Seasoned With Sydney

On Tuesday, my works chums and I were shooting the breeze for a little while, and decided that as a way to bond, we should have a little workday get-together. Mind you, we wouldn't leave our desks, and we wouldn't stop working, but we would share a little something. And because I have a massive sweet tooth, I volunteered to provide that little something. What that "little something" would be, was going to be a surprise of course; for them mostly, but for me as well. Even though I had quickly volunteered, I had no idea what to make at first. And really, when I set out to bake something, I hardly ever do.

I was surfing Tumblr the next morning when it came to me: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. It was like the Heavens had opened up, and placed it on my dashboard. And I looooove when that happens. When I have no idea what I'm doing, and then BAM! There it is. That sort of thing happens with other parts of my life as well: songwriting, books to read, and of course, what to watch on Netflix. So many choices, sometimes I need a little guidance.

So off I went to the store, ingredient list in hand, and the chill of Fall finally in the air, followed by a giant gust of cold wind, followed by me ever wondering why I would wish cold weather upon anyone. I ran into Roche Brothers and emerged 20 minutes later with all the fixins' to make me a cheesecake!

LOOK HOW MANY CHOCOLATE CHIPS THERE ARE. Ughh. It took everything I had not to eat every bit of this as I slowly rolled them into dough balls and placed them on a carefully parchment-papered cookie sheet. Side note: the cookie dough portion of this recipe is glorious in that, there are no eggs. And you know what that means: no salmonella! WHICH MEANS, you can make these cookie dough balls at a separate time, and place them into your classic vanilla ice cream! It's brilliant, and a great way to spice up a classic, but sometimes boring, ice cream flavor. Or, you know, you can just eat them as is. (There is no shame in that, believe me. I did it.)

FINALLY FINISHED and ready for the oven!

And after fully cooling, and taking all night to get its beauty rest...

This little baby was born, and ready to be devoured. Sadly, it cracked. But that did NOT stop it from being one of the tastiest treats ever produced in Sydney's Kitchen.

My workmates, who I'm pretty sure had forgotten about my promised treat, were throughly surprised and delighted. We each had a piece, rubbed our bellies because that is a LOT of sweetness on one plate, drank like, a gallon of water each, then went back for seconds.

Cheesecake is always a great way to cheer up a rather gloomy, windy, Thursday.

What You'll Need:

Cookie Dough:

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Set aside an additional 1 cup mini chocolate chips to fold into the batter with the cookie dough balls

Crust:

4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or chocolate cookie crumbs (like Oreos) I used crushed up (I spent 20 minutes!) Nilla wafers! It gives it a little something extra!

Filling:

4 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream

For the recipe, click here!

HAPPY BAKING!!

Two words for you: Pumpkin. Cheesecake. My roommates and I were throwing a little "At the Coffeehouse" themed shindig, and since it was my idea, I wanted to make something appropriate for fall, and fancy! So, pumpkin cheesecake was a no-brainer. And let me tell you: it was actually (relatively) easy!

So here was my day:

Making the DELICIOUS FILLING was pretty interesting. Tons of sour cream, and lots of pureed pumpkin. I would also like to add that I did all of this before I had my baby (my KitchenAid Hand Mixer). The mixing probably took a good 20 minutes. Now that my hand mixer is around, making this in the future will be a quick breeze! (And my wrist won't feel like it's about to fall off.)

A few things I learned about crusts:

1. When the directions say to use a specific size pan, do what you're told. This crust is meant for a 9 x 13 size pan, but all we had was 7 X 10. We had one very thick crust.

2, Make sure your rolling space is NICE AND FLOURED. If not, it WILL stick:

Et voila, the final product:

Since this was the beginning of my Baking Adventures, I cheated and bought cream cheese frosting to spread on the top.

A Few Things I Learned About Frosting Cheesecake:

1. You have to wait until the cake filling is frozen.

2. If you don't wait until the filling is frozen, spreading the frosting is like spreading frosting onto very creamy soup. Also, you will misjudge how much frosting you need, and you'll put too much.

3. Just wait until it's frozen.

I topped off the top with Pumpkin Pie Spice (who even knew there was such a thing? Everyone else, apparently).

It was delicious. DELICIOUS. And I was so proud of myself for making my first dessert with lasting power!

And oh yeah, here's the recipe from Serious Eats!

Ingredients

Makes 24 bars, active time 1 hour, total time 4 hours, including cooling

For the Sweet Pastry Dough
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
1 large egg
For the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1⁄2 cup sugar
3⁄4 cup pumpkin puree (see page 100)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup pecans, toasted (page 19), coarsely chopped (optional)

Procedures

For the Sweet Pastry Dough

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper and butter the parchment.
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until sandy (6 to 10 quick pulses). In a small bowl, whisk the egg and add it to the food processor. Pulse just until the dough begins to hold together (if the dough seems exceedingly dry and crumbly, add a teaspoon of water and pulse again). Form the dough into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle slightly larger than 9 by 13 inches (the size of the pan) and about 1⁄4 inch thick. The dough might be sticky, so turn it with a bench knife or spatula as needed and keep the work surface floured. Some people find it easier to roll the dough between two layers of parchment paper—this can make it less messy and easier to transfer to the pan.
Ever so gently, guide the dough into the pan and lightly press it—without pulling—into the bottom; it is not necessary to bring the dough up the sides of the pan, only to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Trim off any excess. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Remove the pan from the freezer, line it with aluminum foil, and fill it three-quarters full with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and weights and bake for another 10 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
For the Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed just until it is lump free and smooth. Do not overbeat or the tops of the bars may crack. Add the sugar and beat again until well combined, about 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Add this mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat on medium-low speed until completely combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat until the mixture is smooth. Note: This batter is slightly looser than the average cheesecake batter.
Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 23 to 30 minutes, or until the bars are set and slightly puffy (if the tops start to crack, the bars are overbaked). Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the bars to come to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is completely smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth (be careful not to overbeat the frosting or it will lose its structure). The frosting can be made a day ahead: after mixing, cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate; let it soften to room temperature before using.
Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top of the filling layer. If you like, sprinkle the pecans evenly over the top of the frosting. Place the bars in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set before cutting and serving.

The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.

Happy Baking!