Pecan Caramel Espresso Cheesecake Bites

Made this for a party and everyone loved it.  :)  You definitely need to like coffee as the fresh Espresso has wonderful kick to it.  It's definitely a blend of 2 passions from my house... For those who don't know, my hubby loves coffee.. more like LOVES Coffee. I came across a recipe and then he came to mind.  The original recipe called for "Instant Coffee" and at that "instant' I thought, I could have the coffee instantly made for me instead. And of course, the fact that no Instant Coffee can be found at my house helps. ;) So, I chose a time that was good for both of us to make my Pecan Caramel Espresso Cheesecake Bites. 

 

Realized later that I forgot to mention to my guests that I made it with Low Fat Cream Cheese... apparently that made no difference at all.  ;-)

 

Here's my version of the recipe... I tweaked it to our liking and believe the use of fresh Espresso made a huge difference!  It should be used within minutes of making else will bring on a bitter taste to your dessert. Making my own crust with freshly ground Oreos added to the taste as well.  :)  I made 24 Mini Cheesecake bites using a mini-muffin pan lined with paper liners (very important).

For Cheesecake

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) Trader Joes Low Fat Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

2 tsp.  vanilla

2  eggs

2 Tbsp.  milk

1 Double Shot of Espresso - freshly made (use within minutes)

For Crust

Mini-cupcake pan with liners

OREO Cookies - crushed into a fine powder (I used my Magic Bullet)

1-2 Tbsp. melted butter - to hold the Oreo mixture together

Topping

1/2 cup Toasted Pecans - roughly chopped

Smucker's Caramel Sundae Topping

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. 

Make Crust: grind up Oreos into fine powder.  Mix in butter as needed just enough to hold the powder together. Put a teaspoon (or so) into each of the cupcake liners in the pan and press down with the end of a spoon so it's flat.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.

MICROWAVE milk in small microwaveable bowl 15 seconds. Add Espresso shot to milk. Then add that mixture to the batter; mix well. Pour into individual crusts.
BAKE 20 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. 
While oven is still hot put pecans in and toast for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily. Once cooled, roughly chop.

Few minutes before serving take the mini-cheesecakes out of the fridge. Remove liners from each and set out on a platter to serve.  Top each piece with the crushed pecans and top with a little bit of the caramel syrup.  Serve and Enjoy!! 

Store any leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

 

 

Biscotti - A Twice Baked Treat

Finding ourselves at home on a recent gloomy, rainy Sunday afternoon with a few free hours wondering what to do was much welcomed at our home. :)  Everyone wanted a snack but, nothing at home seemed inviting or interesting to eat. So, my daughter busted out her cookbooks and I, mine. Let's see what what can come up with. Yikes! We both scoured through, but didn't find anything of liking or anything fast enough. After all everyone was already hungry to begin with!

After many rounds of options and missing ingredients we settled upon Biscottis. Unfortunately by now, the coffee had already been drunk but, maybe another cup would have to be made. ;)
 
This is one of my tried and true recipes. It came from a recipe book that was one of those "free book included" books from our very first espresso machine which we received as a wedding present. Although over the years the machine is long gone, I still very much use the recipe book. Funny how things work out sometimes.

I've tweaked it to my family's liking and have started experimenting with different add-ins as well. Try them out with a nice cup of coffee and you won't be disappointed. :) Maybe you'll pretend to be in Italy! ;)

Biscottis

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Optional add-ins/substitutions:

* 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips OR
* Substitute 1/2 cup Chopped Almonds & 1/2 cup Chopped Dried Cranberries OR
* 1/2 cup Chopped Almonds & 1/2 cup Chopped Dried Cranberries & 1/2 White Chocolate Chips OR
* Add Walnuts, Almonds or Pecans when baking then, melt 4 ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate. (see ** below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl or mixer bowl, combine the eggs, oils, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture, nuts, or other add-ins and mix until combined. Batter will be stiff and slightly sticky.

With floured hands, divide dough into thirds. Place one third of the dough on ungreased baking sheet and form into an elongated loaf about 1 inch think and 3-4 inches wide. (or whatever length you prefer).  It should be of uniform shape and thickness for best results.

Proceed with the remaning two portions of dough. The loaves should not touch each other but, they can be arranged close together.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 2-3 minutes, leave oven on. Use a sharp knife to cut the loaves into 1/2 inch slices. Let stand 5 minutes, then turn the slices down on one cut side. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, remove the pan and turn the slices over. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Cool the biscotti completely on the pan.

**If you are making the dipped biscotti. Then break the bittersweet chocolate into pieces and place in a medium bowl. Place the bowl in a microwave oven and melt the chocolate on high for about 1 minute or use double boiler method if preferred. The chocolate should be smooth when stirred. Dip one cut side on each slice of biscotti into the chocolate. Place frosted side up on wax paper to dry.

Store biscotti in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

Ciao!



Almond Biscotti





Cranberry Almond Biscotti





 

Chocolate Chunk Biscotti