Loaded Mesh Patoto Cake

Loaded Mesh Patoto Cake

Ingredients:

• 9-10 medium potatoes
• 8 slices of bacon
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese {I like sharp!}
• 8 oz light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup {1 stick) I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, softened
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2-3 Tbls chopped chives

Directions:

• Bake bacon and chop into small pieces.
• Peel and cube potatoes. Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the water and return potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, onion powder and garlic powder.
• Stir in 1 cup of cheese and 2/3 of the chopped bacon.
• Spray a 9 in x 13 in baking dish with non-stick spray and transfer mashed potatoes to the dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon.
• Place dish in a preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and the potatoes are heated through. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.
• If preparing in advance, cover with plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator. Removed 30 minutes before baking. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 package of Oreos, crushed
• 6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Ganache Layer Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake Ingredients

• 3 packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 3 ounces (or about 6 Tbsp.) semi sweet chocolate chips

Cake Ingredients

• I used a chocolate cake mix
• ingredients on the box

Frosting Ingredients

• 1-2 tubs of Coconut Pecan frosting

Directions

• Make the crust layer
• Crush the Oreos in a food processor. Add melted butter to Oreo crumbs and mix. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan. (Cuisinart 9-Inch Nonstick Springform Pan)
• Make sure you go up the sides of the pan to the top.
• Make the ganache
• Heat the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. Heat for another 30 seconds and stir. You want the cream to be hot (but make sure you don't bring it to a full boil.) Place the chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour cream over chocolate chip and whisk until smooth and creamy.
• Make the cake layer
• Mix the cake according to the directions on the box. Bake in two 9 inch round pans. You will only use one of the cakes but freeze the other one for future use (or gobble it up warm.) Cool on a wire rack.
• Make the cheesecake layer
• In a stand mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs.
• In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second bursts. Stir after each one. When completely melted and smooth, set aside to cool. Add melted chocolate to cheesecake filling and stir until combined.
• Assembly
• Pour ganache over the crust layer. Spread out and place in the freezer for 30 minutes until ganache is form.
• Pour cheesecake filling over the ganache layer. Spread out evenly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes or until almost firm. The center might crack but that's okay. You'll be covering it up with deliciousness =o) Let cool.
• Spread a thin layer of Coconut Pecan frosting over the top of the cheesecake.
• Place cake on top of frosting layer.
• Mine was super tall at this point. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or not (because it was way taller than the recipe I was following.)
• Spread frosting on top of cake layer. I frosted the sides of the cake too since they were showing.
• Chill for 3 hours or overnight.
• When completely chilled, loosen the sides of the springform pan and remove the sides.

Cupcake Puppy Chow

Cupcake Puppy Chow

makes 4.5 cups

Ingredients

1.     4.5 cups Rice Chex cereal (do not use Crispex)
2.     1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter
3.     3 Tablespoons heavy cream (no substitutions)
4.     10 oz white chocolate candy melts or almond bark (not white chocolate chips)
5.     2 teaspoons almond emulsion or extract (please see note below)
6.     1 teaspoon butter emulsion or extract (please see note below)
7.     2/3 cup assorted sprinkles
8.     1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

•     Pour the cereal in a large bowl, set aside.
•     In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, cream, and white chocolate. Stir constantly until the white chocolate is fully melted. The mixture will be very thick and buttery. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract and butter extract.
•     Pour warm white chocolate mixture over cereal. Stir it all together gently, making sure not to break the cereal. Wait about 3-4 (no longer) minutes and gently fold in the sprinkles - you don't want the sprinkles to lose their color.
•     In a large zipped top bag or covered container, add the powdered sugar. Pour the white chocolate covered cereal into the large bag or container. Seal the bag or container and shake until all the cereal is coated with the powdered mixture.
•     Discard excess powder and enjoy. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks - please see note (in red) above about the "crunch" factor.