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.

Welcome Home, Coconut!

As I mentioned in my previous post, my grandfather finally came home from being in the hospital for three months on July 9th. So last Saturday, we had a small "Welcome Home" dinner for him and I was able to make him the Coconut Cream pie that I had promised to make back in May when he planned to come home.



I had only made this pie once before as a gift for my boss's mother and I never really received a reply on whether it was any good or not. However, I had tried a little bit of the filling as I was making it and it was delicious, so I decided that the recipe would be good enough for us. I think my favorite part of the recipe was the cream of coconut, which I had never heard of before. Thankfully, my mom knew exactly what it was and helped me find it. If your local Wal-Mart doesn't carry it along with other mixers, you can find it in a Spanish foods section of supermarkets or in a Supermercado.



Because my grandpa currently has steroid-induced diabetes, he was only able to have a small piece. My piece was notably larger and I was extremely full just halfway through it; the pie was much more filling that I would have expected. The freshly-whipped cream on top balances the extreme sweetness of the pie filling, so I definitely wouldn't recommend adding sugar to your whipping cream.



Also, you need to pay attention to the amount of time needed to beat certain combinations; they are crucial to the texture and outcome of this pie.



Easy Coconut Cream Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup cream of coconut (like Coco Lopez)
1 (3.4-ounce) package cheesecake instant pudding mix
1 cup frozen sweetened flaked coconut, thawed
1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup whipping cream
Sweetened flaked coconut, for garnish

If making the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees; stir together first 3 ingredients; press mixture evenly in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and cream of coconut at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add pudding mix, beating until blended. Stir in coconut; fold in whipped topping. Spread cheese mixture evenly into prepared crust; cover and chill 2 hours or until set.

Toast coconut to be used for garnish until light golden-brown in spots. Beat whipping cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, and spread evenly over top of pie. Garnish with toasted coconut and store by covering with Saran wrap and placing in the refrigerator. Eat within a day of making.