Friday, March 21, 2014

Cheese Cake & No Bake Cookies

We have been moved into our new home in Bellevue, Nebraska for about a week but we still haven't really run into any of our neighbors yet.  It probably has a lot to do with the cold weather.  Still, we wanted to meet them and make some friends, so we decided to make some treats to take over and say, "hello."  I chose cheese cake because it's Rob's favorite (and the extras became dessert), and the No Bakes because they were quick and easy to make with the ingredients we already had in our kitchen.  We weren't sure of the family size of each of our neighbors, so we hoped the cheesecake would serve as a thoughtful treat, and the cookies would ensure any kiddos wouldn't be left out.

Margo Lemme's Heavenly New York Cheese Cake

Delicious, beautiful, smooth cheese cake that can be prepared in one 9" springform pan or in a muffin tin with paper inserts.  Elegant presentation!
Yield: 1, 9" cheese cake or about 36 mini cakes
Removed from Springform Pan and Set in a Decorative Pie Dish
Crust:
-1 cup graham cracker crumbs
-3 Tbsp sugar
-3 Tbsp melted margarine
Mix and press into 9" pan.  Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F.  The crust will turn a darker brown.
For mini cakes, bake only 7.5 minutes.
Press crust mix in until packed.
Filling:
-4, 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
-1 cup sugar
-3Tbsp all purpose flour
-1 Tbsp vanilla
-4 eggs
-1 cup sour cream
Beat the first four ingredients until blended and uniform.  Beat in eggs one at a time on low speed until just mixed in; do not over beat.  Blend in sour cream.  Pour over crust.  Bake 1 hour 5 minutes or until center is almost set.  It should be somewhat firm; not jiggly, runny or hard.  Separate from edges with spatula.  Refridgerate.
For mini cakes, bake only 20-25 minutes and do not separate from paper inserts.

Topping:
-1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt 
-brown sugar to taste
-garnish with strawberries
Refridgerate for at least 4 hours.
For mini cakes, refridgerate for at least 1 hour.
Mini Cake - Paper Insert Removed

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

-2 cups sugar
-3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup butter
-3-4 cups oatmeal
-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
-1 tsp vanilla extract
In a large pot, boil sugar, milk, butter and cocoa for 2 minutes.  

Add oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla.  Spoon onto wax paper and let cool.  Optional: Drizzle melted white chocolate in a striped pattern for a more bold presentation.
I pressed them out like ground-beef patties, and they look like it too.
Once I finished baking, Rob and I packaged the goodies and delivered them to our bordering neighbors and a few of the spouses I met on the Air Force Facebook pages.  We're so glad we did!  We got to know our neighbors and made some new friends!
Most of our neighbors had dogs who were salivating over the treats we brought to the door!  Next time I would probably show up with a pocket full of milk bones for our four-legged neighbors!  After all, Kimber needs friends too!
Kimber the Kitchen-Aid

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