Creamy Lemony Cheesecake

I usually don't make things I can't eat, but for Shavuot I decided to go all out and make cheesecake! It was certainly worth all of the Lactaid pills :) [Note: You can also make this cheesecake with dairy-free cream cheese and sour cream]. This cheesecake is dense but still creamy, and the lemon zest really makes it.

A couple of tips to making the perfect cheesecake:

• Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you start to ensure as little mixing as possible--overmixing will lead to you cheesecake cracking. You can just let everything sit out, or I like to put everything into a warm water bath.
• After baking, turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in there. This helps to ensure the cheesecake cools very slowly and doesn't crack.

Lemony Cheesecake

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup sour cream
4 8 oz. bars of cream cheese
2 pre-made graham cracker crusts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. With an immersion blender, blend eggs. With a wooden spoon, in sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream.
3. With a mixer (or I use the electric whisk attachment on my immersion blender), beat in cream cheese until smooth, careful not to overbeat.
4. Divide evenly into 2 graham cracker crusts. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, then turn oven off and allow cheesecakes to cool in oven 5-6 hours. Chill before serving.

The cost:
eggs: .40
lemon: .29
sour cream: .99
cream cheese: 5.56
crusts: 1.98

Grand total: $9.92 (makes 2 cheesecakes)

Easy & Delicious Baked Apples

[This isn't exactly my recipe, but since I have participated in the buying of ingredients and it was baked in my oven, I figure it counts :)]

AK first made these divine baked apples for me a few months ago (it's his mom's recipe, thanks JW!), and it's a great alternative dessert if you don't want to serve baked goods, or if you have vegan friends but don't want to just serve raw fruit.

AK's mom uses Rome apples, but I have also tried these with Braeburn apples and they were great. Whatever apples are good for making apple pie will work. Just hollow out the center, fill them with raisins, sprinkle with cinnamon, drizzle with agave and them bake them in the oven until they are soft and sweet. Yum!

I like eating the apples as is, but I bet they would be great chopped and served over oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast, or over ice cream for dessert!

Easy & Delicious Baked Apples

6 large apples
dark raisins
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup agave

Directions:
Core the apples so you remove the seeds and most of the core, but don't cut all the way through to the bottom. Place in large baking dish.
Fill apple centers with raisins until they are full (amount will depend on how big the apples are and how much you cut out). Sprinkle with cinnamon, drizzle with agave and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes until the apples are soft. Serve hot or cold.

The cost:
apples: 3.54
raisins: 1.99
agave: 1.99

Grand total: $7.52; serves 6-8

Sweet Potato Muffins

Annoyingly, grocery stores seem to think that people don't use canned pumpkin year-round since I haven't been able to find it in any stores near me. Thus, I decided to make sweet potato muffins instead! I used fresh sweet potatoes that I boiled and then pureed, but if you don't have time, you can use canned, just decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup since it usually comes canned in a sugar or corn syrup.

Notes:

1. These muffins are soft and creamy inside, and a little dense; if you prefer a drier muffins, increase the flour by 1/4 cup (but they will come out a little heavy).
2. To really kick these muffins to the next level, add 1 tsp of lemon or orange zest.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked, pureed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup soy milk or other substitute
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Mix together sweet potatoes, soy milk, eggs, vanilla and sugar.
2. Sift together baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, flour and salt and stir into wet mixture.
3. Fold in pecans. Divide evenly into 12-muffin tin; bake at 350 18-22 minutes or until tops are browned.

The cost:
sweet potatoes: .98
soy milk: 1.99
other ingredients: <2.00

Grand total: $4.97

Lemony Zucchini Cake

This was the dessert course for my St. Patrick's Day Dinner Party, and it was a huge hit. I'm sure you've heard (or read) me talk about lemon zest before, but it really is a magical ingredient, brightening up an entire dish and taking it to the next level. If you don't like/want lemon, you can reduce the zest for just a hint of flavor, or use orange zest for this recipe. I used oil here for richness, but you can always substitute applesauce or a pureed banana for a healthier version.

Lemony Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups shredded zucchini (~3 zucchinis)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 + 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Blend together eggs, applesauce, oil, sugar, vanilla, salt and zest. Stir in zucchini.
2. Sift together BP, BS and 1 cup of flour, then add to wet ingredients.
3. Pour into 9 x 13 greased pan, bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until toothpick from center comes out clean.

The cost:
eggs: .39
sugar: .45
lemon: .23
zucchini: 2.39
flour: .55

Grand total: $4.01

Dinner Party Dessert: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Cake

Yes I know, you've seen to many banana baked goods recipes, and you're right, this is another variation of plenty of previous recipes. What can I say, bananas make a great base for baking, and frankly, I never have any leftovers :)

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

3 overripe bananas, pureed
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
splash of vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 + 1/4 cups gluten free flour
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, blend bananas, eggs, applesauce and vanilla.
3. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, salt & pepper. Add baking soda and baking powder.
4. Stir in 1 cup of flour; the batter should be pretty thick, so if you had large bananas add up to 1/4 cup more flour.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until edges are browned and top is firm.

The cost: $4.00, give or take

Lemon Cupcakes

I wanted to serve my cranberry-apple-fennel compote over some dessert item, and I decided on some kind of cake. I thought about making a box cake but I really hate to do that when I actually have time to bake, so I made lemon cupcakes from scratch instead.

These aren't super lemony cupcakes as I only add the zest of one lemon; if you want a more intense lemon flavor, you can add the juice of the lemon as well (I used a meyer lemon since I had some left over from the compote recipe). You'll also notice I use soy milk in this recipe--if you are not a lactard like myself, feel free to use the real stuff.

Lemon Cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup soy milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/4 cups flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-muffin tin.
2. Cream margarine with sugar until smooth and fluffy; add eggs one at a time and blend until combined. Stir in vanilla, soy milk and lemon zest.
3. Sift together salt, BP, BS and flour. Add to wet mixture and stir until combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake in the oven 15-20 minutes or until edges are crispy, muffin tops are browned and toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center.

The cost:
margarine: 1.99
eggs: .33
soy milk: 1.99
other ingredients: .99

Grand total: $5.30; store in the fridge

Cinnamon Chocolate-Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Okay, so I could probably use a more concise name for these cookies, but they are well worth the mouthful. A while back when I was making chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies I realized I had some leftover chocolate covered raisins; you wouldn't think it'd be so different from using chocolate chips and raisins, but wow, they transformed these cookies from delicious to sublime. I like to add cinnamon to desserts around the holiday season for a bit of extra cheer :)

Note 1: This is my cookie recipe, but you could also use any oatmeal cookie recipe and just add chocolate covered raisins.

Note 2: It is very easy to overbake cookies because they keep cooking even after you take them out of the oven. If the cookies still seem a little soft, don't worry as long as they don't seem "soupy."

Cinnamon Chocolate-Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp bourbon (optional)

1 1/2 cups flour
3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup chocolate covered raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Cream margarine and sugar until smooth; blend in eggs one at a time, waiting until one egg is combined before adding the next. Add bourbon and vanilla and mix until combined.
2. In another bowl, mix together flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Stir into wet mixture until just combined.
3. Fold in chocolate covered raisins (and nuts if you are using them).
4. Spoon mixture onto greased cookie sheets (make sure you leave space because these cookies will spread out). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (1-2 minutes longer if you like crispier cookies).

The cost: Around $3.00 per batch, give or take.

Special Holiday Recipe: Cranberry Apple Fennel Compote

Tart cranberries, sweet apples and fennel, spicy cinnamon and nutmeg--all of the flavors meld together for a delightful dish just in time for the holiday season. I use something new in this recipe: Meyer lemons, which are a sweeter version of the regular lemon. A little vinegar balances out the sweetness of the sugar, and the bourbon adds a subtle bit of pizazz.

Note: I like a tarter compote, but if you like sweeter flavors feel free to add more sugar.

Cranberry Apple Fennel Compote

Ingredients:

3 apples, peeled and chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped (white part only)
18 oz fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
zest of 2 meyer lemons
juice of 2 meyer lemons
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp bourbon

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan or small stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20-25 minutes until apple and fennel are soft and cranberries have "popped."

Serving ideas: Serve over turkey or chicken, or spoon over vanilla ice cream and top with toasted almonds.

The cost:
apples: 1.49
fennel: 2.39
cranberries: 3.98
lemons: 2.69

Grand total: $10.55; serves 8-12 depending on how you use it

Another Chanukah Recipe: Fried Pineapple

It struck me this morning that the association of the potato with Chanukah is actually completely arbitrary--it's the oil we fry up the latkes in that is a symbol of the holiday (commemorating the miracle that the menorah [candelabra] in the Temple stayed lit for 8 days when the amount of oil shouldn't even have lasted one), not the potato.

So here is a recipe to help celebrate Chanukah--my mom used to make it all the time, and it can work as a side dish or as a dessert (and it does incorporate a bit of sweet potato for good measure :)).

Fried Pineapple

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
1 can pineapple rings
oil for frying

1 sweet potato
shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Combine flour, BP, sugar, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.
2. Dredge pineapple rings in flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess.
3. Heat oil in deep saucepan and fry pineapple until crust is golden and crispy, 1-2 minutes on each side.
4. Cook sweet potato and mash or blend smooth. Garnish each pineapple ring with a dollop of sweet potato in the center and sprinkle with shredded coconut. Serve immediately.

The cost:
pineapple: 1.89
sweet potato: .30
coconut: 4.99/bag

Grand total: $7.18; serves 4-6