Bite Sized Ricotta Cheesecakes

I live in house of cheesecake lovers.  Big, small, bite-sized or sliced, it really doesn't matter.  Up until today, the household favorites have always been the raspberry ( or chocolate ) swirl cheesecakes (here) and the  mini mascarpone - chocolate cheesecakes (here).  However, today, we have added yet another version of a cheesecake to the top of the list.

I had saved this recipe from a back issue of donna hay magazine.  Yet, another recipe in my overflowing "file" of all things edible that I hope to accomplish in this life time!  I was reminded of it when I was reading Patricia's blog, Technicolor Kitchen, and of course, she beat me to it!  Hers looked perfectly perfect.

I wanted to give these a trial run for an upcoming dinner event I have next month. My three trustworthy taste testers gave them the thumbs up!  And, I am confident you will too!

Vanilla + Macadamia Crumble Mini Cheesecakes
adapted from donna hay magazine #17
yield 48 bite sized morsels of goodness

ingredients:
cheese cake
370g ricotta cheese
300g cream cheese
1 1/3 cups (267g) caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

base
125g shortbread cookies ( I used these )
1/2 cup (50g) almond meal
45g unsalted butter, melted

crumble topping
100g shortbread cookies
1/2 cup (70g) unsalted macadamia nuts
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbls. brown sugar, packed
50g unsalted butter, melted

instructions:
• preheat oven to 285*
for the base:
• in the bowl of a food processor, process the cookies ( I had some lemon scented sables in the freezer that I baked off, however any shortbread would work ) until crushed.  add the almond meal and the butter and process until combined.
• press 2 tsp. of the crumbs into mini silicone muffin tins. using a 1/8 cup measuring cup ( or a small bottle) flatten the crumbs into the bottom of the pans. refrigerate the crumbs until ready to use.
for the cream cheese filling:
• place the ricotta and the cream cheese in a food processor and process until smooth. add the sugar, eggs and the vanilla and process until combined and smooth.
• pour the mixture almost to the top of the baking cup.  set the silicone muffin pans on a baking sheet.
• bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until set.  rotating pans half way through.
 make the crumb mixture:
• while the cheesecakes are baking, place the cookies, macadamia nuts, vanilla, sugar, and the butter in the bowl of the food processor and process until roughly chopped.
• after baking the cheesecakes, top them with the crumb mixture and bake for another 10 minutes or until the tops are golden.
• cool completely to room temperature.
• once cooled, place trays in the freezer.  once frozen the cheesecakes pop out beautifully.  serve at room temperature!

Macadamia Chocolate Meltaways

We were going to friends for dinner the other night, but got cancelled on early in the day due to them getting Dodger playoff tickets. Salzman's vs. Dodgers, hmmm...I think they made a wise decision!

I had already made the batter for these cookies (The All American Cookie Book )the night before and couldn't let them go to waste. What I liked about this recipe is that the dough was easily made and had to be frozen overnight. This is the perfect dessert for those of you who want to pull off the homemade treat, but can't always achieve that.

I just baked these off to take to Eli's football game and the house smells really good. These are so light, crispy, yet soft. The combination of macadamia nuts, the chocolate and the use of powdered sugar as opposed to cane sugar is a winning trio!

ingredients:

1 3/4 lb. (8 oz.) macadamia nuts -divided

2 1/2 tbls. sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks

2 1/2 tbls flavorless oil

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted nuts)

1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up into pieces

directions:

1. In a food processor, chop 1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts and the sugar until ground to smooth paste. Add the butter, 2 tbls. oil, egg yolk and vanilla and pulse just until blended. Scrape the side of the bowl. Add remaining 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, the flour, powdered sugar, salt and pulse until the macadamia nuts are chopped fine.

2. Melt 1/2 tbls. oil and the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until just melted. Let stand to cool.

3. Line a 4 1/2 x 8" loaf pan with two long sheets of plastic wrap, laid crosswise and let them overlap with an overhang.

4. Divide the dough in half. Spoon half the dough into the pan. Lay a sheet of wax paper over the top and press down and smooth to even the surface. Using a pastry brush, spread the chocolate thinly over the dough. Freeze until chocolate completely sets (I forgot to do this and my chocolate oozed all over!). Place second layer of dough over chocolate and repeat with wax paper to smooth. Cover the loaf with the overhang of the plastic wrap. Freeze 3-4 hours or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 325 and line baking sheets with silpat pads. Or spray with nonstick spray.

6. Peel the plastic from the dough. Using a large, sharp knife, Cut the dough lengthwise in half and then cut each half in half again (you will have 4 equal size logs). Cut each log into 1/4" slices, wiping knife after each cut. Place on cookie sheets, 2" apart.

7. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 11-15 minutes, until slightly browned. Rotate the sheets half way during baking.

Transfer sheets to a wire rack and let firm 3-4 minutes. Transfer cookies to another wire rack until completely cool.

Store in an airtight container for 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. Be careful cuz cookies are fragile.

These are delicious. I highly recommend you make them!

p.s. Eli just walked in the room, eating one and said, "soft, yet crunchy and delectable!"