Desserts

{THE OLSENS} invited us for dinner last night. She forgot when she invited us that she had the missionaries coming, so they were there too. She asked me to bring some kind of dessert for everyone, since I had a large stash of NEW recipes I wanted to try. So I brought a White chocolate-strawberry cheesecake bars & Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch. I might add that both turned out fantastic and everyone loved them both. Which is a surprise for me since they were both new recipes. I normally always have something go wrong or just not turn out like I wanted them too. I did make a few changes in the recipes as I went which I will share with all of you now. The original recipe will be in black, my changes will be noted in red.

{picture courtesy of kraftfoods.com}

WHAT YOU NEED!

12 OREO Cookies, finely crushed
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 squares BAKER'S White Chocolate, divided {I only had white choc. chips on hand}
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup red raspberry preserves {I opted for my homemade strawberry freezer jam}

MAKE IT!

HEAT oven to 350ºF. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 8- or 9-inch square pan. Melt 2 chocolate squares as directed on package.
BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until center is almost set. {Mine baked between 30-35 min}Cool 5 min.; spread with preserves {or your favorite jam}. Melt remaining chocolate square; drizzle over cheesecake. {Since I did not have Baker's White chocolate on hand and opted for chocolate chips. I did not include the drizzle on top, maybe next time.} Cool cheesecake completely. Refrigerate 4 hours. {I made mine the night before and refrigerated over night}

{picture courtesy of rachaelraymag.com}

WHAT YOU NEED!

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
One 16-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
3 cups crispy rice cereal
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups confectioners' sugar

MAKE IT!

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, melt half of the chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat. Remove from the heat; stir in 1 cup peanut butter, then 2 cups rice cereal. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan; refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Wash out the saucepan.
In the saucepan, combine the remaining 2 sticks butter and the salt; melt over medium heat, stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining peanut butter and the confectioners' sugar. {I at this point did not like the consistency so I poured it into the mixer to smooth out}Spread half of the peanut butter mixture over the cereal layer. Top with the remaining 1 cup cereal.
In a small bowl, microwave the remaining chocolate at medium power until melted, 1 1/2 minutes. Stir into the remaining peanut butter mixture. Spread evenly on the cereal-topped peanut butter layer; refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes. Cut into 16 pieces.

*Both of these recipes I think would work well prepared in muffin cups, for nice individual servings. YOU WILL NEED A GLASS OF MILK WITH THE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE CRUNCH.

ENJOY!!!