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
1 rolled out pie crust (room temp)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a 9x13 pan, spray with a nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, cream cheese, and veggies.  I like to heat it in the microwave to cut down on the time in the oven.  Stir until creamy.

Then, add the chicken.  Pour into 9x13 pan.

Top with the pie crust and bake for about 18 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.  Let sit for a bit and cool.  Sauce will thicken as it stands.

Variation:  Use turkey in place of chicken.

**My family can easily eat this in one sitting.  It concerns me that I will have to make more than 1 9x13 dish for dinner, if I want leftovers, for my family of 6.


*Recipe adjustments:  I used only 2 tbs of the cornstarch instead of 4 tbs that the recipe calls for in tonight's dinner, as I was running low on it & didn't think of using flour.  It was a little runny, per se, but the sauce did thicken as it cooled off.  I will remake this another time & remember to record any necessary changes; my family will be happy with that! :)