~Food~

~Food~
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake


Fudge Truffle Cheesecake
By: Easy Baking Hershey’s Cocoa

Chocolate Crumb Crust:
Stir together 1 ½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder and 1/3 cup melted butter in bowl. Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan (lined with parchment paper on the bottom; edges cut to be barely noticeable).

Cheesecake filling:
2 cups (12oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened (I even tested, and it worked (!) (2-8oz each) cream cheese, and 8oz of Mascarpone Cheese*)
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Move rack to the middle of the oven.

Place chocolate chips in microwavable bowl. Microwave 1 ½ minutes, stir. If necessary, microwave an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, just until chips are melted when stirred.

Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add melted chips, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely. Refrigerate several hours, if possible overnight, before serving. Cover; refrigerate leftover cheesecake.

Makes 10-12 servings

* Mascarpone Cheese: can be purchased at most supermarkets in 8oz tubs. Mascarpone Cheese is called the “true Italian cream cheese!” The texture is creamy and doesn’t need any time to become room temperature!*

Chocolate Almond Macaroon Bars


Chocolate Almond Macaroon Bars
By: Rosanna adapted from Easy Baking Hershey’s Cocoa

1 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (1 pack of graham crackers, with ¼ cup cocoa powder and 1/8 cup granulated sugar)
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
½- ¾ can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups sweetened coconut flakes
½ cup almonds, toasted *, then finely chopped
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup Premier White Chips

*To toast almonds: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on shallow baking sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned*

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 8x8 glass baking dish.

Combine crumbs, melted butter and sugar; firmly press mixture on bottom of prepared pan. Stir together sweetened condensed milk, coconut and almonds; mix well. Carefully drop mixture by spoonfuls over crust; spread evenly. Bake 22-25 minutes or until coconut edges just begin to brown. Cool.

Place chocolate chips and cream in microwavable bowl. Microwave 1 minute; stir. If necessary, microwave an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Cool until slightly thickened; spread over cooled bars. Sprinkle top with white chips. Cover; refrigerate several hours until thoroughly chilled. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 9-16 bars

Cottage Cheese Fruit Salad


Cottage Cheese Fruit Salad
By: Roberta Grah (Plainfield, IN) and Marilyn Anderson (Oregon City, OR)

12oz cottage cheese
1 can (11oz) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple, drained
8oz tub Cool whip, thawed
3oz package of orange Jello
Mini marshmallows, if desired!

Mix all ingredients together and chill. You can use low calorie or sugar free ingredients!