Seeded Breadsticks

New Year's is upon us already.

The year has gone by so fast!  What happened?  It's been like a whirlwind of activity since October!  Onward and upward...and I'm looking forward to a bright and shiny 2012.   For New Year's Eve I love to make an array of appetizers, or finger foods that people can munch on while socializing.

One easy dish is my Seeded Breadsticks.  They are perfect with soup, salad, or along side your lunch or dinner.  Cut cut these babies in half and your have "mini" breadsticks...perfect for appetizers!  The best part, they are easy and quick to make!

 

 






Try my seeded breadsticks and let me know what your favorite appetizer to serve is.

Seeded Breadsticks

Serves 12

1  14 ounce can refrigerated pizza dough

1 ½ teaspoons each: pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds, plain sesame seeds, and black sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Unroll pizza dough on a lightly floured surface.  Gently roll dough into a 12x9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with seeds.  Using a pizza cutter cut dough crosswise into 12 strips.  

Twist dough several times and place strips on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 12 breadsticks.  Note:  As an appetizer cut breadsticks in half before baking, making 24 mini breadsticks.

Candy Cane Joe Joe’s Cheesecake

Merry Christmas

and

a Happy 1 year anniversary

 to the start of my blog!

I'm amazed that a year has gone by since the start of my blog.  It's been an amazing experience, cooking so many tasty dishes, meeting so many bloggers, and having you as my audience!  I am truly honored to be able to bring my family's recipes to life and to share them all with you.

I think this calls for a celebration and the best celebrate is with a decadent dessert!

I got this idea talking to my mom about cheesecakes, and the recipe that she used for years.  Since it's holiday time I wanted to make one that had a hint of peppermint.  I love peppermint, it's so refreshing in a dessert!  Mom and I discussed peppermint options, and both of us mentioned the ice cream in the stores this time of year that has the chunks of hard peppermint candies in it.  Neither of us like that...nope.  One thing I don't like is to bite into a hard piece of candy in a soft ice cream, or cake.  Nope, can't do it.

So then I light bulb went off...Trader Joe's sells peppermint flavored Oreos, called Candy Cane Joe Joe's. Yippee!  Have you had them?  They are awesome.

So this was my inspiration to make an oreo type of cheesecake that is peppermint in flavor.  It is a chocolate lover dream, with a chocolate crust, and topped with a chocolate ganache.  Rich...rich...rich...and decadent!

 

 

For those that want a more lower carb cheesecake or to just reduce the carb count you can substitute the sugar for Splenda, and you can use Sugar free oreos for the crust.  You will still have some carbs with the Joe Joe's and the chocolate, however, the overall count will be reduced.  I've also added neufchatel cheese instead of the cream cheese to keep the fat grams down as well.  But trust me, this is still a very rich dessert!

Enjoy your holiday season and try a slice of my cheesecake!

Candy Cane Joe Joe’s Cheesecake

A Slice of Southern original

Crust:

2  cups Oreo cookies, crushed

2  tablespoons butter, melted

Filing:

4 (8-oz.) pkg neufchatel cheese, softened

1 ½ cups sugar or Splenda equivalent

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 T flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs

2  cups coarsely chopped Candy Cane Joe Joe’s cookies

1/3 cup whipping cream

Ganache:

1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the crushed cookies and melted butter.   Firmly press the mixture (use the base of a glass) evenly in bottom and up the sides of a lightly greased 9-inch spring form pan. Bake for 12 minutes and set aside.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add the whipping cream, flour and 1 tsp. vanilla beating well. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.

Pour 3 1/2/c. of batter onto prepared crust. Top with coarsely chopped cookies. Pour in remaining batter. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn oven off, and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 8 hours. Run a knife along the edges of the pan.  Remove sides of pan.

For ganache topping, combine whipping cream and chocolate morsels in a small saucepan.  Stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat. Carefully spread mixture over cheesecake, allowing it to drip down sides. Store the cheesecake in refrigerator. Top with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.