Making Monday: Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

     This is my absolute favorite treat that I make every year. I've been making this Layered Pumpkin cheesecake for 6 or 7 years now, and everyone loves it. I originally found this recipe in one of the perforated holiday recipe card books at the grocery store, but the online recipe can be found here.

Photo from BettyCrocker.com

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 32)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Cheesecake
4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

     1 Heat oven to 300°F. Grease 9-inch springform pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around pan to catch drips. In small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.

     2 In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the cream cheese mixture into pan; spread evenly.

     3 Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.

     4 Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved.

     5 Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven; place on cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

     6 Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate. Store cheesecake covered in refrigerator.

What I'm Reading Tuesday

     I know it's been a while since I posted what I'm currently reading, but this time of year gets busy. I know you understand. Right now, I'm reading...

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This is my second time trying to read this book. The first time, I was listening to the audiobook. I'm enjoying it much more being able to imagine the voices for each character.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

     I won't lie, I had a hard time getting into this book, but I think it'll be worth the extra effort. I'm enjoying it now.


Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

I love Alice in Wonderland, and while I'm awaiting my copy of Heartless by Marissa Meyer, I decided to try out this series. I am really enjoying it so far. Colleen Oakes has developed each character tremendously, and despite the names "card' "Cheshire" or "Harris," they are actually people. "Cards" are the division of the higher authorities, "Cheshire" is the King's right hand man, and "Harris" is Dinah's OCD, anxiety ridden teacher and guardian. I won't spoil too much here, but I am thoroughly enjoying it!

And Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Just like Peculiar Children, I'm having a hard time getting into this book. I want to say that I'm only three or four chapters in, if that. 

Making Monday: Two Ingredient Fudge

This week, I'll be sharing how we make our fudge. My personal favorite uses Andes Mints, but we also make milk chocolate, Oreo, peanut butter, and pecan. This is the best fudge that I've had and it's super simple to make.

1-12 oz can of Sweetened condensed milk
3 Cups baking chips of choice
1 tsp. Vanilla (We use Los Cinco Soles Vanilla)

Directions
     You can do this on a double boiler or in the microwave. Put everything in a bowl together and mix until combined. Pour into lined pan and refrigerate until set.

Making Monday: Dipped Gingersnaps

     With the holiday season upon us, I'd like to share a recipe on Mondays leading up to Christmas. This week, I'm sharing my family's favorite gingersnap recipe. This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine and is called Dipped Gingersnaps. (Find the recipe here.) The recipe says it makes about 14 dozen, but we usually only get 7-8 dozen.
    Enjoy!

2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Additional sugar (for rolling the cookies in)
2 packages (10 to 12 ounces each) white baking chips
1/4 cup shortening.

Directions
     In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in eggs. Stir in molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
     Shape into 3/4-in. balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. Remove to wire racks to cool.
In a microwave, melt chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip cookies halfway into the melted chips; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.

(Yield: about 14-1/2 dozen. )

Book Review: Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich

* This post contains spoilers. *

Tricky Twenty-Two (Stephanie Plum #22)

Janet Evanovich

Fiction - Mystery

305 Pages

     So here we are again, Trenton, New Jersey. Stephanie and Morelli have broken up. Again. Stephanie is chasing down a fugitive. Again. Stephanie gets a car blown up. Twice. Predictable? Absolutely. 

     So in this book, Stephanie is looking for FTA Ken Globovic, a college student at Kiltman who was arrested for beating the dean of students with a baseball bat. As it turns out, that didn't really happen. Professor Pooka, a psychologically disturbed, "power wielding," biology professor is making "Black Plague infected" fireworks to shoot off over the students at Homecoming. (Or something like that.) When people start getting too curious, they're shot. Of course, being a Stephanie Plum novel, Stephanie is kidnapped by the psychotic Professor Pooka. She is supposedly injected with the plague and is supposedly providing blood for the fleas that are "carrying" the plague.
     The story isn't really action packed, it's an easy read, and as I said many times before, completely predictable. The only thing that was a great twist in this book was that Stephanie's mom, who is completely against Stephanie being a bounty hunter, takes Pooka down. She's beating the crap out of him for kidnapping Stephanie, for supposedly giving her the plague, and just because of the adrenaline. Other than that, it was once again, a three from me. Joe did ask Stephanie to marry him at the end, but I didn't find it sincere, so I'm on hold for Turbo Twenty-Three on my E-Library to see what's actually going to happen.