If this is wrong I don't want to be right chocolate peanut butter baked cheesecakes

Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Cheesecake. Oreo.

It sounds so wrong, but it tastes sooooo right.

I'm continuing on with my mini Cheesecake love with a super rich version which is based on one of my favorite flavor combinations....peanut butter and chocolate.

At first I thought I might just pop a whole Peanut Butter Cup into the cheesecake on top of the Oreo, y'know make it super easy, and if you look carefully at the picture below you can see that is exactly what I did to the one on the left side - see the little layer of chocolate in between the peanut and cheesecake. But for my tastes I found that section of the cheesecake a little crumbly and dry, don't get me wrong it was good, but not quite what I was hoping for. So I did a google search around and found this cheat recipe and decided to modify it a bit for use in the cheesecake.

Not only is the filling creamier - it's more cost effective plus I could make it a bit smaller than the shop bought one so I got a little bit more cheesecake in.

Soooooo Right.

(.......also just in case you missed my previous post I would like to clarify mostly for Mr Sweet's sake that the statement in the photo is not true - I pretty much always want to be right.)

Peanut Butter Baked Cheesecake

makes 14 large Texas muffin sized cheesecakes. For the pictures I poured over some melted chocolate peanut ganache and added chopped mini Reece's Peanut Butter Cups.

Peanut Butter Filling

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar) sifted
2tbsp + 1 tsp unsalted butter or 45g (3 US Tbsp or 1 1/2 oz)
pinch salt

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. If it's a very hot day you may like to place the 7oz that will be used in the cheesecakes in the fridge to make it easier to handle.

Cheesecake

14 Oreo Cookies
7oz of the Peanut Butter Filling (see recipe above)
625g (21oz) cream cheese at room temperature
1 tin condensed milk
3 large eggs at room temperature
14 large muffin papers (I bought these ones from woolies)


Preheat oven to 140C (280 F)

Line the muffin tins with the muffin/cupcake papers. Place one single oreo in the bottom of each paper.

Top each Oreo with 3 tsp (1 US Tbsp) of peanut butter mixture and press down onto the top of the Oreo cookie.

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese using a mixer at medium speed until just smooth, add the condensed milk and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the large muffin papers dividing mixture evenly between the papers using a scant 1/3 cup to each to make 14.

Place the tray into the oven and bake until the mixture is just setting in the center, around 16- 20 mins

Allow to cool in the trays for 10-15min and then pop in an airtight container in the fridge until chilled.

Top each cheesecake with a swirl of Peanut Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows).

Peanut Chocolate Ganache

4oz Dark or Semi Sweet Chocolate 
1 oz cream

4 oz Peanut Butter Filling

20g (3/4 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature

Chop the chocolate into fine pieces. Place in a microwave safe bowl with the cream and heat in the microwave at medium low heat for 1 minute bursts until melted. Make sure you do not overheat the chocolate. 

Cover and allow to set at room temperature until firm.

Beat the chocolate mixture on high for a couple of minutes until it lightens in color. Add the Peanut Butter Filling and mix well at medium speed, add the butter and continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture comes together, do not over mix.

 

Blue Ruffle Ombre Macaron

This is just a quick post, maybe to counter balance the time it takes to make these blue ruffle ombre macarons.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

To make your own, mix up a batch of macaron mixture (CLICK HERE for Recipe) and after mixing in the almond meal/sugar/egg white divide into half. Color one half light blue and the other half dark blue and then mix until the correct consistency has been achieved, then continue to follow the recipe.

Make up a batch of filling and mix in food colour until a shade which is inbetween your 2 different blues is achieved, I used buttercream however you could use white chocolate ganache which is always a favorite for taste.

Match up a light and dark blue macaron half.and pipe filling into the center. If you are using buttercream you can pipe using a star tip for the ruffle look center.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking Love Bird Valentine Cookies

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

If your thinking these cookies are kinda cute then you totally are.

And if your thinking they will be easy to make - it's like you're some kind of mind reader.

However if your thinking more birds!!! What is with the birds, will she ever stop.......Where is that recipe for the peanut butter chocolate cheesecake that she posted the picture on facebook off - I need it now! Why is she toying with us. Then no we are not thinking the same thing at all, although if I was you I might be :) I am pretty sure I will have the cheesecake recipe fine tuned and typed up for next weekend.

 Disclaimer - the statement in the picture is not true - I pretty much always want to be right :)

Anyhoo back to the cookies, they didn't go quite to plan, I had originally wanted the hearts to come out of the birdies into one big heart in the middle but I just don't think it worked, it made the cookie look a bit weird and unbalanced so I kinda tipped the top idea over.

Yup I'm thinking it looks much better now.

So then I made some extra filler cookies with plain red hearts that look super sweet, and 'cause y'know waaaay less fiddly making plain hearts so you can double up your cookies for about a 10th of the time.

and then I wrapped them up with plain parchment (baking) paper, pink twine and press out hearts I made myself with a Martha Stewart heart cutter/punch.

I'm thinking it worked out pretty sweet in the end.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking Cookies

Square Sugar Cookies (around 6cm or 2 1/2 ") I used the recipe from my book details and link below or you can use this recipe here
Ready Roll Fondant *(or marshmallow fondant)
Blue, pink and red food color - gel type like Wilton or Americolor
Black edible pen - I like the Americolor Gourmet Writers
Square cookie cutter (around 6cm or 2 1/2 ")
tear shaped fondant cutter (around 3.2cm or 1 3/8")
3 different shaped fondant heart cutters/ ejectors (1.5 cm, 1cm & 0.7cm) or (9/16" 3/8" and 1/4")
brush and water
small rolling pin
Corn flour (corn starch for dusting)
* Fondant dries out fast, work quickly and when not in use pop it into a ziplock bag or air tight container. Knead before use to make more pliable before each use.

Color small amounts of the fondant light blue, light pink and red by kneading the fondant until pliable and then working in the gel color until evenly distributed. It is preferable to color the red fondant a day before use to allow time for the color to develop. Pop each color into a separate bag until needed.

Dust the workbench with a little cornflour, roll out the white fondant until around a couple of mm thin (1/16") and even and using the square cookie cutter cut out shapes. Brush the cookie lightly with a little water and using the small rolling pin adhere the fondant to the cookie pressing down lightly with the roller. If necessary I carfully roll the fondant to the edges of each cookie. Cover each cookie with white fondant.

Roll out the pink fondant on a lightly dusted workbench. Using the teardrop shaped cutter press out a shape for each cookie. Using your fingers pinch the pointed end of the teardrop and pull it up slightly upwards to make the 'tail' curve upwards (like in the pictures).

 
Place the tear shape onto the bottom of the square fondant covered cookie with the large rounded end pointing inwards to the center of the cookie and the pointed curved tails pointing outwards (don't stick it on yet). Make sure this shape is less than halfway across the cookie as you will need to pop another one on the other side. Lift the shape up and using an edible black pen draw 2 small lines in a V shape to make a beak (see picture for example) and some lines for the legs and then adhere the pink fondant shape to the cookie with a small amount of water. Repeat for all the cookies.

Roll out the blue fondant and follow the same steps as for the pink fondant but make sure when you are pinching the tail upwards that the tear drop shapes are reversed to the opposite direction so that the blue bird will be facing inwards.

Roll out the pink and blue colors again and cut out a small heart in each color for each cookie. Adhere the hearts to each tear shaped bird with the pointed edge facing inwards to represent wings.

(I actually just roll out both colors and working quickly cut out about 10 or so of each tear drop and heart shape I need, pinch them into shape and adhere them to the cookies. Once you have the hang of what you are doing and if you work quickly you should be able to do this without the fondant drying out.)

Dust the workbench with a little cornflour, roll out the red fondant until around a couple of mm thin (1/16") and even. Get the 3 different heart shaped cutters ready and cut 1 small heart, 2 medium hearts and 2 larger hearts. Starting in the top outside corners adhere one large heart into each corner. Make sure you only use a small amount of water to do this otherwise the color may bleed. Then adhere the one small heart directly above the middle of the pink and blue birds. Finally add the medium hearts spacing it evenly between the small and larger hearts so that they make a V shape (see picture for example.)

Finally finish by adding a dot to each of the birdies for an eye.

I used the vanilla sugar cookie recipe from my book Sweets on a Stick to make the square cookies.

I know I have said it before but the book is a US Release however there is a conversion chart in the back to the book for metric.

Or here at fishpond (Aus/NZ)