Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake

In case anyone in still planning their Christmas menu or perhaps looking for a New Year’s Eve dessert, may I convince you to bring this cheesecake?!? I can’t say enough about this dessert. I made this for my Department’s Christmas party and after tasting it, I was ready to go home a make another one which I could eat all by myself! The outside crust is lined with gingersnaps, the cheesecake has added spices of pumpkin pie, and the apple topping is too good to resist. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the cheesecake, there was only one or two slices left over which I gladly took home to eat on my own! This would be a great dessert for any special event or Holiday party and is sure to get rave reviews from your guests!

Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake

Printer Friendly Version

For the Crust:

2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about a 14 oz package of cookies)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperate

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Topping:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup apple cider

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. (This step prevents leaks when using a water bath.)

Mix together the crust ingredients. Press into the bottom of the pan and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.

Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and sugar; mix until smooth (about 2 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla; combine until thoroughly incorporated and smooth in texture.

Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, close the oven door, turn off the heat, and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for a least one hour, but up to 3 hours. After the recommended cooling time has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

Three hours before serving, prepare the apple topping. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. In another bowl, sprinkle apples with the juice of 1/2 lemon and toss.

Melt butter over medium heat; whisk in flour and stir for about one minute. Slowly whisk in the apple cider followed by the sugar and spice mixture made in the previous step.

Add in the apples and cook until slightly tender (about 5 to 7 minutes) stirring constantly. Once apples have reached a desired texture and the sauce has thickened, remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow apple topping to cool completely before topping the cheesecake. Arrange apples on cheesecake and chill for at least one hour before serving.

Source: My Baking Addiction

One Year Ago Today: Apple Cranberry Compote

Apple Spice Drop Cookies

I promised everyone last week I would be posting some recipes with the apples we picked last weekend. I would like to introduce to you my favorite fall cookie, and quite possibly my favorite over-all cookie! The cookies are delicate and soft, filled with chunks of apple and walnuts. The frosting is a simple butter frosting with a few drops of apple juice to complete the over-all apple flavor. My mom introduced me to this cookie several years ago. It is one of those cookie recipes that you typically want to make in the Fall, due to the abundance of apples,but can be made any time of the year. Everyone that has tasted this cookie has loved it. They are quite simply hard to resist!

Apple Spice Drop Cookies

Printer Friendly Version

For Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/4 cup apple juice

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup peeled tart apple, finely chopped

1 cup walnuts, chopped

For Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 4 tablespoons apple juice

To Make Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and apple juice and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and nutmeg. Gradually add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Fold in apples and walnuts.

Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

To Make Frosting:

Cream butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and enough apple juice to achieve spreading consistency. Spread frosting over cooled cookies.

One Year Ago Today: Barbecue Rice

Starred Recipes Recap

One of my favorite things about each day is when I fix myself a cup of coffee and turn on the computer to see what wonderful recipes await me from all the food blogs I love,courtesy of Google reader. Google reader has been one of the best things my husband has ever recommended!! Every week I star so many recipes that I want to go back and try…so much so that I don’t know if I will ever get around to making everything! I decided that I would recap some of the most promising recipes that I read and starred each week. Hopefully by sharing, you will also see something that you want to add to your list of things to try! If you happen to make it before I do, please share what you thought about it!!

I am really excited for apple season. My husband and I spent yesterday at an Apple orchard, picking apples and eating homemade apple cider donuts…so I am stocked up and ready for some of baking. II have several recipes marked to try and the recipes listed below are just a few on my list. Besides the apple theme, there also seems to be a theme of glazes that accompany each recipe!

Easy Apple Cake from Bakerella – Fresh apple cake, baked in a sheet pan with a brown sugar glaze.

Oven-Baked Apple Donuts from Chocolate Shavings – Donuts baked in a mini muffin pan and covered in cinnamon and sugar.

Apple Crumble Muffins from Friday Delights – Muffins topped with an apple pie glaze..my mouth is watering!!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars from The Girl Who Ate Everything – Cheesecake bars topped with apples, streusel, and caramel.

 

One Year Ago Today: Sugar Cookie Bars

Homemade Spiced Applesauce

A while back I posted a recipe for Baked Apples. They were so good I decided to try another side dish using apples. I love apples with cinnamon and sugar so I knew this recipe was a winner! I couldn’t tell you the last time I had applesauce, but I do know that the majority of apple sauce is almost pureed. This recipe calls for chopped apples, which helps to give the sauce a little more texture.  You can add even more texture and flavor by using a variety of apples. I wrote the original recipe below, but I only made half since I was serving two. If you do choose to make a whole recipe, the sauce stores well for leftovers.

Spiced Applesauce

Printer Friendly Version

12 large apples,such as Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, and Gala,  peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all ingredients and place in a Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 20 minutes or until the apples are tender and the juices are thickened.

Serve warm; or let cool, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Southern Living Comfort Food, Oxmoor House, 2009

Apple and Pear Crisp

Typically I prefer sweet desserts over the savory, but every now and then I try to keep the savory dessert lovers in the family happy. I found this recipe on a whim last week; I had been wanting to make something with pears and this sounded too good not to try. The recipe calls for the zest and juice of an orange, which I thought was an interesting combination, but it actually worked really well together. I have yet to make a recipe from Ina Garten that I didn't like and this recipe was no different. On cold winter days, this dessert helps warm the soul and satisfies any sweet tooth.

Apple and Pear Crisp

Printer Friendly Version

2 pounds ripe Bosc pears (about 4 pears)

2 pounds firm Macoun apples (about 6 apples)

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Vanilla Ice Cream, for topping


For the Topping:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zest, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pout into a 9 x 12 x 2 inch baking dish.


For the Topping:

Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering completely.

Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Source: www.foodnetwork.com/Ina Garten

Apple-Cranberry Compote

Yesterday I posted about the Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine and today I'm sharing with you a wonderful side dish that complimented the pork quite nicely. This dish had so many flavors with the ginger and orange mixed in with the cranberry and apples. Overall, it had the bitter flavor from the cranberry mixture and the sweetness from the apples. I could see this being served as a holiday side dish since it reminded me of an amped up cranberry sauce. I almost left the pecans out, but decided not to upset the pecan lovers in our family and I'm glad I did include them; they added the right amount of texture and also helped with the overall flavor. The original recipe called for six apples, which I found to be too many. I ended up using only three, mainly because I didn't have room to add more to the dish, but feel free to use as many as you can, up to six.

Apple-Cranberry Compote

Printer Friendly Version

12 oz can whole cranberry-orange sauce or whole-berry cranberry sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 to 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Vegetable cooking spray

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Garnish: orange rind strips

Bring cranberry-orange sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Arrange apple slices in a round baking dish coated with cooking spray, pout cranberry mixture over apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans. Bake 5 more minutes. Garnish with strips of orange rind.

Source adapted from: www.myrecipes.com

Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine

I am still enjoying new pork tenderloin recipes and try to make a new one every couple of weeks. Most of the ones I have tried have some type of spice rub or sauce to go on top of the tenderloin, but this recipe is different. This is the first recipe that I've tried that uses a brine as a way to flavor the pork. I was interested in how the pork would taste and if the flavors would be present from the brine after cooking. The results of this process was very simple, subtle flavors that did not over power the pork, but let the pork stand out on its own. I thought I would get more of an apple flavor due to the brine, but I didn't seem to taste those flavors as much. I will confess that at some point during the day, my bag that was holding the brine got a hole in it and the brine leaked out into the bowl that it was sitting in. I think the pork was still submerged for the most part. Overall, it was still a great pork tenderloin... sometimes the simpler, the better. Come back tomorrow to see what I served with the tenderloin!

Pork Tenderloin in an Apple Maple Brine

Printer Friendly Version

3 1/2 cups hot water

1/4 cup kosher salt

1 cup apple juice

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns

Stir together the hot water and salt until the salt is dissolved. Add the apple juice, maple syrup, sugar and
black pepper. Pour brine into a large zip lock bag and seal. Place bag into a large bowl of ice water to cool down.

Trim any excess fat from the meat and remove the silver skin carefully. Once the brine is cool, submerge the pork in the brine, making sure the meat stays under the surface during curing. Place the bag containing the marinade and pork into a bowl in order to prevent any leaks. Refrigerate the pork in the brine for six to eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Remove pork from brine and rinse then pat dry. Season with freshly cracked pepper. Add pork to the skillet, cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Place pan in the oven, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until meat thermometer reads between 155 and 160 degrees or until desired doneness. Let stand five minutes before slicing.

Source: For the Love of Cooking, originally from RecipeZaar

Baked Apples

I’m a big fan of a baked apples, especially when you throw in some cinnamon and sugar! Being that it is still apple season, I decided to bake some to serve with our dinner. They were so good, I ended up not even eating the actual meal and went straight for the apples! This would also be good as a dessert served with some vanilla ice cream.

Baked Apples

Printer Friendly Version

4 Golden Delicious Apples

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 heaping teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse and core apples, removing all seeds. Place apples in a 2 quart shallow baking dish.

Combine sugar, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar in a small bowl; fill the center of each apple and top with 1/2 teaspoon of butter. Add just enough water to baking dish to cover the bottom. Bake, uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until apples are tender.




Source adapted from: http://southernfood.about.com/od/bakedapples/ r/bl11014g.htm

Apple Crumble Bars

 
I was in charge of bringing food to our small group last week and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try out this recipe!  I have been wanting to try a few new apple recipes and this one has been on my list for quite a while. I was hoping the bars would be like little bite size apple pies and that is definitely what it reminded me of. It has a crumbly crust and the filling  was typical of what you find when you bite into an apple pie. I think next time I make them I will add some cinnamon into the crumb mixture. The recipe contains cinnamon in the filling, but for me when apples are the main ingredient, you can always add more cinnamon!

Apple Crumble Bars

Printer Friendly Version


For the Crust:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature


For the Filling:

4 medium-size apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (I used Granny Smith)

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons corn starch

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup fruit jam (I used apple)


For the Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 x 8 pan with foil, leaving overhang on both sides to easy removal. Grease or butter foil.

To make the base, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, fork, or hands, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven. Spread the fruit jam evenly on the base while it is still hot.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a large non-stick skillet, combine the apples, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes or until apples are tender, but still firm. In a small cup, whisk together cornstarch and lemon juice. Add to the apple mixture and continue cooking, stirring constantly for 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Place filling on top of crust.

To make the topping, combine the flour, sugar, and butter in a small bowl until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the apple layer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using the foil, lift out of pan. Cut into squares and serve.


Source adapted from: Annie’s Eats

Praline-Apple Bread

It’s apple season!! Before I start breaking out some pumpkin recipes, I have to pay respect to the apple. I decided to try a new apple recipe that I found in my most recent Southern Living Magazine. Who can resist a praline topping! This was a really good bread, only made better by serving warm with some good ol’ butter.  The only thing missing from this recipe for me was cinnamon. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of it while I was putting the batter together, but I will definitely add it in next time.

Praline–Apple Bread

Printer Friendly Version

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (8-oz) container sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, (optional)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.

Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1 quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).


Source: www.MyRecipes.com