Pre-Christmas Dessert

The recipe for a Pecan Pie Cheesecake has been tucked in the back of my mind since before Thanksgiving; originally, I had planned to make it for that big turkey holiday meal. But I ended up making a birthday dessert for my mom because we celebrated so early, and the cheesecake was stuck there, lurking, unmade.



Luckily, my grandma held a casual dinner while my cousin's family was in town and I was asked to provide a dessert. Although it was fairly short notice, this recipe is fairly simple and quite difficult to mess up. If I had to make it again, the only thing I would likely change would be the actual cheesecake; removing the brown sugar would make the topping less sweet and improve the overall taste of the dessert.



Pecan Pie Cheesecake
Makes about 10 servings

1 3/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9” springform pan. Bake for six minutes. Set aside to cool.

Combine all pecan filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Next, make the cheesecake filling. Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla.

Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Running Out of Time?

In the eighth grade, a girl brought this platter of chocolate-dipped blobs to a school Christmas party and everyone was sort of apprehensive. Eventually, I tried one and discovered that they taste like awesome in your mouth. When I asked her for the recipe (a strange thing for a 13-year-old to do?), she wrote three ingredients down on a small piece of paper and explained the simple process.



Since then, Oreo Truffles have been my throwdown for parties, meetings, and other get-togethers around Christmas time. I'm sure they could be made year-round and still be good, but I just associate them with Christmas.



Oreo Truffles
Makes about 3 dozen truffles

1 (18 ounce) package of Oreos (Double-Stuf tends to affect the consistency in a weird way)
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
24 ounces of melting chocolate (18 ounces semisweet and 6 ounces milk chocolate)

Slowly melt the chocolate over low heat in a heavy pan.

Put five or six Oreos at a time into a food processor until they turn to crumbs. Pour Oreo crumbs into a large bowl. Mix in softened cream cheese. Roll this mixture into small balls.

Dip balls in melted chocolate, turning until completely coated. Place on wax paper and leave at room temperature or refrigerate until cooled. Store loosely-covered at room temperature.