Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Since we were doing "T2" -- Thanksgiving Part 2, I needed to come up with some desserts to offer.  My SIL, Francesca, was making the best apple pie evah, so I wanted to do something not-pie for as another dessert option.  I had found this tasty treat on Pinterest.  As much as it seems like it has a lot of steps, it's pretty easy, and OH-SO-DELICIOUS!  I have another plate full of these bars, and I need to find a home for them before I eat them all myself!

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

• 3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened 
• ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 Tbsp., divided 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Apples:

• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped 
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon 
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• ½ cup quick cooking oats 
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Drizzle:

• ½ cup caramel topping, for drizzling after baked

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar.
3.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender, 2 forks, or mixer until mixture is crumbly.
4. Press evenly into a 9×13 greased baking pan.
5. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
    
6. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
7. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, stirring to combine.
8. Pour over warm crust.
    
9. In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
10. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
     
11. For the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
12. Sprinkle streusel topping over apples.
13. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set.
     
14. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool.
15. Serve cold and enjoy

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog

Drunken Gummy Bears

Ooey Gooey fun and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-so delicious!  No bear was left behind!

• 1 package of gummy bears
• Cheap vodka

DIRECTIONS

1. Place gummy bears evenly in a glass or porcelain bowl.  I have heard not to use a metal or plastic bowl.
2. Pour enough vodka to cover gummy bears and cover bowl with plastic wrap. 
3. Let gummy bears soak for about 48 hours, checking a few times.  If gummy bears soak up all of the vodka, pour some more in the bowl.  Sample a gummy bear after about 36 hours.  The vodka should have soaked through the entire gummy bear.  Add more vodka as necessary.

Cranberry Eggnog Mini Muffins

When I was a kid, I would have the Pillsbury cranberry bread during the holidays.  I wasn't a huge fan of cranberries, back then, but I loved this bread.  Now that I really like cranberries, I wanted to have this taste again.  I took to Pinterest and found this recipe.  Knowing how much Catherine LOVES egg nog, I thought this would be a great addition to our Thanksgiving feast.  The recipe was for 4 mini loaves, but I thought mini muffins would be easier for people to pop in their mouths and enjoy, and considering they are all gone, I think I made the right choice.

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs 
• ¾ cup eggnog
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup coarsely chopped frozen cranberries
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Streusel

• ¼ cup granulated sugar 
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter, slightly softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease 2 mini muffin pans.
   (You can also use regular muffin tins, mini loaf pans or a regular loaf pan) 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and almond extract.
4. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined.
5. Toss cranberries with 2 T. sugar and then stir into batter.
6. Prepare streusel topping by combining topping ingredients using a mixer, pastry cutter, or two knives until crumbly.
7. Fill prepared pans until about 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full (this batter rises a lot!).
   (For the mini muffin pans, I used the Pampered Chef small scoop for each muffin)
8. Top with streusel topping.
9. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until the breads test done with a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.

Adapted from The Nifty Food blog

Broccoli with Roasted Garlic Butter

Wanting a side dish for Thanksgiving Part 2 that was green, but different than the traditional green beans, I headed to the Pinterest boards and found this recipe.  It's really just a basic broccoli recipe, but with a delicious garlic butter.  I could have eaten this whole bowl all by myself!  If only butter wasn't a no-no for my daily healthier living, but hey, it was great for my diet holiday!

• 2 large plump heads garlic
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• About 3 lbs. broccoli

DIRECTIONS
To make the roasted garlic butter: 

1. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
2. Cut each garlic head in half crosswise.
3. Drizzle the cut surfaces with oil, then season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
4. Put the halves back together to re-form into heads.
5. Wrap each head in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.
6. Bake until the garlic is tender when squeezed and the cut surfaces are deep beige (open up the foil to check), about 35 minutes.
7. Cool completely.
8. Squeeze the soft garlic flesh out the hulls into a small bowl, adding the butter, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper.
   (I put into the mixing bowl of a Kitchen Aid Mixer)
9. Using a rubber spatula, mash the garlic and butter until well combined.
   (I mixed with my Kitchen Aid Mixer)
10. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.
    
    The garlic can be prepared up to 3 days ahead.  Bring to room temperatures before using.

To make the broccoli:  

1. To prepare the broccoli, cut off the tops and separate into florets.
   (I actually used frozen pre-cut broccoli florets)
2. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat.
3. Add the florets and cook until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Drain quickly and return to the warm cooking pot. Do not drain the broccoli completely dry — leave some water clinging to the broccoli.
5. Add the garlic butter to the broccoli and mix gently, allowing the butter to melt and combine with the small amount of water in the pot to form a light sauce. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

Adapted from TasteSpotting the Blog

Roasted Butternut Squash

I actually tried this recipe last year for Thanksgiving from my friend Martha (surprise, surprise).  I had asked her for her recipe since I was hosting "Thanksgiving Part 2" and I figured I should make a traditional orange vegetable, even though, to be honest, they aren't ones that I really like.  I was told that I did a respectable job creating a side dish even though I personally don't dig it myself.  Last year, I followed the instructions just as Martha has in her blog; however, similar to my disdain for scooping the potatoes from the skins in my Loaded Baked Mashed Potato Casserole, I didn't particularly relish doing it with the squash once it was roasted.  This year, I decided to try peeling and cubing the squash before roasting it (full disclosure, I asked Jimmy to do the peeling and cubing for me).  I also used a potato masher, instead of pureeing the roasted squash in a food processor.  Without tasting it myself, I was told that it came out quite nicely.

• 2 butternut squash 
• 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 6 small shallots, halved
• 4 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Trim stem ends from squash, then halve lengthwise, discarding the seeds.  Peel and cube squash.
3. Transfer the squash to a rimmed baking sheet lined with tin foil.
4. Season with salt and pepper and top with shallots, honey, thyme, and melted butter.
5. Cover the cookie sheet with tin foil and roast until softened, about 45-60 minutes.
   (Roasting for longer is better than not long enough. A thin-bladed paring knife should cut through the squash "like buttah.")
6. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher. 
7. Serve warm.
   
   You can cover and refrigerate the puree for up to 48 hours. To rewarm, heat in a covered saucepan over low heat for 10 minutes.

 Adapted from Martha's Throwing Spoons blog

Cinnamon Sugar Munchkin Muffins

My fabulous neighbor, Colleen, has invited us to the annual "neighborhood game", where she gets game passes to the BC Football game.  Tomorrow there is plans for tailgating before the early afternoon game.  Wanting to come up with something to contribute to the festivities, I turned to Pinterest.  I had pinned this recipe off a blog a few weeks back.  When I pinned it, I thought it said "French Toast Muffins", but it really said "French Breakfast Muffins".  Reading through it, the recipe seemed relatively easy, but also seeing the comments by the blogger and others, it seemed like an "anytime" type of treat, and someone referred to it as a "cinnamon sugar donut", so I am calling it a "Cinnamon Sugar Muffin".  Might I say, it reminds me of bite-sized bits of Monkey Bread.  I hope they will taste just as good tomorrow!  GO EAGLES!

• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (preferably room temperature)
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. 
2. In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. 
3. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins. Also? Don't overmix the batter. Finally, don't overmix. 
4. Scoop batter into muffin tins that have sprayed with cooking spray. 
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

Topping:

• 1½ cup sugar
• 3 tsp. cinnamon  
• 1-1½ cup butter, melted

 DIRECTIONS

1. For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. 
2. Place melted butter in another small bowl. 
3. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter (you can dip just the top, but it's even tastier to dip the whole muffin!), then dip/roll the muffin in cinnamon sugar. 
4. If there is left-over topping, the extra topping can be used for dipping, while eating the muffins.

Yields:

If you use a large scoop, you can get 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter; you could get 10-12 muffins by distributing the batter a little less generously.

If you use a small scoop, you can get at least 48 mini muffins 
(This is what I did -- picture above)

Adapted from Velvet Lava Cafe blog