Chocolate Mint Cheesecake Cupcakes

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake Cupcakes

18 Chocolate Mint cookies, such as thin mints or grasshopper variety 

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 275°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 cookie in the bottom of each of 18 lined cups.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, (or in large bowl with a hand-held mixer), beat the cream cheese, yogurt, and melted chocolate at medium speed until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sugar and a pinch of salt and beat until combined. Beat in peppermint extract.

Beat in one egg at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Spoon batter evenly among the 18 lined cups, filling each almost to the top (I like to use an ice cream scoop to keep each cheesecake a uniform size). With the back of a spoon, smooth out the top of each filled cup.

Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until filling is 

set, 22-24 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight, before serving.

 

Basil Butter

Now how come I have never thought of this before?   This is amazing on toasted french bread, which to be honest, is the only ways I have had it so far.   Though I am dying to try it atop a nice steak, or rubbed over corn on the cob.  The lemon flavor is a bright addition, though can always be made with it.   I found a recipe that gave me an idea on how much of each ingredient  to use, but used fresh garlic instead of granulated garlic salt.   

• Basil Butter
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 pound ( 2 sticks ) butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

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Baked Goat Cheese

I always have homemade marinana sauce in the fridge, but   

store bought would do just fine here if thats what you have on hand.  

My love for Goat Cheese started a little over a year ago, and i have found no better way to enjoy it with some simple grilled bread and some red sauce. 

Baked Goat Cheese in Marinara is a phenomenal appetizer, or if you are like me, an amazing dinner for two!

Baked Goat Cheese Marinara

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 baguette (sliced)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce 

4-6  ounces goat cheese (sliced)

Directions:

1. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil.

2. Grill the slices until golden brown on top. (Note: Watch them carefully as they can burn really quickly.)

3. Add Goat Cheese slices to an oven safe dish and surround with marinara sauce.

4. Bake for 4-5 minuets then turn to  broil until the goat cheese is soft and golden brown, about 4-6 minutes.

5.  Add some chopped basil, and plate along with toasted bread.  Spoon over bread and enjoy!

Candied Bacon with Sriracha

Sweet smokey heat.  I like Sriracha, i'm just picky about how i use it.  

Bacon is a whole different story.   

Reading this recipe made me drool.  I quickly scoured the kitchen for its three ingredients. 

Success!

Bacon with Sriracha and Brown Sugar

 8 strips of bacon (thick cut is best)

Sriracha

Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a baking rack on a baking sheet and arrange the eight strips of bacon on the rack. Squeeze a thin ribbon of Sriracha down the center of each strip of bacon. 

Use a pastry brush to spread coat the entire top surface of the bacon with the hot sauce. Sprinkle the top of each piece of bacon with a generous portion of brown sugar.

 Place in the oven and cook to your desired bacon doneness.  I like mine fairly well done which takes about 25 minutes.

Spinach-Artichoke Party Cups

I love cheese.  More so when its warm.  I could not say no.   

I found myself in need of an appetizer that would travel well, and could be pre-paired in advanced.   Adapted from another online recipe, these Spinach-Artichoke Party cups did the trick deliciously.

I  doubled the recipe so there was plenty for me to heat up and eat without the wonton cups.  I've made some small changes and doubled it for you here. 

       36 Small Wonton Wrappers (2½ to 3½ inches square)

• 2 Small Cans (8½ oz) Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped                                                            1 Package (10 oz) Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and well drained                                                  2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3/4 Cup shredded Mozzarella
• 1 1/2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Cup Mayonnaise

•  Preheat oven to 300°F. Spray mini muffin pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Press one wonton wrapper into each cup; spray lightly with cooking spray. Bake about 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove shells from muffin ban and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers.* Meanwhile, combine artichoke hearts, spinach, cheeses, mayonnaise and garlic in medium bowl; mix well.
• Fill wonton cups with spinach-artichoke mixture (about 1½ tsp). Place filled cups on baking sheet. Bake about 7 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately.
  
  
  
  
  *The Wontons can be made in advanced and then re-heated at 300°F.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Basil Raviolis

I swear it must be my basil plants intention to take over the world.  I've been having to find new and creative way to use the clippings.   My previous attempts of making ravioli's have always been a success, so without hesitation i dove into this recipe originally posted by Thyme for Food.

Ricotta and Basil Ravioli

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour and eggs for about 1 minute.  Scrape the dough off the beater and change to the dough hook.  Knead for about 3 minutes.  The dough will look dry and pebbly.  Bring the dough together with your hands and knead, by hand, until it has come together fully.  You may need to add a small amount of water but not much.  Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup minced fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well integrated.  

I will admit, I did not use the above pasta dough recipe.  Ever since I was gifted my KitchenAid attachment set I have had nothing but great reviews on the Basic Egg Pasta recipe that comes in the instruction booklet. 

Basic Egg Pasta

4 large eggs Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in mixer bowl.

(7⁄8 cup eggs) 1 tablespoonwater

31⁄2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and mix 30 seconds.

Exchange flat beater for dough hook. Turn to Speed 2 and knead 2 minutes. Remove dough from bowl and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Divide dough into 4 pieces before processing with Pasta Sheet Roller attachment.

Yield: 11⁄4 pounds dough.

I have never made ravioli's free form.  I guess its simply a matter of preference,  but I really like them to be uniform.  It helps them cook more evenly and keeps the filling amount consistent inside each one.  

I bought a form that came with a little rolling pin.   It works perfectly and cost just under $20.00.