Recipe: Cherry Cheesecake (No-Bake)

Happy Christmas Eve

From: A'lil Country Sugar

 This pie came about when I was trying to find a place to use

those awful pre-baked frozen pie crusts. 

You know, the ones in the grocer freezer that demands you take

shortcuts when creating your foods.

Never again will I buy frozen pie crust.....

But they served the purpose for this pie.

You can also buy the pre-made graham cracker crusts,

or make your own for this pie.

Just don't buy the frozen ones......

Typed above is my little piece of advice for you today.

This was a very good no-bake cheesecake,

and I loved the idea of using Jell-O.

It added lots of flavor, and the cheese cake part set up nicely.

No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake

2 Prepared (9 in.) baked pie crusts (make your own, or use a graham cracker crust)

1 (6 oz.) package pineapple Jell-O

1 c. boiling water

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, soft

1 c. white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 TBS lemon juice

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling

Dissolve pineapple jell-o in boiling water, set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple jell-o mixture and lemon juice. 

In a separate bowl, whip evaporated milk. I used a hand whisk and whisked it till it was foamy. Fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour into the prepared pie crusts.

Chill for 4 hours, then top with cherry pie filling. 

Recipe Cookie Butter Buckeyes

 I decided to skip the daily menu to bring you this bowl full of 

Cookie Butter Buckeyes.

Let's face it, candy is more important than a menu, right?

 Are you a Trader Joe's shopper?

If you are, I'm super jealous.

I love Trader Joe's and really wish there was one near me.

The closest Trader Joe's is four hours away from me.

YIKES!

But, thank God for Amazon.....

Amazon allowed me to purchase this much loved cookie butter.

To describe the taste:

It kind of has a hint of gingerbread taste.

I can see why they call it cookie butter.

 Please don't turn me in for food porn here.

These are naked buckeye balls.

And that just sounded totally dirty.

Okay, let's just leave it alone....

We'll move on to the recipe where it's safe.

Cookie Butter Buckeyes

1 - 11oz. container of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter

1 c. butter, soft

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 c. confectioners' sugar

4 c. melting chocolate for candy (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate)

When melting my chocolate I always throw in like a TBS of butter just to make it creamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the cookie butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar. The dough will look dry (don't worry, it comes together. Kind of like playing with dried play dough). Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

Chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate (and 1 TBS of butter if you like) in a double boiler. Stir frequently until smooth.

Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate using a toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like buckeyes. Place them back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

Recipe for Pie Crust Christmas Cookies

Don't you just love the Christmas holidays?

What I love most about it is the cookies and candies that

represent Christmas, family, and eating.

I would be completely content with holiday food over any

kind of gifts. That's just the way I roll....

 I love preparing for the baking day.

Gathering cookie cutters (first locating them from their yearly hiding place),

sprinkles

cookie sheets

rolling pins

and pastry cloth. 

 This year I decided to try a little something different.

Don't get me wrong,

I love my family tradition cut-out cookies

(the best in the world),

but I'm thinking pie crust.

I love pie crust!

And sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar.....

It's the BOMB!

So, I'm making pie crust cookies.....

 The pie crust recipe that I used sort of represents a sugar cookie,

and I'm even considering making a pie with it

(not a pie maker here),

because this crust recipe comes together great and is so easy to work with.

 Since the photos of these cookies turned out

AWE(use high pitch)SOME!

I thought I would continue the holiday spirit and have you

look at all of them.....

Well, you don't have to if you don't want to.

Myself, I love looking at pictures.
Below you find some great Christmas cookie recipes
and lots of pictures.....

 Come on over and join us at the Daily Dish
for some great cookie recipes.
Almost 12 bloggers that have connected to bring you great
foodie information, tips, recipes, and lots of news.....
If you stick with Daily Dish, there is no reason you would need
a cookbook.
Serious!
Tons of recipes!
You can find us at:
www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish

 Here is the recipe!

Pie Crust Christmas Cookies

1 egg

6 TBS sugar

1 pinch salt

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. cold butter cut into pieces

4 TBS water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl mix egg and sugar together. In a separate bowl, combine salt and flour. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until tiny crumb form. Stir in egg mixture, then knead dough into a smooth ball. As I was kneading I added the water. I only used 4 TBS to form a soft dough. Wrap in saran and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Roll dough to 1/4 in. thick and use floured cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Repeat until all dough is used. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture (heavy), and sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them because you don't want them to get too brown. When the bottoms start to brown is when I took mine out.

This recipe is linked to:
Weekend Potluck ~ The Better Baker
Foodie Friends Friday

Holiday Cheese Log Recipe

 What a wonderful holiday appetizer.

This is so simple and can be thrown together in minutes.

Packed full of flavor, it is sure to please any crowd.

This recipe comes from a faithful reader of A'lil Country Sugar:

Mary Howard

I'm so glad she sent me this recipe, because it was a huge hit

at my Thanksgiving dinner.

And my (soon to be) daughter-in-law even used it to spread

on her panini sandwich before grilling.....

She made herself a fabulous lunch with this cheese log.

 All you have to do is throw all ingredients into your Kitchen Aid mixer

bowl, attach the paddle, and mix for a few minutes.

After mixing, take it out with your hands and shape into a log.

Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy..... 

 I rolled mine in the leftover pecans.

I couldn't get a photo of the log being rolled because my hands were all messy.

But I sprinkled the pecans on a piece of saran and rolled.

You can use the same piece of saran to wrap around the log to place in the fridge.

Serve with your favorite crackers.

Holiday Cheese Log

1 pkg. cream cheese, soft

3-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I suggest staying on the low side of the 5)

1/2 tsp. cayanne pepper

1/2 c. pecans, finely chopped

Blend all together using only 1/4 c. of pecans, and roll into a log. Roll the log in the remaining pecans. Chill and serve with crackers.

This recipe linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday Daily Dish

Taste of Home Cinnamon Candy Cane Cookies

 Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming!

Christmas is coming!

 Now that you know Christmas is coming, I'll share with you

a Taste of Home cookie recipe that I truly fell in love with.

I am not one that likes to put a lot of effort into a recipe,

especially cookies.

But when I ran across this recipe in the new Taste of Home

Special Edition Best Loved Cookies and Candies,

I knew that my negative thoughts on effort needed to be

thrown out the window.....

I even went a step further and dipped the ends in white chocolate,

and even sprinkled them with Christmas sprinkles.

For some reason Taste of Home boosted my mood for 

the holidays.

I'm usually known as the Grinch.  

This is definitely one great cookie and worth all

the twisted effort....

Cinnamon Candy Cane Cookies

1 c. butter, soft

1 c. confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. red-hot candies, crushed

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Red food coloring

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half. Mix red-hots and cinnamon into one half; tint with food coloring if desired.

Shape 1 1/2 tsp. plain dough into a 4 1/2 in. rope. Shape 1 1/2 tsp. red dough into a 4 1/2 in. rope. On an ungreased baking sheet, place ropes side by side; press together lightly and twist. Curve top of each cookie down to form handle of cane. Repeat with remaining plain and red dough, placing 2 in. apart on baking sheets. 

Bake at 375 degrees F. 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 

Melt four blocks of white chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Once chocolate is melted and cookies are completely cool, dip the uncurved end of the cane cookie in the chocolate. Sprinkle with Christmas candy sprinkles. Allow to dry on waxed paper and store in an airtight container.

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday Daily Dish
Weekend Potluck ~ The Better Baker