Strawberry Pretzel Cheesecake

You know that jello salad that appears as just about every summer picnic in Southwestern PA? You know the one...the one with the usually stale & not quite busted up enough pretzels under that waxy under-whipped layer of cream cheese & cool whip that is topped with a gelatinous layer of strawberry jello & frozen strawberries. The one that as it sits on the picnic table the pretzel pieces start to get soggy and pink from weeping strawberry jello? The bright red center piece of a Yinzer Buffet!!

Yeah...its a favorite of mine too. Always has been. I have had fabulous versions of it and I have had abominable versions of it.....but I always try at least a little. There is just something about the salty crunchy pretzels, sweet cream and tangy strawberry that taste like summer to me.

I do love it in all of its 1964 jello salad with fruit floating in it glory. BUT. It could be much better. Its potential plagued me. The flavor combo & textures are excellent. The jello aspect less than desirable in my opinion.

Aside: I suck at making Jell-o. Yes. Really. Stop laughing. Jell-o. Well, if you ask to me make jello shots I will exceed all expectations and they will be the very best you will ever have. But if you want just normal jell-o, ask someone else. Mine never sets, it gets that hard ookie layer, it separates. Whatever. It used to bug me but Ive learned to accept it. Since its apparently confession time I also cannot make instant pudding - it always comes out super runny & gross. Im so odd.

Since I was unwilling to fight with jello & wanted to perfect this picnic staple it needed to be reborn. And it was. As a cheesecake. A custardy, light, creamy, melt in your mouth vanilla bean cheesecake on a graham cracker pretzel crust topped with crushed strawberry preserves.

Oh yes. This kicked strawberry pretzel jello's ass and made its mother apologize for it ever being born.

Some notes before I get to the recipe ~

I abhor dense cheesecake so this one has no thickeners or starch in it on purpose. It is closer to a dense cream cheese custard than a heavy brick-like cheesecake but it will still cut & plate gorgeously, just be gentle. I also am not a sweet freak so the cake itself doesnt have a crap ton of sugar in it.

Use a Spring Form pan. This is a WRECK to unmold if you dont and wont layer prettily either.

I use vanilla beans in it because I have a bazillion of them in my freezer (make my own extract w them) and I think its divine, but hardly necessary - just up the extract by 2 tsp & it will be just as good.

I used fruit pectin to thicken my fruit. It is a vegan jelly thickener that is at the grocery store - you could also just use a package of jello - but I fear the jello & also didnt want that artifical flavor when strawberries are so awesome straight this time if year. If I were making this in October I may feel much differently.

Cooks Disclaimer: I am not a measurer, I am a taster & a looker, even with baking & pastries when I can be and with cheesecake I can be.

Crust:

• 2 cups crushed pretzel pieces
• 1 package of graham crackers, crushed up
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2/3 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Put all of the dry ingredients in a food processor & pulse until broken up & combined. Slowly drizzle in butter and mix until its all together. Press into the bottom of a 10" spring form pan and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Crust is done when golden & smells all toasty. Set out to cool. Reduce oven to 300.

Filling:

• 2-8oz packages Cream Cheese
• 1-8oz package Neufatel Cheese
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 each cut & scraped vanilla bean
• 6oz Greek yogurt (plain, honey)

Put both the cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and mix on medium until combined & softened. Scrape bowl, add the sugar & mix on medium high until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl.

While mixing on medium add the whole egg than egg yolks one at a time beating well between additions and scraping at least once in the middle.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix on high until light, glossy and thickened.  Pour on top of cooled crust and smooth the top out. Pace on a sheet tray, put in middle of over and fill tray with at least 1/2" of water.  Bake at 300 for 45 minutes.

Test at 45 minutes. Give it a wiggle. The center should be set like jello, jiggly but set. It may require another 10 or so minutes at this point, set timer for 5 minute intervals and keep an eye on it.

When done remove it from the oven & set at room temp until pan is cool enough to touch then transfer to refrigerator to completely cool.

Strawberry Topping:

• 2 pints fresh strawberries - hulled & quartered
• 3/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on taste)
• 4 Tbsp Fruit Pectin
• 6oz water

Put the berries in a bowl with 1/4 cup sugar & toss to coat. Let sit at room temp until they start to get saucy, smash with a fork.  Put the water, remaining 1/2 cup sugar & fruit pectin in a small pot on stove & bring to a boil stirring constantly. It gets weird thick because of the pectin. When it is thickened pour over macerated berries and continue to fork smash to get a nice consistency. Let sit at room temp until ready to use on cake.

When cake is TOTALLY cool & set spread the preserves over the cheesecake, return to the fridge to let it all set up completely.

When ready to unmold run a paring knife around the edge to loosen the preserves & I use a blow torch to release the cake from the side of the pan, but you can just use a cake spatula or knife if it suits you better.

I served it as is. I didnt think it needed much else to be honest. Garnish wise you could do lots - choco dipped pretzel pieces or strawberries, whipped cream, fresh berries sauce....whatever blows your hair back.  If you like your cheesecake thicker or want one that is more firm add 4 Tbsp of flour in with the  sugar & cream cheese.

Hope you dig & let me know how it turns out if you make it!!

I also have made this in the mega muffin cups with the muffin cup liners, I just dont parbake the shells. Really cute individual dessert idea.

Happy baking!!

Cinnamon Roll Cookies!!!

I'm going to double post today, but first the cookies. The next story kinda shook me up and needs its own posting.

I made them over a week ago & thought they were so yummy I should share...well that and the recipe was requested by a couple folks so here it is.

I will preface with this ~ it would be totally ok to use a premade sugar cookie tube thing for this recipe. Personally I wouldn't, but if you're not a baker, dont have the tools/time or just want to make them fast it would be ok.  Personally, I wouldn't. Those tube-o-cookie things have a very odd flavor that I dont particularly like & have never been able to identify...well that and read the ingredient list. I dont put any of those super long nonsense words in my cookies.

For the record I use a KitchenAid Pro stand mixer (yeah, it really is as badass as it sounds like it is, basically has a honda motor in it) with a paddle for all cookies and for this recipe following the right mixing procedure is important because you have to form & slice these...

The Recipe.

2 sticks Salted Butter - softened
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 Egg Yolks
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp Butter Extract (optional)
2 Tbsp Heavy Cream (can sub sour cream or milk)
2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt

•  Cream the butter until light & fluffy. Add both sugars and continue to cream until light again. Add the eggs & yolks one at a time beating well between additions. Add the extract(s) & cream and mix in to combine.
• Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk to incorporate. Add in small increments to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Have to make sure you get it all mixed in thoroughly or you'll get weird blops in your dough.
• Eat some of the dough...it really is pretty damn delicious.
• Line a half sheet tray with plastic wrap so it over hangs on the left & right sides (yeah-not parchment. The wrap is easier to deal with later, I learned this the hard way. Benefit from my frustration) and dump the dough on top. Use your hands or a rolling pin to evenly spread the dough out to cover the pan evenly.  I start w the hands and finish it off with the pin to even it all out. Side Note: flouring your hands a little makes the dough not stick to everything.
• Eat some more dough...I heart cookie dough. 
• Place the tray in the fridge until the dough has chilled enough to be workable by hand.  Mix up a bowl of roughly 1 cup brown sugar & 4 Tbsp cinnamon* (you can add other spices here too, like ground ginger & some allspice or nutmeg - go nuts!). Pull the dough out of the fridge & remove from the pan using the plastic wrap to help you.
• Cover the top with the brown sugar mix. Should be a light, even coat so dont dump it all on, it may be too much. cut the dough sheet in half vertically, making more of less 2 almost squares.
• Use the plastic wrap to roll the dough up cinnamon roll style. Dont stress about perfect seals or anything, the dough can be pinched & forced into submission- its a cookie. When its a lovely tube wrap it tight in saran wrap and refrigerate until it is firmly set.
• Preheat oven to 375, slice the tubes into 1/4" slices and lay on parchment lined trays to bake. My oven took 11 minutes so thats a good place to start. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack
• For a glaze I mixed up 2 cups powdered sugar with 3 Tbsp of Milk & 1 Tbsp of vanilla. I also tossed a chunk of really soft butter in there because I like it that way.  When the cookies are TOTALLY cooled use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over top, let it set for a couple minutes then devour. 

These were very pretty pinwheels & easy enough my nephew could handle making them with some direction if he wanted to, so they are good for fancy schmancy cookies or to just make at home with the kiddies. Not to mention they are buttery, soft & chewy & packed with cinnamon. LOVE them.

The *cinnamon - I use a Vietnamese cinnamon, so its rather pungent and spicy. Would highly recommend & you can find it at Penseys or online. It really is much different than the crap on grocery store shelves and takes a good cookie and makes it aromatic & dreamy. Like an oatmeal cookie is next level with this cinnamon.

I also make my own vanilla extract so its more pungent than store bought as well....

I am a baking dork.

But I dont care. My shit's delicious!!

Hope you make them! They really sound more complicated than they are. Start to finish I probably spent less than an hour putting them together, the hard part was patiently waiting for dough to chill so I could bake them....but I always suck at patience.

Let me know how they come out!

PS - I bet these would be good with orange zest in the dough & an orange glaze too...like those Pillsbury orange cinnamon roll thingies my mom used to make...