TWD-Oreo/White Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

Looking for beautifully swirled cheesecake brownies? You won't find them here.
Looking for pretty pictures? also missing today.
Looking for a rave review? Check out the TWD Blogroll- I know multiple people enjoyed this much, much more than I did.
Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell chose Espresso Cheesecake Brownies for today's TWD recipe.

I don't do espresso or coffee of any kind for that matter. I was going to skip this week because of that factor and also because brownies are one of my least favorite desserts. But, somehow I decided to give this a go.

At first I was thinking that I would swirl some raspberry puree and add fresh raspberries to the cheesecake layer. But I saw that Nancy (I think I have linked to her blog everyday now for about a week!- check her out) suggested adding chopped up oreos to the cheesecake and in a moment of weakness last week when my kids were begging for goodies at the checkout of the grocery store, I let them each get a plastic container of mini oreos. I, of course realized that there were 4 servings in one little plastic container, so I let them each have 9 mini oreos and then they had to hand over the leftover mini oreos to me (not to eat, just to get them away from little hands!). I put them in the pantry and they were forgotten about. I decided to chop them up and add them to the cheesecake.

I made two 8x8 pans of this recipe, which means I doubled both parts. I added mini chocolate chips to the brownie part because Nancy said it needed something. I also added 2 oz of melted white chocolate to one of the pans- in the cheesecake layer. I skipped the sour cream topping.

Luckily I took both pans of these to a potluck, where they were completely devoured and they received rave reviews from multiple people and a few requests for the recipe.

I tasted a bite and didn't like them at all. Same with my hubby. I took another bite and so did he, just to make sure and yes, it was confirmed- I didn't care for this dessert. I don't know what it was about it, I just didn't like it. But lots of people did, so I know that the recipe is good, just not good for me. If you want to try them to see what you think, go to Melissa's blog for the recipe or buy Baking:from my home to yours!



One Year Ago- Crunchy Sesame Cookies

Garden Party Cupcakes

Here is our cupcake creation for Father's Day. It is taken from Hello Cupcake! by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack. It is also online at Womans Day magazine. We did our own version because everyone wanted to get in on the decorating. It was fun.


Below is how it looks in the book and online
2 whole graham crackers

1 stick mint chewing gum

1/4 cup white chocolate melting wafers

6 thin pretzel sticks

1 cup vanilla frosting

Green, red, orange and blue gel or paste food color

1 can (16 oz) chocolate frosting

2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (Nabisco Oreo or Famous Chocolate Wafers)

24 vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners

1 cup corn flakes

9 green fruit chews (Jolly Rancher)

1 vanilla fruit chew (Tootsie Roll Midgee, AirHeads)

4 red fruit chews (Jolly Rancher)

8 orange fruit chews (Starburst)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

20 green M&M’s

Green apple and watermelon AirHeads

2 tsp multicolored chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (see Note)
PREPARATION

1. Seed Packs and Shovels: With a serrated knife, cut graham crackers in half crosswise. Cut two 3/4-in.-long triangles from gum to make shovel blades. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Put white chocolate melting wafers in a ziptop bag; do not seal. Microwave 10 seconds to soften. Squeeze, return to microwave and repeat until smooth. Press out air and seal.

2. Snip a small corner from the bag and pipe an outline around each graham cracker. Fill in with more chocolate and spread into a smooth, thin layer to cover cracker. Place on baking sheet and refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.

3. Turn each cracker over and pipe a line of melted chocolate down the center of the uncoated side. Place a pretzel stick on top of the line of chocolate, leaving about a 2-in. overhang; refrigerate until set. Cut the remaining 2 pretzel sticks into two 2-in. and two 3/4-in. lengths. Pipe a small dot of melted chocolate on one end of a 2-in. pretzel stick and attach the smaller pretzel piece crosswise to make the shovel handle. Attach the gum shovel blade to the other end of the pretzel with a dot of melted chocolate. Place on baking sheet and chill until set, about 5 minutes.

4. Tint 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting green, 1 Tbsp red, 2 Tbsp orange and 1/4 cup blue. Spoon each color, including the remaining 1 tablespoon vanilla frosting, into separate ziptop bags, press out excess air and seal. Spoon 1/4 cup chocolate frosting into a ziptop bag, press out the excess air and seal. Snip a tiny corner from each of the bags. Pipe the vegetable names in chocolate frosting and the vegetable shapes in the colored frostings on top of the chocolate-coated side of the graham crackers. Pipe a blue line of frosting around the border of each sign.

5. Place chocolate cookie crumbs in a medium bowl. Spread remaining chocolate frosting on cupcakes. Roll tops of cupcakes in crumbs to cover. Arrange in 4 rows of 6 on serving platter.

6. Lettuce: Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Put cornflakes in a small bowl. Spoon remaining green frosting into a small microwavable bowl. Microwave until smooth, stirring often, 5 to 10 seconds. Pour over cornflakes, toss well to coat, and spread the cornflakes onto baking sheet. Chill to set, about 10 minutes. Cut 2 green fruit chews in half and shape into balls. Place 1 green ball on top of each of 4 cupcakes and arrange 8 to 12 cornflakes around balls to make the leaves. Secure with a dot of green frosting, if necessary.

7. Radishes: Cut the vanilla fruit chew into quarters. Roll 1 red fruit chew together with 1 vanilla piece, keeping colors separate, and shape into a ball. Pinch the white end to form the radish root. Place 1 radish on top of each of 4 cupcakes, and add green-frosted cornflakes for leaves.

8. Carrots: Cut 2 of the orange fruit chews in half; shape each piece into a small carrot. Shape remaining 6 fruit chews into 6 large carrots. Score the sides of carrots with a knife and rub with cinnamon for “dirt.” Use a toothpick to make a small hole in the large end of each carrot. Cut 2 of the green fruit chews into thin strips and roll each strip between fingers to look like carrot tops. Press 4 or 5 strips into the hole in the top of each carrot. Arrange carrots on top of 5 cupcakes.

9. Peas: Roll out each of the remaining 5 green fruit chews into a 3 x 1-in. oval 1/8-in. thick. Press 4 green M&M’s onto one side of each oval. Fold the other side over to cover the candies slightly. Pinch the ends and place 1 pea pod on top of each of 5 cupcakes. Cut thin strips from AirHeads and arrange around the pea pods as vines.

10. Insert the pretzel end of each sign into tops of 4 cupcakes. Place at the head of the rows. Insert the shovel blades into frosting of 2 cupcakes; scatter sunflower seeds around shovels. Place in rows with radishes and lettuce.