White Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

Okay, so I'm cheating a bit here because I haven't made this recently but it's NATIONAL CHEESECAKE DAY!! It would be sinful if I didn't post my favorite go-to cheesecake recipe on this holiday, and plus, it's my favorite dessert. Not only would it be sinful I didn't post this, but it's also sinful if YOU don't try the recipe. It's so sinfully delicious. I've said sinful five times so I really hope I'm getting through to you. This recipe is a winner even though the pictures don't do it justice. 

White Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

Recipe adapted from Kraft 

Half packet of Oreo Cookies (approx. 15 cookies)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 lb. softened cream cheese, 16 ounces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor crumble Oreo cookies until finely ground. To make the crust, mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter together until evenly moistened. Press the cookie crust mixture into the bottom of a square pan until firmly packed. The oreo filling will also act as a binding agent to hold the crust together.

3. In a separate large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and the melted white chocolate and beat together. Add eggs in one at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined.

4. Spread cheesecake mixture over crust and bake for approximately 25 minutes until cheesecake is firm in the center.

5. Let the cheesecake cool before putting it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Tips:

You really can guesstimate with the amount of white chocolate you put in, but keep in mind the more chocolate you put in, the sweeter it will be. Now there are several ways you to tell if this cheesecake is done: 1) you stick a toothpick in the middle and see if it's firm. 2) the cheesecake should just be pulling away from the sides. 3) it should be nice and puffy! 4) if you see any cracks and it starting to brown, pull that sucker out! The cheesecake will firm up when you let it cool.  Also, make sure you bake your cheesecake in a SQUARE baking dish. The problem with using rectangular baking pans is that the center of the cheesecake doesn't fully cook through. Happy baking! :)

Mini Cream Cheese & Parsley Biscuits

During one of my many executions of English Sticky Toffee Pudding, I thought I didn't have enough flour to finish baking my cake. In my frantic search I found not only regular flour but self-rising flour.

After doing a quick google search (and reading the back of the packet) I found out that self-rising flour has salt and baking powder already added in its mixture. It's great for making things like scones or biscuits, which is why I decided to make some mini cream cheese and parsley biscuits!

According to this livestrong.com article, to substitute self-rising flour for regular flour you have to "Read the recipe to see how much baking powder and salt are required. If the amount is less than 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt per cup of flour, the substitution will not work well. ' If the ratios work, you will then "omit 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt for every cup of flour in the recipe. In most cases, this means you will not add baking powder or salt at all".


So although I used self-rising flour in my trial, you can use regular all-purpose flour with the additional salt and baking powder requirements! If I have confused you thoroughly, check out the original recipe which I made a twist on. 

Overall, this recipe was very simple: especially for a baked product. The size made them super appealing and I kept grabbing one to eat whenever I was on the go! The parsley adds some freshness and life to a normal buttermilk biscuit whilst the cream cheese makes the biscuit extra moist.

I made my biscuits a little bigger (2 inches in diameter) so I only ended up with 25 biscuits as opposed to 50. And you may think 24 is a lot, but right now there's high demand  for them within my family, and I only have a couple left! Who would have thunk these biscuits would be such a hit. 

Mini Cream Cheese & Parsley Biscuits

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

Serving Size: 2 inch biscuits in diameter- 25 biscuits  

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into piece
1/2 cup cold whipped cream cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt and parsley, stirring well to coat. Using your hands, a fork or a pastry blender, add the butter and mix until coarse crumbles form. ( If you don't have a fancy machine like me, use your hands! It's the easiest way to control the consistency of the mix.)

3.  Once finished, add in the cream cheese in spoonfuls. Once again, use the same technique applied on the butter- but you don't want to mix the cream cheese in as much. Combine the mixture until there are a few larger chunks of cream cheese and it's worked into the flour.

4. Add the buttermilk and stir until it is JUST combined - do not overmix! 

5.  Add some flour to your workspace and place the dough on top.Roll out the dough and pat it into 1/2 inch thick. Take a small biscuit cutter or a (clean) lid to one of your spice containers and cut the biscuits into rounds. You want to use an instrument that is roughly two inches in diameter. 

6. Place biscuits on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until slightly golden. These are best served warm when the cream cheese is still soft!

Tips:

 Make sure to flour your work station so the dough doesn't stick to your table! My advice to you is to watch your oven because these babies cook up REAL fast. One minute too long, and you could end up with blackened bottoms.  My personal serving suggestion is to eat them warm topped with butter.