Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

My first semester as an MFA in creative writing student is coming to a close. So last night I took these festive cheesecake bars with me to class. Between discussing Borges's "Death and the Compass" and Saunders's "Sea Oak" (two discussions I ended up contributing nothing to, as I'm twenty-seven weeks pregnant and simply failed to be in the proper mood to discuss said stories -- at least I contributed a snack) my fellow prose-producing apprentices and I sampled the goods. The response was positive (more so to the bars than the stories), and this morning when I had one from the refrigerator, I thought it was even better. The only immediate alteration I would make is adding more butter to the crust. It was a bit dry.

Ingredients:
Crust:
16 graham crackers
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted (I would try using an additional 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:
2 8oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature (I used the 1/3 less fat variety)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup eggnog
3 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine and pulse all crust ingredients until fully crumbled and moistened. Press crust into a greased 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, whip cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add remaining ingredients, beat until well combined. Pour into crust lined pan. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the center has just stopped wobbling. Turn off oven, but leave bars in the oven with the door closed for 15 minutes. Then open the oven door and continue to let the bars cool approximated 20 minutes. The slow cooling process prevented my bars from cracking.
I topped my bars with 2 ounces of melted white chocolate and about a 1/3 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Key Lime Cheesecake

On Sunday, I made this cheesecake for dessert. It was for an extra-special seventh wedding anniversary dinner! Zach made shrimp scampi, and I made this tasty, tart number.

Ingredients:
For the crust:
15 graham crackers
10 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

For the filling:
3 8oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 teaspoon key lime zest (Ideally, I would use more zest, but zesting key limes can be a bit cumbersome.)

Directions:
In a food processor, crumble graham crackers; add sugar and pulse; pour in melted butter and combine until all cracker crumbs are moistened. Press crust into prepared pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl with a paddle attachment, whip cream cheese with sugar; beat in eggs one at a time; beat in flour; beat in key lime juice and zest. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes. After baking, leave cake in the oven additional 30 minutes with the temp off and the door open. Gradual cooling helps to lessen the chance of cracking.

White-Chocolate Spiced-Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love this twist on a delightful dessert. The white chocolate marries so well with the flavors of pumpkin and cream cheese. It's not the first time I've put white chocolate into a cheesecake, and I dare say it won't be the last. Also, another little perk to this cheesecake is that it only uses one package of cream cheese, which cuts down on the typical cheesecake-fat-content. Furthermore, the one and a half cups of pumpkin puree is very good for you. Enjoy!

Ingredient:
Crust:
12 graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Filling:
1 8oz. package cream cheese
3 eggs
4oz. white chocolate
1 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions:
In a food processor, process crackers, cinnamon, brown sugar, and melted butter until the mixture forms a fine grain. Press into a prepared cheesecake pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler until just melted; stir and set aside. In a large bowl, cream 8oz cream cheese with sugars; add eggs, pumpkin puree, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, white chocolate; mix well. Pour filling into prepared crust; bake 45 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; chill for at least 1 hour.