Banana Cream Cheesecake

I know that I may have mentioned this before, but I LOVE CHEESECAKE!  It doesn't really matter what flavor; plain, chocolate, peanut butter, I love them all!  When I came across this recipe for Banana Cream Cheesecake I knew I had to give it a try; while I had never had banana cheesecake before, I like banana cream pie....so how could this not be good?

I made this for the dessert course of my football party, let's just say that things were not going so well for our team by the time I brought this out, but this seemed to perk everyone up right away!  We all loved this spin on cheesecake, some opted for whipped cream and others kept it plain, but the results were delicious nonetheless!  I think this is only the second cheesecake I had ever made in my life, and it uses a unique low temperature cooking method, but it turned out just perfect and the top didn't even crack! 

Banana Cream Cheesecake

adapted from Our Krazy Kitchen

CRUST:

20 vanilla cream-filled sandwich style cookies

1/4 c. buter, melted

FILLING:

3 (8 oz. each) pkgs. cream cheese, softened (I used light)

2/3 c. sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

3 eggs

3/4 c. finely mashed banana (I just threw two into the mixer and let it do the mashing!)

1/2 c. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. maple extract (I didn't use this)

Use a blender to finely chop the cookies; add melted butter and stir until well blended.  Press mixture into the bottom of a 10" springform pan and smooth it out.  Refrigerate crust while making the filling.

Beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Add in the sugar and corstarch, followed by one egg at a time.  Beat in the bananas, whipping cream and vanilla until smooth.  Pour mixture into the crust.

Place pan on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake an additional 75 minutes, or until center is almost set.  Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes, then refrigerate, uncovered for at least 6 hours before serving.

Slice and serve with whipped cream, banana slices and/or even caramel sauce!

Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes

This past Sunday night I had volunteered to make dinner at my parent's house for a Family dinner while we watched the Cardinals on Sunday Night Football (for those of you that missed it, the game was awesome, we beat the NY Giants!). After I finally decided what I was going to make, I was still looking at recipes online when I came across these little gems. I LOVE cheesecake as some of you may know, and I remember having a pumpkin cheesecake that my aunt made at a Thanksgiving probably 15 years ago, but I haven't had any since. I felt that it was fate that I try these out because for the bottom crust you were supposed to use a gingersnap cookie, and I just happened to have half of a box leftover from when I made the Pumpkin Pie Dip for the tailgate a few weeks back....jackpot! These were really easy to throw together, my mom and my sister both loved them, especially since they are just the perfect little serving size. These could definitely be jazzed up with some whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon, but they are tasty just how they are!

Individual Pumpkin Cheesecakes

adapted from Put A Lyd On It

18 paper baking cups

18 gingersnap cookies

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie spice

2 eggs

1 c. mashed pumpkin (From a can, 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix)

1/3 c. light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place baking cups in muffin pans; press a gingersnap into the bottom of each cup. Beat cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and blend to combine. Add pumpkin and corn syrup to the mixture; beat for 1 minute. Divide filling evenly into the prepared baking cups. Bake for 30-35 minutes until just set. Let cool briefly, remove from muffin tins and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!

Black Bottom Banana Cheesecake Pie

The moment that I saw this recipe in the Simple & Delicious magazine, I knew I just had to try it. The perfect opportunity presented itself when I decided to have a few friends over, so I went out and bought the ingredients and began to put it together. But when I opened the bag that held the contents of the crust, I noticed an odd odor, I just figured it was from the bag, so I plugged along and finished putting it together. Well, when we tried it, it became apparent that there was something very wrong, the crust had gone bad! Who knew that graham cracker crumbs would could go bad and taste like dirt! I went back and looked at the box, and saw that the "Use By" date was October 2008!!! I immediately started to curse Fry's Grocery Store for not keeping better track of the expired products on their shelves!

After the first disastrous attempt, I still really wanted to make this again, and add my own little twist! Since Whitney, Billy and Laura were coming over to watch SYTYCD, I decided to give it a try once again....and the results.....amazing!! My freshman year of college I had my first taste of Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie, and ever since then I have been obsessed, so I decided that I needed to add a black bottom to this pie! The pie now encompasses my two of my favorites; cheesecake and black bottom banana cream pie.....what could be more divine?

This is very simple to put together and you don't even have to turn on the oven...perfect during these hot Arizona summers!

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie
adapted from Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Jan/Feb 2009

1 pkg. (11.1 oz) No-Bake Home-Style Cheesecake Mix
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 c. + 3 Tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. + 1 1/2 c. milk, divided
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) instant banana cream pudding mix
2 medium bananas, cut into 1/4 in. slices
1 c. whipped topping (Cool Whip)
Chocolate syrup, optional

In a large bowl, combine contents of the crust mix, sugar and 1/3 c. melted butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; set aside. In a small microwaveable bowl, put 3 Tbsp. butter and the chocolate chips. Microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring between, until smooth. Spread evenly over the graham cracker crust. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat 1 cup milk and contents of filling mix on low speed until blended. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes or until smooth, filling should be thick. Spoon evenly over the chocolate layer. Chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk remaining milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Arrange banana slices over the cheesecake filling. Spread with pudding, then whipped topping. Swirl chocolate syrup on top of whipped topping if desired. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.