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Posts Tagged ‘cream cheese’

Favorite Fruit Dip

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , , on July 5, 2014| 17 Comments »

C & I attended a baby shower for our pastor’s daughter and son-in-law a few weeks ago and I took a couple of dishes.  Since the weather was so hot, I wanted to take something cool and refreshing which led me to two of my summer favorites: fresh veggies and fruit with their respective dips. 

Instead of just chopping up the fruit and putting it on a tray or in a bowl, I made fruit kabobs and they turned out great!  You will see them in the dip photo below. This dip recipe has been around for decades and you have probably seen it many times.  It is my absolute favorite fruit accompaniment and makes a great base for a fruit pizza.

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1 8oz. package of cream cheese or neufchatel cheese

1 7oz. container of marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

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Let the cream/neufchatel cheese come to room temperature.  Beat it with an electric mixer until there are no lumps.  Add the marshmallow cream and beat until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla extract then refrigerate for a couple of hours until ready to serve.

Serve this with fresh fruit or use it as a base for a fruit pizza.

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Peaches On A Cloud

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , on May 3, 2014| 16 Comments »

Don’t you just love it when a new fabulous recipe just drops into your lap?  I know I sure do.  My co-worker, K, brought this to work a couple of months ago and I knew then and there that this would be my Easter dessert.  The meringue crust is so light and airy and the creamy filling is wonderful with the peaches. 

I do need to tell you that this is not one of those recipes that you can just decide to make on a whim and have it ready in 30 minutes.  Make sure and read the complete recipe because there is a time commitment to it, but it is so worth it.  I wish I had a piece of this right now.

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Below is the photo for the entire ingredient list, but I am breaking down the recipe into three steps.

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 For the crust:

6 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until foamy.  It should look like this:

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Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating on high until stiff peaks form.  Tis will probably take at least 5 minutes.  Then it should look like this:
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Spread evenly into a 9×13” greased baking dish.  Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour.  Turn off the oven after the hour but DO NOT open the door.  Allow the crust to cool in the oven for at least 12 hours.  Again, do not open that oven door! 

Before baking and cooling:

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After baking and cooling:

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For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups whipping cream, whipped into stiff peaks

2 cups mini marshmallows

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth.  Gently fold in the whipped cream and marshmallows. (Note: I forgot the mix in the marshmallows so I just sprinkled them on top.)  Chill for 4 hours.

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For the topping:

2 cans peach pie filling (21 oz. each)

Spread the pie filling over the cream cheese layer.  Chill and enjoy!  I know this is a long recipe but it is so delicious that it is worth every second.

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Praline Cheesecake

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , , on February 22, 2014| 15 Comments »

I wanted to make something different for one of our Christmas dinners and I knew that several people there were cheesecake fans.  This was my first cheesecake so off to the internet I went in search for a recipe to try and found this one on Pinterest (of course) from Kraft. 

It ended up being a simple recipe and oh, so tasty.  C’s cousin’s little boy who is one and a half years old kept sneaking a bite while the adults were playing a game.  Needless to say, there wasn’t much left at the end of the night and that’s exactly how I like it.

Praline Cheesecake

66 Nilla wafers, divided

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

25 Kraft caramels

3 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Completely crush 50 of the Nilla wafers.  Mix the crushed cookies with 1/4 cup sugar and butter.  Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Stand the remaining wafers around the edge of the pan, pressing gently into the crust.

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Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sour cream and vanilla.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each until just blended.  Pour the batter over the crust.

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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center is almost set.(I baked mine for 55 because my oven cooks a little slow and I was scared the center wasn’t done.)  Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake.  Cool before removing the outer ring of the pan.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.

When you are ready to serve the cake, microwave the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted.  It took about 1 1/2 minutes for mine.  Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

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Praline Cheesecake

This finishes up my Sweet Treat month here at Picture Perfect Cooking, but I am sure there will be plenty more to come in the future.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins-Dessert Challenge

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , on October 10, 2013| 21 Comments »

October is in full swing and that means that bloggers everywhere are embracing pumpkin as an ingredient.  I must admit that pumpkin is not my favorite flavor, but I like it well enough.  This month’s Dessert Challenge at Lady Behind The Curtain features pumpkin and cream cheese so I went searching for a new recipe to try.

I really like muffins and it was an easy decision when I found this recipe at Sweet & Crumby.  Her recipe makes 24 muffins so I made a half batch instead.  The muffins are really moist and have a great flavor, but if I make them again, I will probably sweeten the cream cheese just a tiny bit before I put it in the muffins.  Otherwise, this was a really tasty treat!

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1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. apple pie spice

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup canned pumpkin

5 oz. vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

4 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put liners in a muffin pan. Sift the flour, spice, baking soda and salt together on a paper plate and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir until combined.  Don’t over mix the batter and don’t worry if there are a few lumps left.

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Using a small cookie scoop, fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full. You will have a little batter left over. Cut the cream cheese into 12 pieces and put one piece into each muffin, pressing it down into the batter.  Then spoon a little extra batter over the top to completely cover the cream cheese.

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In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle a little of the topping over each muffin.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool and enjoy!

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Please join me and others at the Lady Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge.


Lady Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge

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