With Sprinkles on Top

I realize that cheesecake is one of those foods that polarizes people – you either LOVE it… or you don’t. I don’t understand people who don’t love CHEESECAKE. Cheese + sugar? What more could I possibly want out of life?

Cheesecakes can also be tricky to make, but this one was super easy — and look, only a few cracks from baking!

Yield: 9-16 bars

Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Squares

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A wonderful and refreshing summertime dessert!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla cookies, crushed (I used Nilla Wafers)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 Tbsp cold butter
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• Lemon zest, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8" pan with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cookie crumbs and flour. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of the pan and bake 10 minutes.

3. In another medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well-blended. Add in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and baking powder. Stir in the strawberries, and then pour over the warm crust.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the center is set.

5. Cool, then refrigerate before cutting into bars.

Notes

Your yield will depend on how big or small you make your squares.

If you know me well, you know that I am basically a five year old kid trapped in a twentysomething year old body. And here is the proof. I made Cookie Monster cupcakes! He was always my favorite character on Sesame Street.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes
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1 box cake mix (I used white cake, but you can use whatever you’d like)
12-15 Chips Ahoy cookies
24-36 chocolate chips
24-36 vanilla candy melts
1 tub vanilla frosting (or you can make your own buttercream from scratch if you’d like)
Blue decorating sugar

1. Bake cupcakes according to box directions and cool on a wire rack.
2. Dye the vanilla frosting blue and frost the cupcakes. Dip each frosted cupcake into the blue sprinkles and coat with sprinkles.
3. “Glue” two vanilla candy melts onto each cupcake using extra vanilla frosting. “Glue” two chocolate chips on top of each candy melt – and get creative – make some of them cross-eyed!
4. Cut the chocolate chip cookies in half and press into each cupcake. You can also be creative with this step, too. Break up some of the cookies into bits or make them different sizes, as to make each monster unique.

Makes about 24 cupcakes.

It’s strawberry season here in the Midwest and today’s blog post, recipe, and photos comes from my friend Laine. Laine has a food blog called Laine’s Recipe Box – she shares all sorts of recipes and has now even started to review Madison restaurants. Please visit her blog if you have the chance! Today she’s sharing a recipe for Strawberry Cookies.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
from Martha Stewart
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Makes about 3 dozen
These tender cookies are made with cream and studded with sweet strawberries for a portable version of a classic dessert.

12 oz. strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. plus 1 T. granulated sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. coarse salt
3 oz. (6 T.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c. heavy cream
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.

2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

* I found that my cookies baked much faster than the recipe indicated and would have been completely burnt if I’d followed the recipe and not checked them early. My oven may run hot, but I’ve never had a bake time be so far off from what a recipe indicated. I would suggest keeping a close eye on them during the baking time.

These are good. Like, really good. And check out the oddball ingredient of the day in this recipe: cumin!

Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich Cookies
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Cookies:
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a bowl beat peanut butter and shortening with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in baking soda, salt, and as much flour as you can. Using a spoon, stir in any remaining flour.
3. Using a level teaspoon, form dough into balls. Place 1-1/2 inches apart on ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Flatten by making crisscross marks with a fork.
3. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack for further cooling.

Peanut Cream Filling:
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup marshmallow creme
3 Tablespoons milk
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the powdered sugar.
2. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar.
3. Spread 1 teaspoon of the filling on flat sides of half of cookies; top with remaining cookies. Makes about 4 dozen sandwich cookies.

There isn’t much that I like more than lemon. Lemon candy, lemon baked goods, lemonade, you name it, I love LEMON. I also happen to love recipes that have a really small ingredient list. So you can imagine my joy when I found this recipe from MixingBowl.com! They are melt-in-your-mouth good..

Lemon Butter Cookies
Recipe Source: MixingBowl.com
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1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar; beat until mixture is combined, scraping side of bowl. Beat in lemon peel. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in the remaining flour.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are light brown. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.