Cheesecake Bars with Sugar Cookie Crust

Posted on August 8, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

Summer time is birthday time for our family. In a five-week span we celebrate the following birthdays … my hubby (the peanut butter addict), son #2, son #3, one nephew, one brother-in-law, one sister-in-law and mine! My two sons’ birthdays are one day apart … not good planning on our part. If we aren’t careful, we could suffer from birthday cake overload. We have learned to have birthday dessert … not always cake. This is one of those desserts!

Before we start … let me explain that I sometimes use mixes for cakes or brownies. But, I always make cookies from scratch … never a mix … never ready made cookie dough … except for this recipe. I have had this recipe for many years, it calls for ready made refrigerated sugar cookie dough. After making these cheesecake bars several times, I thought it was silly to buy sugar cookie dough … so I made my own dough. I don’t know why … but the cookies made with the ready made refrigerated dough won the contest. I felt defeated … the Pillsbury Doughboy won … well, at least he’s cute!

I have altered the recipe to fit our family’s tastes … I live with picky people! Today we have one half blueberry and one half chocolate chip.

This is what you will need … sugar cookie dough, cream cheese, sugar, an egg, blueberry pie filling, chocolate chips and oil spray …

Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan … then press the room temperature sugar cookie dough on the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan …

Beat the softened cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer …

Add the egg and beat until smooth …

It should look smooth like this … if you didn’t drop it on the floor like I did! Good news … the mixer survived and it didn’t even crack a floor tile!

Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust …

Sprinkle chocolate chips over half of the pan to make Son #2 happy …

I can’t forget Son #3 … so dollop (that’s a technical term) blueberry pie filling on the other half …

Using a butter or dinner knife, swirl the pie filling with the cream cheese and press the chocolate chips in the cream cheese a little …

Bake … and cool completely before cutting …

The original recipe called for blueberry pie filling only … I like to add a little lemon zest in the cream cheese. I am giving you the recipe for the way I made it … one half blueberry and one half chocolate chip. This is one of those recipes that can be changed to fit your needs. Have fun with it!

Cheesecake Bars with Sugar Cookie Crust

1 16.5 ounce package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (room temperature)

8 ounces cream cheese (softened)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup blueberry pie filling (1-1/2 cups if making all blueberry)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (1-1/2 cups if making all chocolate chip)

1. Press dough evenly in a greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth.

3. Spread cream cheese mixture over cookie dough.

4. Dollop pie filling on half of the cheese mixture and sprinkle chocolate chips on the other half.

5. Using a knife, swirl the pie filling and cream cheese mixture. Press the chocolate in the cream cheese mixture.

6. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until edges of crust are golden brown.

7. Cool completely, cut into bars, refrigerate.

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Easy pudding with berries

Posted on July 20, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

My sister-in-law, Georgia, has been here on vacation and is on her way home to Tennessee. We usually get to see her only once a year and had a good-bye dinner the other night … I was asked to bring dessert. I needed to use whatever I had at home and because there was no time for a grocery store trip. Seven people would be at the dinner … four of which are diabetic and I know that they rely on sugar-free instant pudding as a safe dessert. There were strawberries in the fridge that “needed” to be used. So, I came up with this combo and it was sooo simple and fast!

This is what I used … strawberries, sugar-free (or regular) instant pudding mix, milk, cream cheese and vanilla bean paste …

In a mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese and vanilla bean paste …

Add milk … and pudding mix

Beat until smooth …

Scoop into dessert dishes …

Top with berries …

Garnish with whipped cream, if desired …

Easy pudding with berries

4 ounces softened cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract may be substituted)

3 cups milk

1 box (6 serving size) instant vanilla pudding mix (regular or sugar-free)

2 – 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (other berries may be substituted)

Whipped cream for garnish

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and vanilla until smooth. Add milk and pudding mix … beat until smooth. Scoop into dessert dishes. Top with berries and chill until ready to serve. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Serves 8

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More Pinwheels…Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese and Chocolate Chip

Posted on March 24, 2011 by sweetsimplestuff

I would like to share a secret with you … there is something that you should know about my husband, The Peanut Butter Addict … he would be very happy if he could have a treat everyday made with peanut butter. This really isn’t a secret, it’s a well know fact among family and friends. So, after I posted yesterday’s Jam-Packed Pie Crust Pinwheels, I went to work making different Pinwheels … peanut butter & chocolate chips … cream cheese & chocolate chips. Needless to say, The Peanut Butter Addict was a happy camper. After all, he “had” to eat them for “research purposes”. I conducted a very unscientific pinwheel survey. Here are my family’s favorites … The Peanut Butter Addict – peanut butter & chocolate chips (big surprise)… Son #3 – jam & nuts … Sone #2 – doesn’t like pie crust and won’t try any … me – all of them, I love pie crust.

Recipes like these Pinwheels are “guidelines” and can be altered to fit your tastes. If you come up with different ideas or suggestions, please share in the comments section below.

This time you will need … refrigerated rolled pie crusts, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, cream cheese (regular or lite), peanut butter and mini chocolate chips.

(oops … forgot the sugars in the photo)

First, mix the filling (peanut butter or cream cheese) with powdered sugar …

Next, sprinkle granulated sugar on parchment and place pie crust on sugar. Press on crust to make sure sugar adheres to it …

Now, spread the filling all over the crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips …

Roll it up tight … cut off the ends … cut the log in 1″ pieces …

Place the pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake!

Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese and Chocolate Chip Pinwheels (adapted from Womans Day)

For each flavor Pinwheel you will need …

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 refrigerated rolled pie crust (at room temperature)

1/4 cup peanut butter or cream cheese (softened)

2 tablespoons powered sugar

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix peanut butter or cream cheese with powdered sugar to create the filling.

3. Sprinkle a parchment covered work surface with granulated sugar. Unroll pie curst, place it on the sugar and press gently to help the sugar adhere to the crust.

4. Spread the filling evenly over the crust and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Starting at one end, tightly roll the dough into a log.

5. Trim the ends of each log, then cut in to 1″ thick slices and stand them on cut edge on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.