Five Cheesecake Ideas To Try

Summer is almost over and now it's time to start thinking about the holidays and family gatherings. During these times, one of my "go to" treats is cheesecake. I simply love the creamy and sweet taste of cheesecakes.

Here are five ideas on what I'll possibly make for the holidays. Most recipes are from online, but I learned a few things in the process, so there are some changes.

(1) Mini Cheesecakes


Bite-sized Mini Cheesecakes

See the recipe here.

(2) Chocolate Chips Cheesecake


Yummy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:
  • 1 cup Crushed Vanilla Wafers
  • 1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar
  • 1/3 cup Baking Cocoa
  • 1/3 cup Unsalted Butter (melted)
Filling:
  • 3 packages (8 oz) Cream Cheese (softened)
  • 1 can (14 oz) Sweet Condensed Milk
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 cups (12 oz) Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • 4 Whole Eggs
Direction:

Preheat oven at 325 deg F.

In a medium bowl, make the crust by combining crushed wafers, sugar, and cocoa. Mix in melted butter. When the mixture becomes doughy, press onto the bottom of a greased 9 inch pie pan. Then set aside.

In a large bowl, make the filling by, first, combining cream cheese, condensed milk, and vanilla extract and beating them till smooth. Second, use a mixer on low speed, add chocolate and eggs until the mixture is thoroughly blended. Pour the filling over the crust.

Place pie pan on a baking sheet. Then for 40-45 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure that pie is cooked. Then remove from oven and cool for 15-20 minutes. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

(3) Chocolate Cheesecake


For this heavenly chocolate delight, I followed the recipe from the Kraft website.

Chocolate Chips on Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:
  • 18 OREO Cookies, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
  • 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
  • 3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted, cooled
  • 3 eggs

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 45 to 55 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours. Top with strawberries.

Credit: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/our-best-chocolate-cheesecake-74552.aspx

For chocolate overload, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and a layer of ganache instead of strawberries and Cool Whip as originally recommended. I probably won't be diverging from the original recipe in the future.

(4) Twix Mini-Cheesecakes


Another "Fun with Oreos" treat is combining it with Twix, another well-known brand of dessert, to make bite-size cheesecakes. I followed the recipe from The Recipe Diva. This batch is from the first and only time I tried it. Overly sweet. And I should avoid it since diabetes run in my family, e.g. my aunt. But it should be ok once in awhile, as in once a year during Christmas holidays.

Twix Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients
Crust:
  • 1/2 package Oreos
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Batter:
  • 1 pound cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 12 mini Twix bars, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. In a food processor, grind up the Oreos into fine crumbs. Put the crumbs into a large bowl and add in the sugar. Mix to combine. Then pour in the melted butter and mix to coat all of the crumbs with butter.

2. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Scoop a tablespoon of the cookie crumbs into each cupcake liner. Using your hand, press the crumbs down firmly. Set the cupcake pan aside while you work the cheesecake filling. (Sometimes I have some cookie crumb mixture left over. So if you do too, don’t worry.)

3. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth on medium low speed, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium low speed, add in the sugar and mix to combine. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly pour in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add in the sour cream and combine.

4. Gently fold the chopped Twix into the cheesecake batter.

5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the cheesecake batter into each cupcake liner. Bake the cheesecakes for 30 minutes. Chill the cheesecakes overnight in the refrigerator.
Credit: http://www.therecipediva.com/recipe/twix-cheesecake-47275

(5) Minute Microwave Cheesecake


Cheesecake cooked in a microwave! Didn't know you can do that until I saw it from Pinterest. YourLighterSide.com has a recipe on how you can make cheesecake quickly within minutes. Of course, you'll have to chill the cheesecake for 1 hour, but that still cuts down the overnight wait that is a standard for most recipes.

Easy Microwave Cheesecake

To make one serving, all you'll need are

  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 Tbsp sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp vanilla
  • 2-4 Tbsp sugar replacement sub (taste as you go)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high heat for 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds incorporating all ingredients. Refrigerate until serving.

Credit: http://yourlighterside.com/2012/08/minute-microwave-cheesecake/

But see the pic below for the texture you expect to see when making this dessert.  For the crumbs, I crumbled oatmeal cookies on top to give an "upside-down cheesecake" vibe which is what others call this treat.
Simple Microwave Upside-down Cheesecake